Just curious...out of all the actresses that have played Elphaba in the musical, who do think portrays the book's Elphie best?

i think Stephanie J. Block does it best, she has the fiery spirit and passion that Elphie had in the book

but i wanna know what you guys think!! :mrgreen:

[ Merged With "Which Elphie..." Thread]

Okay, kind of a weird question...but for those of you who read the book and saw the musical, did you picture Elphaba and Glinda and everyone else as the actors/actresses from the musical you saw? Like, Elphaba looked and sounded like Shoshana Bean as I was reading the book. That's basically the only character that that happened to for me. I kind of saw Kris as Fiyero...but not always. Just wondering if I was the only one that associated the cast with the characters, maybe I'm just weird lol

-Katie :wicked:

Oddly enough, I didn't. To me, Elphaba was taller and skinnier than any of the Musical Elphabas, Glinda was about the same, but had a totally different face from the Musical Glindas, and Fiyero was much darker skinned than his classmates.

When I read the book (or at least the little bit of it I read lol), Elphaba did seem a bit lankier, but I could still picture Sho haha---and I'm not too sure about who Glinda reminded me of---and Fiyero didn't remind me of any of the guys I've seen lol!

For the most part, all of the characters were completely different for me... Joel Grey and the morribles were close to what I thought they should be though... if they had done the show more like the book, I would have totally loved to see the character Nanny.

Yeah, just the Wizard and Morrible for me.

well i saw the musical first so that doesnt really work, because when i read the book i pictured them as the actors i had seen! but in the book i did picture Elphaba taller and thinner, and Fiyero had his blue diamonds of course :mrgreen:

Haha VERY true about the blue diamonds! I wonder why there was no mention of them in the musical?

-Katie :wicked:

when i read the book i hadn't ever seen the musical and i think i had seen like..3 or 4 pictures of the actors so it didn't happen to me

Norbert did have blue patterns on his face, but it didn't register very well further back in the theatre and there was no explanation for it in plot, so they got rid of them XD I'm sure there's a picture of him with the make-up on somewhere though.

No. I pictured Elphaba as more of a beach ball... Like short and stout. I don't know why I pictured her as stout, but I did. I pictured G(a)linda as really pretty... Like drop-dead gorgeous. Fiyero was short and skinny. Liir was a lot like Elphaba... Short and stout, but very pale with sandy brown hair. Nessarose had short, short blonde hair, wore old lady clothes and had, of course, no arms. Nanny was old and wore the same clothes as Nessa. Sarima was like Apu's wife from the Simpsons. Melena was chubby. Frex was tall and lean.

lol that would be interesting to see! But OMG Ayers w/blue diamonds---*swoons* :ha: (I kno, I'm a dork!)

when i read the book, i pictured basically someone like julia. when i saw her in the musical in cincinnati a few weeks ago, she looked dead on in the makeup and costume! lol idina loked like it too, but not as much. cheno and kendra are pretty much also perfect for g(a)linda

I pictured Fiyero very differently because of his description in the book, but for Nessa it was Michelle but with no arms lol, Elphaba was kind of a mix between Idina, Sho, and then later I started picturing Eden xD Glinda I pictured different from the musical, though. I can't really describe it, kind of like Reese Witherspoon though if that makes any sense :ha: The Wizard was really different from any of them on broadway though, more like the one from the Wizard of Oz, and Morrible was Carole Shelley xD

I read the book years before I saw the musical so I have my own images. The characters in the musical, other than Glinda, don't fit my images from the book at all, in part because the musical is so much lighter than the book.

I kinda had a mixed picture. I read the book prior to seeing the musical, but my copy of the Wicked novel has stills of the OBC in it. That said, I still didn't totally picture Elphaba as Idina Menzel--because Elphaba was constantly described as having more striking features. The funny part is that when the first pictures of a greenifyed Julia came out, she was almost the exact image of my Elphaba. So it was neat seeing her as my first Elphie.

Now whenever I'm reading Wicked it's very easy to picture Elphaba as Julia. It's very obvious that Julia has been a fan of the novel since its release 10 years ago, because her acting is spot-on to that described in the book. The shy, dorky quirks. The understated passion. It's really fun to see her inspiration come directly from the source material. :-)

madame morrible was the only one that was the same in my mind after reading the book. it might be just because im idina-obsessed that she reminded me more of elphie than anyone else, but i sort of saw elphie as idina and shoshana...i don't know why though. and fiyero for me would prbably have to be joey mcintyre

When I read the book, I TOTALLY saw Megan as my book Glinda... Maybe cause I talk about her all the time :ha:

Same here...It's hard for me to Imagine the wizard as anyone else but Joel

I kind of saw Glinda as Megan...but I more HEARD her as Megan. She had Megan's voice haha

-Katie :wicked:

I picture the Glinda's with longer-ish hair...and more curly/wavy. The Elphaba's were all really good, though. But Idina is definately my favorite...she had the best vocal range, I think. But I've never really heard Eden Espinosa.

my book elphie was always a mix between sho and idina!!

same with me!

