Annaleigh Ashford to join Chicago's Wicked- Page 2

[shiz_student94]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 8:53pm

Aww. LOL. I'm sad to see Kate leave!! Kate Fahrner and Erin Mackey are definitley the most amazing Glinda's I have seen...But it will be nice for a new Chi Glinda!

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 9:09pm

The road is not Broadway. I just don't get it. What are her agents thinking? They should be (a) looking for a created lead role for her or (B) a big revival or (c) get her out and off the Hollywood.

But Chicago?

[yankees1253]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 9:19pm

allofmylife: i couldnt agree more. i am missing her already it wont be the same without her here. it would be cool if her and laura bell bundy do a concert together before annaleigh goes to chicago.

extend her contract in wicked on broadway. at least stephanie and megan had a good reason going out west and up and over the border.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 9:22pm

Why are people acting like she's been in the show forever? She's been there not even year, she'll do other things, geesh...

It is strange that she's transfering to Chicago...perhaps it is filler for something coming in the future?

ETA

No matter where you work, it's extra exposure. It seems strange when someone leaves NY for a time for a different city, but I don't mean that in a bad way. As I said here, it could be filler for a time gap, or perhaps even, as some theorized, an available opportunity for some steady work.

Experience is experience. The more you work, the more you know. Yes, she may be in the same show, but she'll be with new people.

Updated On: 4/17/08 at 09:22 PM

[BroadwaynSeventh2]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 9:26pm

I may have misunderstood something but... from what I've heard Kendra was only on a "break" and it was always known that she would return. So that is why Annaleigh got sent to Chicago. I maybe totally wrong but I could have sworen I read that somewhere. But that makes it sound like Annaleigh would have known this all along. I dunno.

[maya5892]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 10:03pm

Well, Wicked DOES recycle, so they are just following along in their policy

[winston89]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 10:18pm

Allofmylife,

I can kind of see where your coming from in terms of the Chicago production of Wicked being a demotion. But, you have to realize something. Ashford isn't the first actress to do wicked on Broadway and then join another company of the show.

Megan and Shoshana did Broadway and then the tour. Megan then did the production in LA. Eden did both Broadway and LA. The actor currently playing fyeiro in Chicago played the role on Broadway as well.

I would say if anything LA would be considered more of a demotion in my mind because it is not a theatre town. Chicago and NYC are. But, this isn't the first case of an actor doing the show on Broadway and then joining one of the other companies of the show.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 10:21pm

Perhaps there are not that many other opportunities available for her right now, and she preferred the steady pay check that Wicked will provide her.

I haven't seen her, but I've been told that this is no loss for the Broadway company.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 4/16/08 at 10:27pm

Annaleigh's stay as Glinda was meant to only be temporary. Now that Kendra's "break" is over, Annaleigh has to leave. So yes, Annaleigh probably knew this all along. Maybe she wants to continue playing Glinda, so now she's getting to do it in Chicago. She wouldn't have accepted if she didn't want to do it. And she will have plenty of time to do other shows on broadway throughout her career.

(edit) Just to add - That was my first reaction too - going to Chicago?, leaving Broadway?, isn't it like a demotion?, etc. But I guess if it's what she wants to do, I'm happy for her. It's her decision. As a fan, I can't really say what kind of move this is for her career-wise. Updated On: 4/16/08 at 10:27 PM

[it'sjustshowbiz]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 1:37am

It is a steady job, which is difficult for all actors. Also, I'm guessing, and this is just a guess, that she would be getting paid the same amount.

[Rentheadut]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 10:17am

I don't know why people are hatin' on Ashford's Glinda. I thought it was phenom, absolutely HILARIOUS. Been then Chenowith if I do say so myself.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 12:14pm

Please understand where I am coming from. I love and adore Broadway. I am developing my first Broadway show which several of you know about.

But I am a producer/writer in Hollywood. And from my viewpoint out here in Los Angeles, this just makes no sense.

Annaleigh came out of practically nowhere to a substantial role in an original Broadway show (okay nowhere near the lead role but leading enough). She then recreated the role in a television special seen by at least 20 million viewers across America. And she is memorable. I tested this out be asking non-pros who I know saw the MTV special which of Elle's friends they remember.

The all said the girl who told her Elle magazine was named after her. For some reason she just sparkled.

She has a solid and loving fan base and now she's leading in "Wicked."

This is heat.

Agents can and should work with all of that. Whatever you think of Annaleigh, I find her the most distinctive Glinda since Kristin Chenowirth. Maybe not the best, but the most distinctive.

Again heat.

I just feel her agents are dropping the ball.

If I did romantic comedies, I'd be all over her (career wise) in a minute.

I'm just surprised because Chicago dims the flame and tones down the heat.

[winston89]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 12:25pm

Allofmylife,

In what way does Chicago tone down the heat. Are you talking about comparing the Broadway production of Wicked to the Chicago production or are you talking about working as a stage actor on Broadway as oppose to being a stage actor in any other city?

