she talks about how she hopes to be elphaba someday...this isn't till much later in the interview

but the rest of it is interesting too!

personally i think she may be too old for the part, and is she a belter? i know she has a great voice but there's a difference with belting

http://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.cfm?colid=88078

I don't think age would matter too much; Ana Gasteyer was roughly the same age when she started in Chicago. It'd be interesting and cool if she plays the role on Broadway!

I love her voice. I'd be interested to see her take on the part someday.

I swoon over Lea. She's such a champion. I just adore her version of For Good too. I'd fly internationally to to see Lea.

Lea's signature roles are Eponine in Les Mis and Kim in Miss Saigon ... of course she can belt, she's known for it!

Tell me when and where. I would love to see her play Elphaba.

The ICBH

Lea is 38 and looks like she is in her early 20's. She is definately a belter.

Julia Murney, Lisa Brescia, Ana Gasteyer, and Idina Menzel were all in their mid-late 30's when they played Elphaba...so, I would love to see Lea if she really does manage to get the role..she has a beautiful voice (Aladdin, anyone? XD)

I definitely disagree with that; she's always been more of a mixer. Her voice just isn't right for Wicked and the score sits way too high for her.

Personnally, I would LOVE to see her be Elphaba. She is a complete idol of my mine. And I don't think her age is a problem at all (for the reasons people said before). Also, I love her voice for the softness it has to it, but I think she couldn't definately bring it to be more "Elphie-ish".

I think some people are too quick to dismiss potential performers because of what and how they sang in other shows.

She sounded great in Miss Saigon, and how old was she then? 18? She's probably even better now. I'd love to see her get a chance.

That's a weird thing to say - I know what Lea's voice is like based on how she has sung in the past. That's obvious. Judging on her tone and style, her voice is not suited to Elphaba in the same way Sutton Foster's isn't. It's just how it is.

I just think it's unfair to say they couldn't because of their tone and style. If we've never heard them sing anything from Wicked, how can we know what they can do?

But... but that's how it works. Casting directors have to ake that into account, it's hugely important.
I don't have to hear Donna Murphy sing Defying Gravity to know that she's not right for the part!

Lea has sang defying gravity before. When she sang it in the normal key she was singing in head voice and when she took it down a few steps she still had to go to head voice on the top notes. It was pretty, but underwhelming. She has shown interest in playing the role for a couple of years now and to be honest if it was going to happen it probably would've already happened.

yea and just looking at her and hearing her voice, i think more glinda-ish

If they ever open a production in the Philippines I'm sure she'll be playing Elphaba. I will admit her performance of "Defying Gravity" from her Carnegie Hall Concert wasn't all that impressive, but she was also pregnant while she was giving that concert. I don't know if there's another recording of her performing the song but I'm confident she could handle the role.

OK... So was Patrice Tipoki, and she sounded incredible.

How far along was Patrice?

Quite, by the time she left the show, if I remember correctly. A noticeable baby bump in the Elphaba costume, apparently

I do think that being like 9 months preg. will effect your singing only because you cant get air lol, but when Lea sang she wasnt 9 months, I think only like 6 or so. I think acting wise she could do it, voice wise, I'm not sure, I would have to hear her first singing the song in the key it's in to know

Patrice was Elphaba while being visably pregnant? Lift and all? Wow.

Yeh she was very much pregnant. The costumes had to be adjusted for her because of it (let out a bit). Patrice did everything she was required to do, the lift... everything. The only change was that she didn't come out of the trapdoor during NGD as the dash from backstage to the trapdoor wouldn't have been good for her. She sounded stunning as always but it was slightly weird seeing a pregnant Elphaba.

Patrice was approximately 6 month pregnant when I saw her second last show. The baby bump was quite visible when she's in the skimpier dresses, particularly in the Finale. Also because of the bump she couldn't zip up her white jacket in INTG and had to leave it hanging open!

She still managed to nearly knock me outta my seat with her incredible belt!

