the first Black Elphaba and Glinda in WICKED in the West End | Alexia Khadime and Lucy St Louis join
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- Опубліковано 23 вер 2024
- OHMYGOD HEY!
Earlier today, the West End production of WICKED announced its new cast who will be starting performances on 7th March, 2023.
The cast includes the return of Alexia Khadime as Elphaba, who was the first Black actress ever to play the role full time as well as Lucy St Louis who currently stars as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera and will make history as London's first Black Glinda.
Check out today's video for my full thoughts on this history-making cast announcement...
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Mickey jo reacting to breaking theatre news that’s not drama? The world is healing
Haha! Sometimes there is good news! 😁
What exciting news! I am sure this will mean a lot to so many. It’s amazing the strides that have been made in terms of more diverse casting, especially for black performers. I hope this energy can be extended to Asian, Hispanic, and Indigenous performers who are still disastrously underrepresented in these spaces. Broadway/ the West End cannot pay themselves on the back while still leaving out these communities as well.
"Asian", "Hispanic", and "Indigenous" are a race. It's Black "Asian", "Hispanic", and "Indigenous" people.
I saw Nicola as elphaba when I went a few weeks ago and she was fantastic even dealing with a show stop, I saw Alexia in her first run and loved her and I just know she’s only got better I am excited for this cast
I am so excited to see alexia return to wicked! She was my first elphaba back in 2009 and am so excited to see her interpretation of the role 13 years on! It's just amazing to see them being diverse in their casting!
I'm in the US and I have never seen Lucy St.Louis perform live but I've seen videos of her as Christine on you tube and I think she's wonderful. She's got such a beautiful voice and I'm really happy for her.
I was involved in a production of Les Mis at the Edinburgh Fringe a few years ago, and Caitlin Anderson was our Cosette - sharing the role with Megan Gardiner. Megan has since been in the professional tour of Les Mis as cover Cosette and is now doing other great things in the theatre world, and now Caitlin has been announced as Nessa & cover Glinda. So proud of them both - such incredible talents!
that's awesome!
I love this casting, not just because they are black, but because they are phenomenal talents and perfect for their roles.
Best comment I've heard, you are excited about the casting not because of the skin colour. It's about talent. And we have moved on so much for equality xxx
This got me so excited when I saw this news, I hope they do casting like this on broadway and the national tour here in America
That’s so exciting! And yes, Fiyero in the novel is coded as a person of color, specifically Indigenous/Native American!
i screamed when i saw the announcement!!! so excited for this cast! already love ryan and alexia, can’t wait to see what lucy does!
Can we please have a wheelchair user playing Nessa
@Mattbrain not every wheelchair user is paralysed. Some can walk a bit but not for long.
This!!! Its never happened in the history of Wicked and its SO doable, there are so many amazing disabled actresses out there!
I’ve recently read the book and I can confirm that Fiyero is very very explicitly not white. And that is kind of important.
He is supposed to stand out in Shiz because he is from the Vinkus, from a very different culture considered “primitive” or “barbaric”. He is othered, exoticized and discriminated against for his background and appearance.
Absolutely - he's described as having dark skin in the book!
Thank you for bringing up the problem with the sorts of characters which get 'diversified', this is so rarely brought up regarding men!! Obviously people have commented on Eponine and Fantine being deemed as okay to colorblind cast but not Cosette, (and I believe as a result there have now been several POC as Cosette), but people never seem to notice about Enjolras over Marius like you mentioned, and Javert over Valjean for that matter!
Can we please just stop casting abled people as Nessarose? Like the whole character and plot line is ableist as fuck but the LEAST we can do is give the role to an ambulatory wheelchair user or another physically disabled person. We deserve to tell our own stories, even when they’re crappy ableist stories written by abled people, and disabled actors deserve WAY more representation than they have now, we’re 20% of the population!
