Stephanie begins her final 8 performances as Elphaba today! She has had such a long journey with the show since she did the workshops back in 2000. When I saw her in October 2005 I thought she had the most unbelievable voice I've ever heard. I'm so glad she came back to the show and reunite with Kendra even though I couldn't see them again. I'm sad to see her say goodbye to "Wicked," but I'm thrilled that she's going to star as Judy Bernley in "9 to 5" with Megan Hilty. Love you Steph!

=[


YAY 9 TO 5!

Too early for this

Julia and Kendra got to have this thread 6 days ahead of time and I thought Stephanie should as well.

Oh wow...this thread is going to be so sad...I'll post something good when I gather my thoughts lol
But in the mean time thank god for 9 to 5.

I don't even want to think about Steph's last show . It will be my 11th and last time seeing her as Elphaba.

Once again I'm sorry for posting this thread ahead of time and for making anyone sad. Believe me the thought of it hurts me too. I just thought if some cast members like Eden, Julie Reiber, Julia & Kendra, and Victoria & Christina got there's ahead of time I thought Stephanie should as well.

^I think the timing is good...I've just enjoyed being in denial for so long that now it's finally hit me that she's leaving....gosh, I am going to be such a mess on Sunday.

I'm excited for 9-5, but I can't deny I'm sad....I think Stephanie IS Elphaba, and it will be sad to say goodbye to her in Wicked....

It's ok. I'm sad anyway even if there wouldn't be this thread already. It's gonna be so hard to say goodbye to her. She was my first Elphie and I have seen her more than half the times I've seen Wicked. Thank you again for the ticket to last Saturday nights show. That was my last chance to see Steph before her last day and I got to see her twice since I won lotto at the matinee...LOL.

i think she has had a great 8 years with wicked, but its time to move on. :]

My favorite memories are when she sang "The Wizard and I" and "Defying Gravity" when I saw her live. I got goosebumps all over my body. The audience also clapped like crazy both times. Those were such great moments. What are some of you guys favorite Stephanie memories?

Awwww Steph =[

I remember when I first learned she was joining the cast on Broadway, when I read it on Broadway.com. I started to hyperventilate and spazz out because I was so excited. I knew I wouldn't have the opportunity to see her on Broadway, but I was glad she was FINALLY getting that praise. Stephanie deserved every minute of Broadway Wicked as she could get, since she was the actual ORIGINAL Elphaba. I'm glad she got her time with the company and it's very very sad to see her go.

I agree. I was beyond ecstatic when I found out she was finally getting to play the role on Broadway, except I knew I'd be there to see her perform because I made a vow last summer that if she ever came back I'd do whatever it took to see her perform the role and hopefully meet her, and I did!

She was beyond amazing and it was definitely a performance that I'll never forget. Her Defying Gravity left me with tears streaming down my face, her No Good Deed left me in a slight state of shock, and her For Good with Annaleigh was the most beautiful version I have ever heard. Not to mention she's insanely nice and she even remembered me at the stage door from when I wrote her at the end of last year.

I'll miss her dearly as Elphaba but I am very excited for 9 to 5 and I can't wait to see it next year.

I don't think I'll ever love an Elphaba the way I love Stephanie. She just brings to much joy and integrity to the role. I will miss her so much. Although I'm happy to see her move on to other things, it's very heart breaking to see her go.

you guys are killing me

Steph was the first (and only thus far) Elphie I ever saw live in Wicked. And let me just say she was plain amazing!

I expect more great things from SJB in the near future...

BUT PLEASE LET HER COME BACK TO WICKED!

I didnt ever see her. Which I'm very pi**ed about. Her DG makes me cry whenever I listen to it!

This is not necessarily my favorite moment but it's one that is etched in my mind forever. Steph breaking down in the middle of her and Annaleigh's last For Good. As for my favorite memory of her well that would be meeting her at SD on a very cold March night. It was the one and only time that I met her and it made my life. She made me feel like an old friend that she hasn't seen in a long time. As for my favorite memory of her onstage,That was this past Saturday from front row. It was the best that I ever heard her(other than that Sat. night...LOL). Plus she looked at me a couple of times too. I was sitting there with my mouth hanging open the whole time...haha.

This is sooo sad I love Steph so much! She was phenomenal when I saw her and I'm sure she was phenomenal when anyone else saw her too. Best of luck in 9 to 5 and hopefully I'll see it on Broadway

I also think it was a good idea to start this thread earlier than Sunday because that is a busy day for alot of us. Not only does her last show occur on that day but it's also Father's Day and the Tony Awards. I didn't want us to get so wrapped up with those events that we would forget about her last show even though we probably wouldn't.

all i can say is that i need to invest in some waterproof mascara ASAP..lol it's going to be an emotional show

still can't believe her last show is this weekend...

steph is by far my favorite elphaba... she brought the character alive to me. I have never cried more in a show then when i saw steph play elphaba...

one of my favorite moments of hers is when she sings INTG. I mean i cry a lot during that show, but when she sings that song, i just loose it.

i will truly miss her in Wicked, but I cannot wait to see her in 9-5. I will definatly have to check it out!

i never got to see her either. stupid west coast. but i ADORE her voice. it's so pure and so gorgeous. i bought the PQ obcr just so i could hear her voice when i'm driving around town.

i'm only happy about her leaving wicked because that means i get to see here over here in 9 to 5. gah, seriously, could she be anymore incredible?

can i say she's my favorite actress without even seeing her perform (live, technically)? her voice gives me chills. it's addictive actually. i can't go a day without hearing it. that's corny, but it's true.

UGHHHHHHHH Y IISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS SSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEE LLLEEAAAAAAVVIIINGGGGGGGGGG??

