BWW Interviews: Savannah Stevenson of WICKED!

By: Jun. 18, 2014
Wicked West End Show Information
Get Show Info Info
Get Tickets from: £30
Cast
Photos
Videos
Get Access To Every Broadway Story

Unlock access to every one of the hundreds of articles published daily on BroadwayWorld by logging in with one click.




Existing user? Just click login.

Let's get one thing straight before we talk about anything else. Can Savannah Stevenson - London's Glinda in Wicked - confirm or deny any of the rumours going round about the next Wicked cast change?

"I'm contracted until November, and we're in talks about the possibility of staying on, but no decision has been made at all yet," she says. "It's always so funny, the rumours that go round. I always think, 'How do they know that when we don't know anything?'"

Stevenson is very much enjoying her time in the bubble, for a number of reasons - first off, how well suited it is to her voice.

"I love this role. Right now, musical theatre is all about the big, belty loud singing, which is great, but that's not what I do. It's great to have a role like this, it's quite refreshing to hear that style of singing. I was in New York a few weeks ago and went to see The Bridges of Madison County - two incredible singers, quite classical, I loved it. It proves that modern writing can use those more standard voices!"

And she's very enthusiastic about the story Wicked tells as well.

"I love that this show is about two completely different women and they both have a journey, and I love that the story isn't just about the pursuit of a man - so many roles for women, that is what it's about. This is about two women's friendship," she says.

She hopes that her own friendship with Willemijn Verkaik, currently London's Elphaba, comes across to the audience.

"Willemijn is just brilliant," she declares. "Instantly when we met, there was a really great rapport. When I first heard that she was going to be my Elphaba, I was petrified - I knew she'd been with Wicked a long time, and was very established. For me, with a clean slate, it was quite scary. She was just willing to strip back everything she'd done before and start again with me. And she's such a great person - I hope you can see that on stage as well, we've got a genuinely great friendship."

Wicked fans are famously very protective of their favourite Elphie/Glinda pairings, and Stevenson completely understands that.

"Wicked is the kind of show people want to see again and again," she says. "The two roles carry the show - when people change, the show does change, and you can come and watch it again with fresh eyes."

Savannah Stevenson stars as Glinda in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria.




Videos