@Elisabeth M as a woman who uses a wheelchair as a permanent way to get around I COMPLETELY understand where you are coming from and AGREE…however let’s not forget that this character walks during act two so having someone who actually uses a wheelchair would be impossible (unless of course that actress only uses the wheelchair “part time”). Again I agree with you that disability needs more ACCURATE representation in the entertainment industry but I don’t think Wicked is a good place to start (the character is too pitiful which I don’t think is a good message to send)
@@moviemelody2210 Hello! Just one thing I would like to say is that there are alot of ambulatory wheelchair uses who are actresses so nessarose could 100 percent be a wheelchair user. I myself am an ambulatory wheelchair user and are working on working in theater. I also relate quite alot to Nessa in multiple ways as I am quite a young wheelchair user. So, in my personal opinion, seeing disabled actors could definitely start in wicked, much like we are seeing in the movie casting! I hope you have an amazing day!!!
@@steviebumbletea thank you for your nice comment! After sometime to think about it, I completely agree that ambulatory wheelchair uses could be casted as Nessarose. If you don’t mind me asking, how do you relate to Nessarose? To me (as a wheelchair user) she is your typical stereotype of what able bodied people (obviously not all) see disabled people as...pathetic people that can’t do anything for themselves
So exciting! And yes to more Asians (including Filipinos) to playing lead roles in the show! The current Elphaba in the North American Tour of Wicked is half filipino (Lissa de Guzman) :)
But you're right, I don't think any other Asian actor or of Asian backgrounds have played Elphaba or Glinda on Broadway or the Westend. (I read somewhere that Alyssa Fox is of Asian descent but idk where from exactly - but again, has led the National Tour and (is the current) and has been the standby on Broadway )
alyssa fox is to be the next elphaba when talia leaves this march. only 20 years later do we get our first principal asian american elphaba
@@not_quite_clarinet literally just happened a few days agp!! (while this comment is 2 months old) and yes omg slay so happy for Alyssa! I"m filipino myself... so so curious to know what her background is. Not that it should matter, but it gives people like me hope
@@justken321 alyssa is half japanese!!
@@not_quite_clarinet omg slay!!! thank u!!! so exciting 😍😍😍
Well done Wicked, well done West End. Still, the theatre industry should support diversity not just in acting roles but also in creative, executive and promotional positions, like directors, costume designers, critics, you tubers. Give them a chance to create, to promote, invite them to the premieres. Now, that would also be very much appreciated.
Ahhhhhh I’m so excited!! I fell off my chair when the casting came through! I’m so excited for this production, loved watching Ryan and Gary over the summer and walked away wondering when we would see some diversity in casting. Very very exciting! Also Alexia and Lucy St.Louis are gold! 😃😃😃😀
Everyone. Please tell 2 friends that aren’t seeing Mickey to add him in their utube list so we can get him up to 50,000 viewers. Mickey deserves it.
Mickey "maybe I'm magical?"
Me "You truly are my friend 😍"
I read the book and yes Fiyero has dark skin! I remember being so annoyed after reading it that both the movie and the show don't usually cast him as he should be.
Exciting 😍
Seeing Wicked again soon 23/11!
It’s been a while
I’m surprised too they haven’t used more black woman fir elpheba after all it really doesn’t matter the colour of the actress who plays Elpheba as she is wearing green makeup and slips anyway.
I went in April wanting to see this cast. Alexia ended up not doing that show, but I got to see Kate Leiper on her second show as Elphaba and she did great. Lucy St. Louis did perform and was WONDERFUL! Her take on Glinda felt fresh, unique and authentic. Ryan I have seen two times and he's great. I liked the way he wore his hair.
Alexia - Nala, Elphaba, Miriam.. Perfection ❤️
I saw an all-black cast of Oklahoma. Apparently, back around the time Oklahoma was set, there were a lot of black farmers, but their history gets plowed over.