She is leaving because she is doing 9 to 5 the musical.

i also think you should stop typing like that. you could get in trouble.

From what I gather, Steph loves to originate roles--I imagine it feeds something in her, creatively. So, hurrah for 9 to 5 and another new role for her! She's a fantastic performer and lovely person, and I wish all blessings and "much joy" to her.

Speaking of, this seems like a good place to post...there are now new message boards for 9 to 5. Come on over and join us!

Bye Steph! Good luck outside of Wicked...

^Ok. I'm confusified . Any reason the Carmen/Katie quote is in the Goodbye Steph thread? Steph is gonna have no problem outside of Wicked. Oh yeah you're the one that thinks Steph is "nothing special" and you have or had tickets to her last but really didn't want them.

Though I never saw her live either, she is definitely my favorite actress. She brings so much to every role that she does and it touches me.
I can't wait to see her in 9 to 5!

That comment irks me. She did a lot of other things within those 8 years, including originating two roles on Broadway (Boy from Oz), and Grace O'Malley in the Pirate Queen, which despite the poor reception, she was brilliant in. She has also done a lot of work on her own stuff, and with Scott Alan's Piece. She is now moving on to create yet another role in 9 to 5.


She was only with Wicked in San Fran previews, then did the tour for a little over a year, and then just this 9 month stint on B'way. She hardly has been doing it for 8 years. I would have loved with her to stay another 3 months through the summer.

Hardly a case of needs to move on....

she's already plenty successful outside wicked jerk. sorry for having to say that. but that comment was totally unnecessary and this poster was asking for that. we can all not like certain actors/actresses but we can be mature enough to respect them as artists and not knock them down.

I honestly hadn't thought about that before, but you're totally right, it seems she gets a lot of her passion from originating roles. So I wish her the best in all future projects, and she absolutely deserves all the success coming her way.




I agree. Although I think it'll be good to see someone new in the role for a while, I think Stephanie has hardly worn out her welcome. Personally, I hope she has great success with 9-5, goes on to do another project or two, then comes back to Wicked

agreed, only problem with what you say is her replacement is hardly any one new in the role. Kerry Ellis has been playing Elphaba for long time now.

but yea, hope she returns again someday.


and as much as i love kerry ellis, i mean the girl can sing; she seems to lack passion for the role. and Stephanie is so animated that it's going to seem like night and day. but she will still be great because it's mainly a role based on vocals and that's what most people care about it seems.

You're right, Kerry is obviously not new to the role. What I meant that, to Americans anyway, it would be somebody new to experience live.

Anyway, this isn't necessarily saying anything about future work in Wicked (this is a very dated statement, the interview was done while promoting The Pirate Queen), but this is a quote which I think shows what love and passion she's had for this role (and gives me hope that maybe she'll come back the role one day!). Anyway, in context, the interviewer had just congratulated her on the Wicked tour and commented on how it seemed the role had come full-circle for her:

"I'll be honest, she's (Elphaba's) still in me! I'll tell ya, if they were to call me tomorrow and say 'we need you desperately to fill in for so-and-so who's falling ill' God forbid, or whatever the case may be, i could jump right back into that role and remember every staging, every word, every lyric, I just adore Elphaba like crazy."

It'll be interesting to see how her and Megan do in L.A.

I bet I could do that too!

BECUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ HERRRRRR CCCCOOONNNNNNTTTTRRRRAAACCCTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT IISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS UUPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP! DDDDDDDDDDUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHHHHHH. 999999 TOOOOOO 5555?





she's leaving. accept it. move on. believe it or not, it's not the end of the world.

she's been with wicked since the workshops! would you like to preform that show 8 times a week for how long she's been doing it! she must love elphaba, but she needs to make her name known for more than just as elphaba. and i know that she did TONS of other stuff. god, if you really love SJB so much why do you want her to stay and not move on to bigger and better things?

You're missing their point. Even though she was part of the workshops, the tour and now Broadway she has still done a lot of other things in between and hasn't been with the show for eight consecutive years which doesn't necessairly mean she needs to move on like someone who had done the show for eight straight years would have to. And she has made a name for herself outside of WICKED.

"she did TONS of other stuff"

i know! she just has known the show for 8 years. even though she was actually in the show for like 2-3 years. w/e idc.

So, to summarize, I think we can all pretty much agree upon the following:

Steph is amazingly talented and a truly good person.
She'll be missed in the role of Elphaba.
But we're all happy she's doing a great new role in what promises to be a great new show.

Think that about covers it...maybe we can move on from the argument portion of the program....

THANK YOU! people need to get over it. its not the end of the universe.

She'll be back!

Or she could either come over to London and do any show, thats easy, oh i would like to see her in that little thing in Victoria called, er, forgot its name, err... Wicked i think??

Jokes.

I seriously hope she does come back!

We love you and we're going to miss you as Elphaba but we look forward to seeing you in 9 to 5 and other roles.

Thanks for being You

Just an FYI. Tickets to Sunday's performance have been popping up on Ticketmaster all day today. Just now 5:30 EST there is FMEZZ Row A Seat 116.
Just thought I would let anyone know who might still be looking.

I am indeed sad that SJB is departing from Wicked..she is one of the most genuine, happy people I have ever had the pleasure to meet (even if it was only once lol)..I sadly didn't get to see her as Elphaba, but I know she is going to have an amazing future ahead of her with anything she chooses to do

I saw Stephanie for the first time last night and she was amazing. She is one of the best I have seen. I wish her best of luck.

I really wish i could go to her last show . I just want to see her one more time before she leaves. *sigh*

I went to New York to see her and wasn't able to. SJB was an awesome Elphaba. Best of luck to her in her future ventures.