This Elphaba didn't have Liir though. She had a gorgeous little girl and both mum and bub are doing beautifully!

There's a video on Broadwayworld.com of her singing Defying Gravity, and I quite frankly, loved it. ( I wasn't sure if I could post it here or not since it was a banana, but Broadwayworld.com posted it?) Her voice is a little different than most actresses that have played Elphaba, but I think she could pull it off easily.

i think we can post it

http://www.broadwayworld.com/videoplay.cfm?colid=91017

i think she sounded pretty good, it seemed like she was trying too hard to stay in her chest voice, and then when she used her head voice it sounded more comfortable..idk it was hard to tell alot from the clip

p.s. she has really fast vibrato!

I don't know if this is the right place to ask this or not, but I've been thinking recently about whether the "Elphabah voice" needs to be a true natural belt or not. Some people seem to assume that good singing means loud singing and the louder the better. Thus they tend to like Elphabahs to be natural belters. But these singers may kind of stuck on loud and not possess the nuance and softness needed for the quieter, subtler pieces.

This question isn't just about Lea Salonga, but a more general question. I don't know the answer, but I kind of think there's a lot more to good singing than just volume, yet volume is the only criteria a lot of people use to judge singers in general and Elphabahs in particular.

I'm just curious because I've been thinking about this for a while, and some of the comments made on this and other topics seem to imply that belting ability is the most important criteria, but without really saying so.

What do you all think?

The belt can also be a dangerous way of singing and Wicked has shown that time and again with actresses having to take time off for vocal troubles. Maybe it wouldn't be so spectacular without the belt but you could be sure Elphabas would be a lot healthier overall.

I also think Elphabas need to manage the belt properly and many simply don't. I'd even argue the majority of Elphaba actresses are really poor/risky singers and are simply pop performers. Occasionally there's something special about the vocal ability of an Elphaba but generally I find this is the exception. I do enjoy a powerful belt but not when it comes with the cost to an actress.

I think it does, belting gives a lot more emotion than legit, if DG or NGD were sung in head voice the songs wouldn't be a fraction as impressive or emotional. Loudness isn't really an issue, they have mics and can turn up the reverb as much as they need to get goosebump-inducing volume. Bear in mind opera used to be and sometimes still are performed without microphones so legit can be just as loud given the right technique and acoustics. Stephanie J. Block and Willemijn Verkaik are attestations to the fact you can belt the hell out the score and sustain no damage.

Belt has a bad rep though. If you do it incorrectly, no doubt you will loose your voice or damage it. However, with the proper technique it can be safe. With a role like Elphaba, I think you sorta NEED to belt. There's no way around it, mixing can be done is some songs but not all of them. I think the key is ALTERNATES. I keep wondering why in the world a role such as Christine has one but Elphaba does not...since NONE of her singing is prerecorded lol. But still...even though like 95% of the girls do end up having vocal probs, some dont (SJB and Marcie and even Nicole come to mind) so again, the belting is not the issue, its the overall traning and technique. Look at Kerry or Teal. Love 'em and all but their techniques every time I saw them were lacking. Teal certainly has learned to adjust and keep her voice but I'm suprised Kerry didnt have to stop singing all together.

Agreed! Which leads me to think it may be a problem with the casting of Elphaba in general by casting directors. I would imagine Elphaba would HAVE to have extensive training and know how to belt to avoid the risk of strain. But I don't think this is the case. This should be a concern of the producers at it has lead to many desperate attempts to reshuffle actresses due to illness.

Alternates are a great idea and I think the Stuttgart production has reaped the rewards. It didn't help much for the Aussie production but ironically the stand-by hasn't had vocal difficulties in the role (even though she's been the lead for a while).

If Lea took the role of Elphaba, the role would have to sound a bit different. I think that's ok though; it couldn't be any worse than what they did to accomodate Toni Braxton as Belle.

Off topic but whatever


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlzgbrUXuUc...player_embedded

I posted that in the Glee section. Idiot. lol. I blame the Sudafed.