I went into wicked blind today not knowing the cast and I feel super blessed to have witnessed not just alexia's return but also Lucy St Louis again after seeing her as Christine last year which I absolutely adored. The first time seeing wicked live and damn was it an experience 😭😭 I miss it already, alexia's voice is absolutely ethereal I fell in love w her elphaba straight away omg
When I first saw Wicked it was everything I dreamed it would be Natalia Vivino one of Donna vivinos sisters was playing elphaba, and Donna is my favorite elphaba ever. And the wizard was played by Cleavant Derricks who is now the wizard full time on Broadway. He is my favorite wizard in wicked so far.
I have already booked to go see the new cast, so excited! Nicola Espallardo was my first Elphaba when I went in the summer and she was amazing. My dream is to see her as Elphie again as she was absolutely brilliant.
Omg Lucy St Louis is such a perfect fit, I am beyond excited!
I wonder if some of the casting biases are in part to do with the shadow cast by the Wizard of Oz film?
Hey, it was probably worth mentioning that from what I could find out that Nessa Rose’s actor isn’t disabled and that cripping up seems perfectly acceptable. While this is been great in terms of POC representation disabled people seem to be the last thing any one thinks about. Despite being a massive global minority disabled people are reflected properly in media and theatre seems to miles behind film/tv.
But doesn't she get the ability to walk at some point? I would love the representation as well but how would that be achieved with the role requirements?
@@charmedx3219 she does, but there's definitely ways they could make it work for an ambulatory wheelchair-using actor: other mobility aides like canes could be incorporated as and when needed; changes to the staging and set (esp re seating); multiple principles could be cast; they could even instead consider an actor with a non-mobility related disability. christ knows there'd be discourse about that, about how none of those ideas are the "right" kind of disabled, nor "disabled enough", but the way they dealt with adapting her from book to stage to be 'easy' to cast abled actors (she was born without arms in the book, and had balancing issues that required someone physically help her maintain it) is already telling enough to how little of a fuck was given originally and if considering (iirc) nessa is always unable to walk without the magic of the shoes, it feels to me like there will never be room for 'truly' authentic (ie non-ambulatory without the help of magic lol) rep in nessa's casting. there's frankly no respectful and dignified way to treat a non-ambulatory actor with this story. do you shove them in a harness and treat them like a puppet? do you swap them out for a different actor once nessa "gets" her legs? both are horrific contenders. but the fact that her stage disability was so drastically changed from that in the book means, to me at least, that there's absolutely room to change it again for the sake of giving a disabled actor space on the stage, too.
Yes!!! Honestly Nessarose’s whole plot line is so ableist but the very least anyone can do is cast an ambulatory wheelchair user or another physically disabled actor in the role. No one ever includes disabled people when it comes to “inclusive” casting or “accessible” theater even though we’re 20% of the population. We like singing and dancing and acting too! We deserve to tell our own stories! Nothing about us without us!
This is great news. Now…
Actual wheelchair user (or disabled) as Nessarose? Before you say it …many of wheelchair users are able to stand/walk a bit. Thoughts? I am disabled and would love to see a disabled person in the role, they might find a way to make the character less pathetic. I don’t mind she’s horrible I mind she is a bit weak with it.
Yeah I wonder if this is because the backstage areas of theatres are not very accessible.
@@shady2322 that’s a reasonable adjustment required by law so should be fine. Westminster Abbey or some other listed building just put in a lift (elevator) so theatres don’t have an excuse really. And the Apollo VIctoria is quite new really.
What wonderful news! I wish I could see this show, it sounds like a powerhouse cast. Mickey Jo, I'm curious to know what other shows you think can and cannot be cast more diversely?
Kate leiper is amazing! Seen her in a few things most recently we will rock you. She’s unreal :)
Awesome news.
When are we going to see more Asian and Latin rep in shows? Or is diversity still defined as black when it comes to "groundbreaking" and "daring"?
Just curious because I feel like diversity has been looked at as the same definition for the last decade at the very least.
