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Thursday, January 23, 2025
After the Success of the Movie, Wicked Has Found Broadway's First Black Elphaba
gizmodo.com: With a second movie on the way, the Wicked train is not slowing down anytime soon—and now Jon M. Chu‘s hit film has impacted ticket sales for Broadway’s mainstay feature. Not only that, but now the stage production of the musical has cast its first Black Elphaba.
Reading this article, I have a lot of hope for the direction that theatre is going. IN any instance, more representation is great, yet having it in such a class Broadway show makes it all the more impactful. The Wicked movie is doing great things for the availability and opportunities for actors of color to land bigger roles in shows. Having such a successful representation of Black actors makes it even harder for employers to say that Black actors can’t star in well-known roles such as Elphaba. While I have had little direct experience with the Wicked franchise, I am grateful to any more representation of people of color in any form. It will continue to normalize our place in the theatre world and help future generations in working towards a more equal work environment and society. I look forward to the second Wicked movie and seeing Lencia Kebede make her Wicked debut in March.
I’m surprised to read that there were no full time Epphabas on Broadway until now. I think the movie made a strong decision casting Cynthia Erivo not only because she’s super talented but because she brought in a new take and perspective on the character rarely ever seen on stage. It’s crazy that a show surrounding a character who is outcasted for the color of her skin has never been portrayed full time by a black woman. I think the women who have played Elphaba as swings or special performances should be celebrated/highlighted more and it’s nice to see a movie musical affect a stage musical in a positive way. Thinking of other movies that have been turned into movie musicals I don’t think any of them have made positive impacts in diversity or change in the stage versions because they’ve all mostly been bad.
This is such an exciting moment for Broadway and Wicked! I've been waiting for this moment for so long, and I truly think it's great, but it also shouldn't have taken this long. I think it was amazing when we saw the first Black Galinda, but I also think Cynthia Erivo should have to be the reason why they are just now getting to featuring a Black Elphaba. All in all, though, I think Lencia Kebede stepping into the role of Elphaba as the first Black woman in the full-time cast is a huge milestone for representation in theater. When Brittney Johnson became the first Black Glinda a few years ago, it was such a powerful step forward. It makes me so happy to see these long-running shows finally reflecting a wider range of talent and voices. I think Cynthia Erivio made a huge change, and I'm excited to see how this affects Wicked in the future.
3 comments:
Reading this article, I have a lot of hope for the direction that theatre is going. IN any instance, more representation is great, yet having it in such a class Broadway show makes it all the more impactful. The Wicked movie is doing great things for the availability and opportunities for actors of color to land bigger roles in shows. Having such a successful representation of Black actors makes it even harder for employers to say that Black actors can’t star in well-known roles such as Elphaba. While I have had little direct experience with the Wicked franchise, I am grateful to any more representation of people of color in any form. It will continue to normalize our place in the theatre world and help future generations in working towards a more equal work environment and society. I look forward to the second Wicked movie and seeing Lencia Kebede make her Wicked debut in March.
I’m surprised to read that there were no full time Epphabas on Broadway until now. I think the movie made a strong decision casting Cynthia Erivo not only because she’s super talented but because she brought in a new take and perspective on the character rarely ever seen on stage. It’s crazy that a show surrounding a character who is outcasted for the color of her skin has never been portrayed full time by a black woman. I think the women who have played Elphaba as swings or special performances should be celebrated/highlighted more and it’s nice to see a movie musical affect a stage musical in a positive way. Thinking of other movies that have been turned into movie musicals I don’t think any of them have made positive impacts in diversity or change in the stage versions because they’ve all mostly been bad.
This is such an exciting moment for Broadway and Wicked! I've been waiting for this moment for so long, and I truly think it's great, but it also shouldn't have taken this long. I think it was amazing when we saw the first Black Galinda, but I also think Cynthia Erivo should have to be the reason why they are just now getting to featuring a Black Elphaba. All in all, though, I think Lencia Kebede stepping into the role of Elphaba as the first Black woman in the full-time cast is a huge milestone for representation in theater. When Brittney Johnson became the first Black Glinda a few years ago, it was such a powerful step forward. It makes me so happy to see these long-running shows finally reflecting a wider range of talent and voices. I think Cynthia Erivio made a huge change, and I'm excited to see how this affects Wicked in the future.
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