Chanelle Cotton, Broadway Inbound's Marketing Communications Manager, sits down with the cast of Wicked, including Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch), Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West) Riley Costello (Boq), and Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible). The actors talk about their experience performing in the hit Broadway musical and give the audience a backstage tour of The Gershwin Theatre, where Wicked takes place. The show tells the story of two unlikely friends, Elphaba and Glinda, who struggle through opposing personalities and viewpoints to fight for what they believe in. The show debuted on Broadway in 2003 and has since been produced in many other countries around the world. Broadway Inbound offers discounted group tickets to Wicked and other popular Broadway shows, which allow those who want to see a musical with their friends or family to experience the best of Broadway at an affordable rate.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
Hi everyone. My name is Chanelle Cotton. I'm the marketing communications manager. I am your hostess with the sometimes mostest and like Allison said today, we are talking about fan favorites on Broadway. And so, what does that even mean? Fan favorites are shows that have this, like, incredible staying power, you know, some shows don't get a long run. These are shows that have long runs and dedicated fans. And so, I want to give the fans a little moment to shine right now. As we said before we are joined by members of Wicked.
I would love to ask you all, do you have any stories from your fans that you could share with us? You know, over the years, if it's even just a letter that they've sent, if it's a stage door moment. I'll just open up the floor to whoever would love to share.
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
Yeah, I can share a quick story. I joined working at Wicked this previous September or December actually, so I'm relatively new to seeing the fans on Broadway come to see the show, and I grew up a fan of the show. So I grew up kneeling firsthand the love for Wicked but very recently someone came to our show, and she was sitting in the front row, and she was in full Elphaba cosplay. She had recreated the infamous second act gown, like, detail by detail, and she had painted all of her skin green, and she came with a wig. I mean, she got, like, the shadow of the cheekbone down to the perfect little detail. So it really made me think, “Wow, these people who love Wicked notice these tiny-tiny details in the costumes, in the makeup, in the whole production, not just like the grand scale picture of the show. And it was so cool to see the dedication of these fans recreating these cool costumes.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
I love that. Thanks, Allie.
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
Piggybacking on that because I am also in Wicked, and I've been in Wicked on and off for about 12 years, so I've seen a lot of fans come through. I was on tour, I was in San Francisco, all around the country and the world. There is such excitement still after 19 years of the show being open on Broadway, and all the time we get, you know, letters and fan mail, and some people make, like, I've received dolls in the past that are of the characters, and they're amazing, or, like, little dioramas even, like, very-very obscure things sometimes but it just shows how much people are in love with the show still after 19 years.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
I love that. And we're gonna start off with Wicked. So, everybody, hang tight and enjoy these two videos that are going to show you what you can get out of Wicked.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
Hi everybody, I'm Riley Costello, and I play Boq.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
And I'm Patti LuPone, I play Mrs. Lovett. No, I'm Alexandra Billings and I play Madame Morrible.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
We are here to take you on a backstage tour of the Gershwin Theater, which is currently home of...
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
…Wicked The Musical!
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
The Musical! …So one of the cool things about this stairwell is… the walls are sort of who’s been in the show and left the show before. When you leave the show, you get your name on a little green plaque, as you are the graduating class of Shiz University as it were. And so, this wall is just sort of an amazing reminder of all the people that have been in and out of this building, and it's a pretty star-studded list, so it's both exciting and humbling to know that, I guess, all of our names will be on this wall when we leave the show. This is the men's ensemble room. It's a really big… one of the cool things about the Gershwin, actually, it's one of the newer theaters on Broadway, so the dressing rooms are actually quite large. In the stage, right stairwell, one of the former cast members, Eddie Pendergrapht, painted this mural. It is a good shot of the yellow brick road. This mural kind of… tells the story, I think, of the show through Defying Gravity. I think it's cool though that both stairwells in this theater have something cool going on. The other side is the names...
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
Yeah, like the whole building belongs to us. It's unbelievable.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
And what's through this door, Alex. is?
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
Well, my dressing room is through this door. This is the Madden Mobile dressing room, you know. Everything here has representation. And that's the Riley chair. We got the chair for Riley. So when he comes in, he sits there on the chair.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
At a social distance. This is the stage, right?
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
What can we show?
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
This entire set of pieces flown up into the air for all of act one. It moves like clockwork. No pun intended.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
Where are we, the stage left?