"Asian" and "Latin" is not a race. It's Black "Asians" and "Latins", Worry about not being racist.
Happy the uk is casting black leads now.
Carl Man as Fiyero recently (i think he covered) step forward for Asian representation!
I always wondered how criminally few black Elphabas there have been, considering how many extraordinarily talented black women there are working in theatre there is absolutely no excuse, I'm glad they're changing things up at least.
Hell yeah finally, some actual melanin in the cast
Yesssssss
Your also forgetting Saycon Sengbloh, even though she was the standby… she was the first black woman to play Elphaba on Broadway. Also, Brandi Chavonne Massey.
This was a wonderful video ❤❤❤
Thanks!
When will we see a full time Asian Glinda, Elphie ect? Or south Asian
When we get more black ones
We got Alyssa Fox, Lindsay Mendez, Eden Espinosa, and Mandy Gonzalez. However, we could have more. 😊
Nicola was indeed the 1st West End Elphaba and I had the luck of experiencning her debut! I really hope she is moved to 1st cover and hopefully in a few years becomes the lead making history again!
Absolutely fantastic!
ALEXIA IS BACK!!!!!! YESSSS!!!!
Super great for them, I’m sure it’ll be great… just let me know wen they actually put an elphaba on the broom and then I’ll get excited
Oooh, that is whats missing! After last run on defying gravity- she mounts the broom, circles the stage and flies off stage left..
This just made my day!!!
Such a good casting, but an all black leading cast can't be called diverse.
Worry about no being racist.
LOVE!
Thank you for sharing the upcoming cast changes for Wicked. I’m looking forward to the time when this would be a none event however we’re not there yet as a society and opening roles to talented non-white performers is a step in the right direction. Stay well 👍🙏😎
I am incredibly excited for them and I'm living for the representation! However, I don't know how I can deal with Lucie and Helen leaving. They are my favourites. You never forget your first Elphie and Glinda
I am of the opinion that unless a role requires an ethnicity for the story (West Side Story, Hairspray for example) then roles should be open to best performer. IN SAYING THAT...Joshua Henry on his casting as Billy in recent Broadway revival of Carousel and whether appropriate for a black man to be in that role opposite white leading lady
Carl Man was a Fiyero cover and he was Asian :) he was also incredible x
You are correct, Alexia is the only black actress to have played the rile full time.
11:12 this is why ALW Cinderella was a great show
As great as this is I get annoyed because just because you have black leads doesn’t mean your production is diverse - there’s more than two races - don’t get me wrong I’m happy but still a lot of work to still to do
Comment makes no sense.
How long do Elphabas usually stay in the role?
Great news! Now onto the next barrier... casting people of all sizes. I would love to see a plus size girl being cast as Elphaba
We had a black female women play Audrey 2 voice recently. Not inside a puppet and not in a separate sound room on a second floor floor of the stage. That’s what they did when they had done they performed it on the out door stage in-the zilker park in Austin Texas: Sadly that was all the way back in 2014 only the third time I’ve seen a production since maybe middle of late 97 our 98. The planet puppets can be really expenses and if your renting pre exist ones that have already been built. If they get wet they can get damage badly really fast if soaked enough and not dried off fast enough. Our the ones zilker was using could. They canceled the second to last performance because of a light drizzle me and family had to go home and come back the next evening the next day our couple evenings later and she the final show. we literally almost were not able to see it. Though the puppets our a lot easier and lighter to manage now then what was used in the 1986 film adaptation and both cuts of it. The finale version in the theatrically cut weighed I think it weighed I think a ton to maybe half a ton when it was in the pot and took 60 technicians to get it to work. Yikes now the biggest plants size vary drastically per shows depend on the age of the performers and how restrictive the budget and performance area is.
Maybe they should work on improving the story and the music while they improve the diversity.
Then they might *finally* be successful right?
So I guess this is more historic than Pearl Bailey and the back cast of Hello Dolly!!??? Alot more historic than this, wouldn't you say? Or doesn't that meet your narrative??
