Black Glinda

[haterobics]

Pic of her getting in her bubble: https://www.instagram.com/p/BsefeGVhF53/

[Elfuhbuh]

It looks like they're going for the idea that Glinda had her hair dyed as a "personal flair" sort of thing. She looks great! :)

[Bell0708]

wish i were here2 said: "Update: At the show. Brittney is killing it. She had an glorious entrance applause. So glad to have gotten the opportunity to see this happen. "

So happy for her, about time!  Is Ryan McCarran back yet?  I'm sure they looked great together!

[wish i were here2]

Bell0708 said: "wish i were here2 said: "Update: At the show. Brittney is killing it. She had an glorious entrance applause. So glad to have gotten the opportunity to see this happen. "

So happy for her, about time! Is Ryan McCarran back yet? I'm sure they looked great together!"

Jake Boyd is still Fiyero!

[Luminaire2]

This makes my heart sing.

[Observation]

Michael Kushner posted this on facebook with the caption: "Just photographed Brittney Johnson, the first Glinda of color, as she prepares to go on in Wicked for the first time."

As I post this it has 515 reactions, 44 comments, and 324 shares. 

 

[steven22]

So she is on tomorrow, Friday 1/11? Im about to buy...

[starcatchers]

steven22 said: "So she is on tomorrow, Friday 1/11? Im about to buy..."

Ditto. Do we have confirmation that she’s definitely on? 

[WldKingdomHM]

Yes she will be on

[Luminaire2]

I mean so... if you search Brittney Johnson in YouTube there are some great videos of her singing from the past. And such.

[ParkerPauly]

I'm going tomorrow and wow, I really enjoy Brittney's singing from some of the videos out there. Anyone know who will be going on as Glinda tomorrow (1/12) matinee?  Fingers crossed!  Also wondering if Jessica will be on. Not trolling, sincerely asking!   

[WldKingdomHM]

No she’s  going on tonight. I think the standby will be going on tomorrow. I could be mistaken

[natashalost]

I was there last night and she was brilliant. Her Im Not That Girl reprise was particularly touching. Shes definitely one of my favorite Glindas Ive seen. Worth every penny. Hope one day she gets bumped up to principal!

[WldKingdomHM]

That entrance applause was everything

Agree with Natasha they should promote her 

[steven22]

[haterobics]

steven22 said: "So who is tonight? Lisa or Brittney?"

Not sure how many ways there are to answer this...

[WldKingdomHM]

people don't read

[steven22]

Apologies, read it quickly on my way to work.

[Kad]

The Distinctive Baritone said: "“None of the other Glindas were cast because they're white. They were cast because they were good.”


Uh, no. Im sure hundreds of POC women have auditioned for Wicked, were perfectly capable of playing Glinda, and were not even considered for this role because simply because they were a POC."

That is almost certainly the case. Because the original template for the role is a white actress, it's hard for that to be broken from, either because of the limits of imagination on the part of people making those decisions or for fear of deviating from an established brand. 

 

[uncageg]

I agree Kad. What disappointed me a bit was the role of Fiyero. He is described as a person of color in the book. Yes, they have had black actors pay the part but it would have been nice to have originally cast a person of color.

Same with the Potter franchise and Hermoine. But it was nice to see her as originally described in the play.

With that said, Chenoweth and Watson made the parts their own and loved them both. JMO

[haterobics]

uncageg said: "Same with the Potter franchise and Hermoine. But it was nice to see her as originally described in the play."

Not sure about that, even Rowling said Hermione's skin color was never specified:

https://twitter.com/jk_rowling/status/678888094339366914?lang=en

[hamiltonstradition]

ParkerPauly said: "I'm going tomorrow and wow, I really enjoyBrittney's singing from some of the videos out there. Anyone know who will be going on as Glinda tomorrow (1/12) matinee? Fingers crossed! Also wondering if Jessica will be on.Not trolling, sincerely asking!"

Jess sometimes calls out on ONE of the weekend matinees, but it is not unheard of for her to go on for all 5 shows. (the current s/b has almost exclusively been on during the weekend 16/20 of her performances have been on a weekend). 

Lisa Livesay should be Glinda!

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

uncageg said: "I agree Kad. What disappointed me a bit was the role of Fiyero. He is described as a person of color in the book. Yes, they have had black actors pay the part but it would have been nice to have originally cast a person of color.

Same with the Potter franchise and Hermoine. But it was nice to see her as originally described in the play.

With that said, Chenoweth and Watson made the parts their own and loved them both. JMO"

Hermione's race was never described in the books. I just remember her being described as having bushy brown hair and buck teeth (that she got rid of in book 4 after Malfoy does a spell on her that made her teeth continually grow. She then went to Madame Pomfrey's to get it fixed and admitted told Pomfrey to keep going when they were their original size to make them smaller than they were to Ron's chagrin).

[jimmycurry01]

RicardoMagon said: "Sondheimite said: "It says a lot about the culture we live in and how far we still have to come (especially in one of the supposively more liberal of the liberal arts) when shows like Wicked and Phantom, which have both run for more than a decade, are just now hiring POC actors in roles that aren't just the ensemble.


THIS. People were applauding Phantom for casting Norm Lewis as the first African american to play the role. But peopleshould have been shaming them for not casting a person of color sooner since its been running since the freakin 80's. Broadway is so tonedeaf.

"

Norm was the first African American to play the role on Broadway, but he was not the first to play the role in the US. It is an important distinction to make. Robert Guillaume replaced Michael Crawford in the original Las Angeles cast in 1990. He deserves the credit for being the first African American Phantom, and the first Phantom of color in general.

[bdn223]

uncageg said: "I agree Kad. What disappointed me a bit was the role of Fiyero. He is described as a person of color in the book. Yes, they have had black actors pay the part but it would have been nice to have originally cast a person of color.

Same with the Potter franchise and Hermoine. But it was nice to see her as originally described in the play.

With that said, Chenoweth and Watson made the parts their own and loved them both. JMO"

There is no mention of Skin color in any of the Harry Potter Books regarding Hermione....It's actually one of the thorns any of the fans have against JK Rowling for retconning Harry Potter lore and characters to make the books seem more progressive then they are. The original covers of the Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban have Harry and Hermione riding on a hippogriff on the cover and she is not black.... If it was JK Rowling's true intention for the character to be black she would of vetoed the cover art. As someone who works in Publishing, I can tell you JK Rowling had final approval on her cover art. But I digress.

 

Congrats to Brittney!! And I hope this opens the door for a future actress who is not white to be cast as Galinda outright and not just the understudy!