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
We’re at the stage left right now.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
I always get the two confused, isn't that terrible?
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
Yeah, I'm with you.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
Do you push this?
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
I do.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
Like this? Do you push it from here?
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
No, I push it from here, because a lot of other action happens, and it's pretty easy to get a skin in the way…
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
I didn’t know that, and I'm backstage eating M&Ms, while you're doing this.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
I love to know that actually, that's gonna make my skin work better.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
That’s what I do, I have a very difficult job.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
Here is a very special view. When you are looking at it from this way, it feels very intimate. When you are out in the house..
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
It feels huge!
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
It’s huge!
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
It feels massive.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
I don't know what kind of, like, trick of the eye, trick of the mind this is.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
It was created for this, though.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
Right.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
It was created for this space.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
As I say, there's no place like, “Oh!”, and this is Wicked’s home, and thank you for following along…
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
Thank you for coming with us.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
This backstage tour. We hope you come and see us in Oz. We gotta go get ready for the show.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
We're gotta go get ready for the show. Have a beautiful rest of your day, humans.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
Hope you had fun.
Alexandra Billings (Madame Morrible, Wicked)
Thanks, everybody.
Riley Costello (Boq, Wicked)
Bye.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
And so, I am joined by Alyssa and Allie from Wicked. I have, you know, I just want to say, if you hear Defying Gravity and you don't get chills, then you need to immediately go see your doctor and find out what's wrong with you, because…
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
I burst into tears..
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
Right!
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
you’ve got that one packed out. It's so powerful.
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
…watching it, and I've been a part of the show for a long time, but it still affects me emotionally. (laughs)
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
The first time I saw the show, it was in previews, and I still feel the exact same way.
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
Wow preview!
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
And I know I don't look old enough, but trust me.
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
That's good skincare, right?
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
It's a good skincare routine. So actually along that note Wicked has been running for 19 years. If you were to boil it down to the secret ingredients, what do you think that is that gives the show that kind of universal appeal?
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
I think on top of the material being so solid. I mean, the music is beautiful but the script is also hilarious, and on top of the material being so solid. The company of cast members in this production, whether on tour or on Broadway, very likely have myself included grown up with this show, and as a musical theater performer, you know Elphaba, you know Glinda, and you know this ensemble. So, when you see Wicked today, you're watching a company of actors who not only are living their dream of being on Broadway but more specifically they're living their dream of being in Wicked, and it is so special to so many performers, like, this story, and this music, and these jokes, so I think when you see it, you get the added, like, magic in the air of watching a company really- really excited to be telling this exact story that they're getting to tell.
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
And I think there's a lot of familiarity with audience members with the characters of Oz that have been going on for the past almost a century. So there is a familiarity there, but it's like the story of Wicked twists those characters a little bit and gives you a different kind of perspective on the story that everyone is familiar with, and it's a story of two strong female leads with very-very big differences trying to come together and become really beautiful friends.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
Now the show actually puts an emphasis on being proud of who you are and being unique and, like, why do you feel this message is still relevant so many years later?
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
I think Elphaba, specifically in my experience, you know, she is bullied basically for the way that she looks, that she was born with, that she cannot change. And throughout the musical, there becomes an acceptance of herself in both her power and the way she looks and taking ownership of that, and I think that's such a powerful aspect of the show, and the character is to be, like, you know, “This is who I am. I'm proud of it and nobody can tell me otherwise.”
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
And I think for Glinda's character, in terms of being a show about embracing who you are and finding who you are. We see a real character transformation in Glinda, where in the first act she's very flawed. She's a very wonderful but very flawed person, and over the telling of the story, you get to see her, kind of, learn these lessons about, “Who am I really? What do I really want? Who do I really care about and how do I want to shape my life to be in alignment with that?” And I think that there's a lot of grace to be given to yourself when you're learning these life lessons. It's not always an easy path. It's not always a direct path and she shed some light, I think, on how people grow, and people change, and you may start out as the bully, and you may end up learning your lesson.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
And who doesn't want that, right, a bully who ends up transforming? The correct grammatical end of my statement is “for the better”, but I do want to say “for good”. Of course. There are a lot of people who may not be familiar with the show and in passing might just think, “Oh, it's The Wizard of Oz, it's the story of Dorothy, why do I need to see this?” What would your response be to those people?