Nope, that was also a hugely historic milestone in casting, and even more momentous considering the time.
The fact that that happened so many decades ago highlights how overdue this casting announcement is.
Hi, i have seen Wicked at the Victoria Apollo at least twice a year since its birth, and love my train trips from Great Yarmouth, my little treat to myself, and have introduced many theatre virgins to the show. But Sadly, Lucie Jones ended my lengthy run. Yes her voice is ok, but not good enough, and her acting was so wooden, very sad, there are so many first class Elphabas, i dont see how Lucy got the gig. Celebrity?? And why is it we never have the quality Glinda’s that Broadway produces. The show has definitely gone downhill in the last couple of years. Very sad.
I am glad they are being more inclusive, but hope people won’t discredit their talent because most of the shows now have a black leading actor/ess - so it almost feels like it is now a must to have someone who is not white (think &Juliet, My Fair Lady, Wicked, Legally Blonde - to name a few)… please don’t think I am racist, just saying I fear people will think they are all getting the role because of the I&D of nowadays rather than their talent.
I wonder if Galinda will still be blonde. If not, I wonder what they'll change the line to at the beginning of "What Is This Feeling?".
Brittany Johnson uses a blonde wig
I would like to see Mary J. Blige play Elagabalus in the States. Cynthia Enrvo is going to be fantastic. I have a crush with her voice.
Diversity is such a throw away word now especially in theatre and performance! If the actors or actresses are the best for the role who cares. Black, white, gay, straight, etc etc! Enough is enough! Acting is acting if a straight person is the right casting to play a gay character great. This situation is ridiculous. A famous quote
" acting is about telling the truth, if you can fake that you have it made! "
I'm so sick of this woke situation!
CALM THE FUCK DOWN!!
Everyone's quite calm, Hefin - you're the only one shouting.
More to the point, after dozens of white actresses, why do you assume these two black actresses *aren't* the best for the role?
The whole point of Glinda is her pinky whiteness in contrast to elphaba's green-ness. So this is just daft.
The contrast is between Glinda's 'normal' skin tone and Elphaba's green-ness, if that means white to you without any suggestion from the material, it says far more about your own perceptions of race I'm afraid.
@@MickeyJoTheatre Have to disagree here. Glinda should be pale pinky-frothy and just blanched out white to make the contrast. There are 2 options, though. 'Whiteface' the black Glinda ( clearly politically questionable in today's climate ). Or highlight the platforming of black performers by making the entire cast black. That would be interesting and provide lots of work for a worthy part of the thespian pool.
Wicked film?
Not the best casting choices. Jim Arnold has lost the plot.
I can't wait now for a white man to play Nelson Mandela in the musical version of the great man's life. Isn't that the same excitement????
8:55 I don't think it's fair to say it a waste of talent to be in the ensemble :/ I get where you're coming from but we all know that there is typically a wealth of talent in ensemble/swing
Agreed!
I heard this as I was editing and regretted phrasing that so abruptly.
Specifically in this instance I was inarticulately pointing out Lucy St Louis' glorious classical vocal chops were wasted in the female ensemble of Book of Mormon at a time when black performers were not being given as many opportunities as their white peers.
@@MickeyJoTheatre I didn’t make the original comment… But I did agree. Please know that as an African-American musical theatre teacher in the USA I follow your channel faithfully and respect your thoughtfulness. But your personal response to this has given me a deeper appreciation of who you are as a truly unique individual in the”Stagey” universe! 🖤🔥🙏🏾🏳️🌈🎶
@@MickeyJoTheatre For sure, thanks for clarifying - I do recall you speaking highly of ensemble and how awesome it is that they've been shown more appreciation in WEL and such recently, so I figured it was maybe just a little bit poorly worded! Didn't mean to detract from the news of this casting, which I know will be incredibly meaningful to many actors and theatre goers alike :)