I have a few points to make regardless of where your comming from. If it's the Broadway V performing in another city I can agree with you. It's not the same thing. NYC is the biggest theatre city in the country and if you were to ask people things that they associate with NYC then they would say Broadway shows. Of course performing in Chicago or LA is not the same as performing in NYC.

As it was stated earlier in the thread. Her stint as Glinda in the Broadway companay was temporary due to the fact that Kendra took a break. Maybe she feels like she still wants to continue the role and Chicago is the only place that she can do it in.

As for the Chicago production of Wicked being different. It pretty much isn't and it pretty much is the same thing.

Also, not to sound mean or harsh ( I am not trying to come off that way or sound that way and I am sorry if I do.) But, this isn't the first time that an actor went from the Broadway company of Wicked to either the Chicago or LA productions. Why is it that you think of this as a bad move for Ashford and not for any of the other actresses who could have gotten themselves out of the Wicked recycleing bin. It's a job and as an actor a job is hard to get. Maybe the ones that did recycle were taking what they could get because they know that it is a secure job that they can get paid doing and they don't have to worry about auditions or when the next job is going to come along.

[Kalimba]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 12:25pm

Work is work. Where she might have been very good in Legally Blonde, she was just plain dull in Wicked. Don't think the agents dropped the ball at all. Wicked is a steady gig (which are in very short supply).

[adamgreer]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 12:35pm

I think her agents should be applauded for being able to move her from one company to another, with no time spent on unemployment.
Updated On: 4/17/08 at 12:35 PM

[B3TA07]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 12:41pm

I agree with allofmylife here.

And Annaleigh definitely stood out of the three friends on MTV. Speaking as someone who saw the original cast, I think it's because the other two girls were replacements, and while good in the roles, just weren't what the original actresses were in those two roles.

[winston89]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 12:45pm

You could be right that Ashford stood out in the MTV airing of LB. But, you have to realize that the airing of the show never ended up doing what the producers hoped it would do. They had hoped that it would get ticket sales up which it didn't do and it wasn't viewed by as many people as they thought it would be.

[B3TA07]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 12:49pm

What the ****? That has absolutely nothing at all to do with the point of my post or this thread. What the hell are you smoking? Are you a unicorn with his horn sticking out of his ass? Go away.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 2:15pm

Here is my question: If Wicked in Chicago is a demotion and Annaleigh had to leave the Broadway production, what upcoming new Broadway shows or replacements were going to open up for her around the same time frame? Should she just be unemployed until she's cast in another Broadway show whenever a role suited for her happens to come along? Wicked in Chicago is really not that much of a "demotion". The production is virtually identical and Broadway producers and directors are familiar enough with Chicago theatre to know that the sit-down productions demand the same performance schedule and level of quality as most Broadway shows. Not to mention that Chicago has a reputation of being a source for future Broadway productions.

Updated On: 4/17/08 at 02:15 PM

Posted: 4/17/08 at 2:19pm

And I'd guess the paycheck is identical. Remember when Ben Vereen & the Chicago Wizard traded shows for a while?

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 2:51pm

Someone should tell Ana Gasteyer to quit slumming around here.

[maya5892]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 7:24pm

"The all said the girl who told her Elle magazine was named after her. For some reason she just sparkled. "

Pilar is the one who says that, not Margot.

Posted: 4/17/08 at 7:28pm

So Winston.

What about the Mary Poppins chick? Is her career ruined, too? She's going to come do it in Chicago. What say ye?

[winston89]

Posted: 4/17/08 at 10:54pm

Brown isn't doing Poppins just in Chicago. She is doing the tour which starts out in Chicago and is sure to get her great write ups in every city she plays in.

When I was saying that she was in an MTV airing of LB that didn't do what it wanted to do. I meant that it didn't do as good a job as they wanted to expose Ashford or anyone in the cast for that matter because it got a very low number of viewers. That one would think that being on a show that was telecast on MTV would give any actor or actress enough expouser to be seen by many people and to get noticed. That that ended up not being the case due to the low number of viewers of the MTV airing.

And Matt is right. That just because the show is in Chicago doesn't mean that it needs less care or attention. I agree with what he said. That what was she going to do just sit and wait for another show to open up to her? Why would she sit and wait when she has a role that she could do in another city and still get a paycheck. And to echo what matt said it is a carbon copy of what is seen on Broadway.

[allofmylife]

Posted: 4/18/08 at 12:08am

maya5892 you are absolutely right. I was racing out to a meeting and threw that response together without thinking clearly (but hey, apparently so did Hillary). What I mean to say was my friends told me they liked the blond girl who told hershe'd have to wait until next week.... actually, what all three really remembered was the touching the nose business which we all laughed about.

Sorry.

All I'm trying to say is Annaleigh Ashford, from what I've seen of her performances, has that special "it" what Hollywood always looks for. And we don't wait for an actress to get "well seasoned." We're not curing hams, we're hiring them, preferably while they're fresh.

I am just surprised by the lateral move, that's all.