Dance Magazine: Unlike lyrics or lines preserved in scores and scripts, a show’s movement is ephemeral, passed from body to body with every new cast. Ensuring that the choreography and staging stays true to the original is crucial to the integrity of a show. Such is the task of Wicked’s associate choreographer Corinne McFadden Herrera, who has been with the production from its inception in 2003.
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When I danced in middle school, I was able to take a workshop for the Dancing Through Life dance break, and while crisp, the choreography was so much harder than I expected. This gives me utmost respect for McFadden and her work. I find it so interesting that she is not afraid of the show changing with every ensemble member that enters the cast. It proves that she has a respect for each and every performer. As she says, “The show is a living, breathing thing, and it’s never performed the same way twice. That’s the beauty of live theater, but it’s also very difficult to maintain.” I’m also so shocked that McFadden has remained with the show for so many years. One of my favorite parts of theatre is how quickly one can move from job to job (show to show), however, I do understand the relief that can exist in the stability of one job for a long time.
That is insane. It is so insane that Wicked has been going on for 20 years, that that show is as old as I am. It is even more insane that the choreography and staging has maintained consistent for that long running of a show. Through so many different casts and touring companies that Corinne McFadden Herrera has been able to maintain the consistency of the show. I feel similarly for a lot of these long running musicals like Lion King, Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Book of Mormon, and now Hamilton. The directorial vision is almost sacred, and must be maintained through the full run of a show, no matter how long that ends up being. So I find it to be greatly respectable and highly necessary. The amount of dedication to the material and ability to record even the smallest details is so incredibly impressive to me and is something that is foundational to theatre functioning as an industry.
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