For me, Elphie was much more bony and scrawny as described in the book. She was also much more hidden. She always had her hair down, close to her face, which I could never make out. But it was her eyes I could always see, and those were what always expressed her emotions. I could picture the pain, the curiosity, the sarcasim, the clever look, everything i pictured was in her eyes.

FYI I read the novel before I saw the musical.

Elphaba

When I first saw the pictures for the new touring cast, I was struck by Julia Murney's features and thought, "Did the photographer go to the novel and found Elphaba and take a picture of her cuz that chick is exactly how I pictured Elphaba!" Which is all I have to say, unless you've never seen Julia Murney. My novel Elphaba was Julia Murney, so that means I imagined her as being tall, lanky, and very bony with a "hatchet-face".

Glinda

Strangely enough, I imagined her as a snobby girl with a British accent and the stereotypical upper class mentality; a very prim, proper girl. My imaginary Glinda was the younger version of the woman who played Glinda the Good Witch in Wizard of Oz (1939 movie).

Fiyero

To put it simply, Taye Diggs is the embodiment of my imaginary novel Fiyero, but with a pattern of diamonds etched from his face to his...hoo hoo. :mrgreen:

The Wizard

The Wizard from the 1939 MGM Wizard of Oz movie. :-)

oOo here's mine...

Elphaba
I pictured her as a mix from Idina and my friends Rachel and Brie...only green and way taller

Fiyero
Um...idk...tan...longish hair...and really reallly hott!!!...with the diamonds of course

G(a)linda
I pictured her as a taller Kristin with softer features....so maybe a bit (even though I really dont like her) more like JLT

Morrible
Carole Shelley

The Wizard
Joel Grey and the one from the old movie

Nessarose
Michelle w/o arms

HAHAHAHA!! that made me laugh

YES. I did this. I pictured Ana Gasteyer as Elphaba, and Kate Reinders as Galinda. I can't picture Kristoffer or any of the musical Fiyeros to look like the book Fiyero, so he was totally different. Dr. Dillamond was more goatly. Rondi Reed was Madam Morrible, but for the life of me, I can't picture Gene Weygandt as the book wizard. Gene is way too nice!

It was very, very easy to picture Ana as Elphaba. Ana is known for her fingers to twitch. (Trust me, they do.) In the book, Elphabas fingers were once mentioned to have twitched.

And, book Elphie is supposed to have very sharp, angular features. If any of the Elphies were to fit that description it would be Ana.

The last Elphaba I could possibly picture as "book Elphie" would be SJB. It's nothing against her, I just think she looks way different than from what I picture.

I think Shoshana would be good for Elphaba, and Megan for Glinda.

I think Idina, and then Sho are the best for Shiz-younger Elphie. And Julia, and then Steph are best for the older, more Witch Elphie.

I agree...but who should play the others...? :drink:

i think either Julia Murney or Victoria Matlock because they both had that sarcasm and that edginess that Elphaba in the book had

I say Dee Roscioli because she was very quiet in the beginning, but then she turned "Wicked" you could totally tell. But she was an understudy when I saw her, so she could have just been nervous and everything I just said was just the nerves getting to her. lol And I think Stacie had the best portryal of the book Glinda because you could clearly see that even though she was "dumb" on the outside, she knew what was going on in the inside as the play progressed. Just my 2 cents!

For Elphaba it would defently be Julia Murney. She just plays the role so great with teh sarcasim and everythin. And for G(a)linda no doubt would be Kendra Kassebaum. Her Popular is sooo funny!

Elphaba would be Stephanie for me.
Glinda would be Kendra.



THE PERFECT MATCH.

Elphaba, probably Stephanie, like a few people have said. As for Glinda, definitely Jen. She is the only one I've seen (legally or otherwise...) who had something going on in her head other than bubblegum and Fiyero.

Haha! Bubblegum and Fiyero. I love it.

yessahdid!

i pictured glinda as kendra kassebaum. haha.

and i actually pictured elphie as idina. rather than lisa brescia [who i saw]

thats about it..since thats like all i read. haha

to me I imagined Fiyero like Sebastian Arcelus.. and I guess Elphaba like Julia Murney because of her angular face.. Julia has a very witch like face when she is green.. lets see no one really comes to mind for Nessa.. maybe Michelle Federer.. idk.. umm.. really don't know about Morrible at all.. the Wizard was as i saw him in the Wizard of Oz.. Glinda i always imagined with a slight british accent but looking like Chenoweth.. odd..