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
I'd say Dorothy is almost zero part of this experience of Oz, so it is a different experience from what people think they expect because it takes someone who's the villain, like the Wicked Witch of the West, and turns them into the protagonist that everyone is rooting for by the end of the show.
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
And I think when you think of your own self, when you think of, like, “Okay, who am I right now?” There's some part of you that recognizes all of these things that have lent to this moment in your life, that crafted who you are, and it's so fun to get to see these characters the Wicked Witch of the West, the Glinda the Good, you know, it's so beautiful to see these characters that you think you know, and then really get to understand how they became to be that. I think people love to kind of learn these backstories and learn these secrets, and then also in Wicked seeing these Easter eggs, all of these references to the very story that we all recognize, the Wizard of Oz, and seeing how those pieces, kind of, come together to complete the puzzle that you think you already know in your mind.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
And if I could kind of, like, “Glindefy” my language for a second, for you, ladies in particular, what is the most splendiferous moment in the show? For you, like, what’s the moment that just really takes you to a whole new level.
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
For me, and I think for most people, seeing the show, the end of act one, Defying Gravity, when Elphaba flies, is a very… it has very much impact on everybody watching it and the performer. You know, it is very exciting being able to sing a very-very difficult song emotionally, and vocally, and physically after running up and down stairs and then, like, having that triumphant moment at the end of the song, you know, getting to literally rise up into the air and sing in, and sing your heart out as much as is humanly possible. So that's a really special part of the show for me, and it's a pivotal part of the show for the character, too.
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
That exact same part is one of my favorites, too, as Glinda. I'm just standing there and I'm just watching Elphaba go through this moment, and, you know, in the mind of a character, it's like “I'm afraid for her. I'm proud of her. I'm a little scared of her” - all of these different emotions coming up but then, on the actor brain, I'm like, “Wow, you go, girl. You're doing this really hard song. You're crushing it, the audience loves you”. You know, it's so cool to just get to stand there and watch your friend, and your peer, and your coworker literally sore, and then also it is so cool to come down in that bubble, in that sparkly bubble dress that I've been looking at since I was 10, it is so cool to be awesome. I mean, audience, and feel like, “Holy smokes, my 11-year-old self is screaming into her pillow right now freaking out”. It's very, very fun.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
And so what would you say to someone who's, like, maybe still on the fence about like, “I don't know if I should see Wicked. I don't know if it's for me.” What would you say to them?
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
I would say, you have to see it. It is not going to be what you expect. It is by no means boring. I mean, anyone who comes to see Wicked is going to be, first of all, entertained and, second of all, moved emotionally by these characters in this story. So I think it's a really important show to see, especially right now, in the world when it is very important for us to all come together even throughout differences.
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
And I think it's a community experience, come with your friends, come with your children, your family. I mean, whether it's the music that moves you, the jokes that make you laugh, or the costumes and the sets that make you kind of, like, drop your jaw a little bit. There's really something for everyone in Wicked, and I think, when people see it, it's something that they remember forever. I know, it was for me. And I definitely hope it is for all of you who end up coming to see it.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
And for people who want, like, the full New York experience besides your show. What's your favorite thing to do in New York City?
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
Oh, it’s hard, quick extra question.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
Yeah.
Allie Trimm (Glinda the Good Witch, Wicked)
I live in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and I like to go… I live pretty close to Domino Park and I recently adopted a rescue dog. So, one of my favorite things lately has been taking my dog to Domino Park, and looking out at the skyline of Manhattan, and just kind of taking it in and getting to take a step out of it for a second, and look from the outside. Not the Brooklyn is the outside but look from Brooklyn into Manhattan, and think, “Holy cow, I live in New York. Here we are.”
Alyssa Fox (Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West, Wicked)
I also live in Brooklyn and one of my favorite things to do when I'm not working at the show is to go see live music. There is so much of that, and being friends with so many musicians, being in the arts. It's a really, nowhere else in the world, in my opinion, has the same kind of vibe as live music in New York City. So that is one of my absolute favorite things to do, is just to, like, seek out a local band, a local music act, and go see that. And I just love New York. I love that about New York, and it just, like, feeds my soul.
Chanelle Cotton (Broadway Inbound)
I love it. Thank you so much, Allie and Alyssa, for joining us. If you want to see it now for yourself on Broadway, head to broadwayinbound.com and get your group tickets to see Wicked.