When I read the book I pictured Glinda as Kristin. For Elphaba I didn't picture her really as any of the people who have played her... idk how I pictured her,lol.

Well for me, when I was reading the book Elphaba was kind of like Idina, and then when I re-read it, I totally pictured Eden, and for me it worked much better. Idk, she looks a little bit more witchy than Idina. And for Glinda I pictured Megan. Cause she IS Glinda.

When I read the book I pictured a wide array of the musical actresses and actors for the book charcaters...

Elphaba: Julia Murney [Angular face, tall, thin.]
Glinda: Helen Dallimore [Pretty, prim, and propper. I always read her with an english accent.]
Fiyero: Derrick Williams [Enough said.]
Nessarose: Michelle Federer [She just has this... Nessa look to her.]
Madame Morrible: A cross between Carole Shelley and and Ursula from the animated Little Mermaid xD
The Wizard: The Wizard from the 1939 Wizard of Oz.

She does doesn't she? I mean Jenna is my favorite Nessa, but when I read fics or the book or something I always picture Michelle.

I picture Cristy. I don't know why, I just do...For me, it's like, when Nessa is younger, she's who I think about, but when she's a little older, I think of Michelle. Weird...

For Glinda I picture Kendra and sometimes Megan. But for Elphaba I am not so sure it is tough, because I have read it a few times and imaganed different people each time.

Glinda--a slightly taller Kristin Cheno with with Katie Adams' voice. The next couple of times I pictured Glinda more of a JLT/Helen but still with a Katie Adams'/Kristin sounding voice. Now that we have the German production I'll probably see Glinda as Lucy. (Her "Popular" even if it is in a different language, is to die for)
Elphaba--Mostly Eden but a little Shoshana. With Julia's voice and a little bit of SJB's.
But when I think 'musical Elphaba' I always think of Idina.
Fiyero--Derrick Williams with Adam's accent (which makes no sense)
Madame Morrible-Carole Shelley with Alma Cuervo's voice
Nessarose--Michelle Federer. She does have that "Nessa" look about her, doesn't she?
Boq (however different the role is) -- Christopher Fitzgerald/James Gillan
Wizard -- Lenny Wolpe/George Hearn

Elphaba: Julia I've never seen the woman perform but she looks incredibly witchy. It's all about the sharp features.
Glinda: A slightly taller Kristin. I just see Glinda as being taller.
Fiyero: I don't usually picture anybody from the casts. He's just so different in the book.
Madame Morrible: Again nobody from the casts. Usually I picture Bette Midler and I have no idea why!
Wizard: I believe that the wizard from the movie is so instilled into my brain that I can't see anybody but him.
Boq: Brad Weinstock (He is such a different character in the book but I can still see him as Boq)
Nessa: Michelle but with Jenna's anger. Jenna can be fierce!

Elphaba-After seeing Carmen, I picture a mixture of Eden Carmen and Julia..Julia nd Edens looks and Carms personality.
Glinda-I just picture Kendra, automatically. Some Cheno too.
Fiyero-Derrick Williams
Madame Morrible-I always picture an older Carol Kane.
Wizard:Joel Grey
Boq:Logan Lipton
Nessa: I always picture Michelle Federer and Jenna Leigh Green.

Okay here's mine!!
Elphaba- Julia Murney. She is the embodiment of the book Elphaba, plus she's just amazing.
Glinda- A mix of Kendra, Christina, and Kristin.
Fiyero- Taye Diggs, with the diamonds... yay..
Boq- Christopher Fitzgerald
Wizard- P.J Benjamin.. he's just so.... wizardly. Is that a word?
Morrible- Carole Shelley, and Alma Curveo.
Nessarose- Michelle Federer. She's just so Nessa. She just has that look about her that screams Nessarose.

On different days, and depending on the picture, I can picture:

Elphaba - Idina Menzel, Julia Murney, and Eden Espinosa.
Galinda/Glinda - Helen Dallimore (about 98.7% of the time), Kristin Chenoweth, Kendra Kassebaum and for GAlinda, Megan Hilty very early into her Broadway run when she was a bit younger.
Fiyero - Taye Diggs
The Wizard - David Garrison or George Hearn (I don't know why, I just do.)
Madame Morrible - Carole Shelley or Miriam Margoyles (I apologize if I spelled that wrong.)
Nessarose - Now it depends on the picture, like every other character. Michelle Federer for older Nessarose, rarely Jenna Leigh Green (although I love her like crazy), and for young Nessa, Cristy Candler with the expression of her DTL picture.
Boq - Robb Sapp, and sometimes Chris Fitzgerald.

TA-DAAAAA!