Are blondes allowed to play Nessarose in Wicked?

[sugarbutterbroadway2]

The title is pretty self-explanatory, but I've only seen natural brunettes play the role of Nessa in Wicked.  I'm a blonde.  If I were to get the role of Nessa, would I have to dye my hair or would they have a wig for me?

[TotallyEffed]

Nessarose is wigged.

[mailhandler777]

Kristen Martin is blonde and plays Nessa on Broadway. So yes blondes can play Nessa. Kristine Reese, Emily Ferranti, Jillian Kates, Jillian Butler have all played Nessa and are all blondes.

@Totally Effed Nessa is the only female in the show that does not wear a wig.

[BrodyFosse123]

FYI: due to mics and logistics, ALL actresses on Broadway in musicals wear wigs, even Bernadette Peters. Even if their real hair is exactly like the hair as their character, it is easier to maintain a wig 8 performances a week as well as handle the logistics of their mics. 

Kristin Chenoweth, though a natural blonde in real life, wore wigs in WICKED.  Many brunettes have also played Glinda in WICKED.  No one has ever bleached their hair for the role.  

Patti LuPone was still a brunette when she played Eva Perón in EVITA back in 1979.  She never bleached her hair blonde nor has any actress who ever played the role.  They wore lace-front wigs.  

[Kitsune]

BrodyFosse123 said: "FYI: due to mics and logistics, ALL actresses on Broadway in musicals wear wigs, even Bernadette Peters. Even if their real hair is exactly like the hair as their character, it is easier to maintain a wig 8 performances a week as well as handle the logistics of their mics.

Kristin Chenoweth, though a natural blonde in real life, wore wigs in WICKED. Many brunettes have also played Glinda in WICKED. No one has ever bleached their hair for the role.

Patti LuPone was still a brunette when she played Eva Perón in EVITA back in 1979. She never bleached her hair blonde nor has any actress who ever played the role. They wore lace-front wigs."

I had no idea - thank you, I find this kind of thing fascinating! (It does make sense when you talk about hair upkeep and mic logistics)

[TotallyEffed]

Brynn O’Malley’s Nessarose wig is mentioned in this article:

http://www.playbill.com/article/why-nessarose-is-wickeds-underrated-character

[LizzieCurry]

Didn't Mamma Mia have a "no wigs" policy?

[singer234]

It can sometimes be a case by case basis. *Almost* everyone on Broadway wears wigs, but nobody except Lea Michele in the original Spring Awakening wore them (not even Alexandra Socha when she replaced Lea). Krysta Rodriguez had one for when she went on for Wendla and Martha, but did not wear one for the other roles she covered. I don’t believe Laura Dreyfuss wears one in Dear Evan Hansen, though I could be wrong. Some of the more naturalistic shows decide to forgo wigs.

[BrodyFosse123]

Didn't Mamma Mia have a "no wigs" policy?

Highly unlikely as all the actresses who ever played Tanya wore a wig.  Maybe the roles of Donna, Rosie and Sophie had that policy as actresses who played those roles did have their natural hair on stage.   

[JSquared2]

BrodyFosse123 said: "FYI: due to mics and logistics, ALL actresses on Broadway in musicals wear wigs, even Bernadette Peters. Even if their real hair is exactly like the hair as their character, it is easier to maintain a wig 8 performances a week as well as handle the logistics of their mics.
 

This is completely false.  There are plenty of non-wigged actresses in Broadway musicals.

[BroadwayRox3588]

I honestly thought this was a joke when I looked at the thread title...

[SchuylWERKsister]

Nessarose is not always a wigged role. Only some nessaroses get a wig. I don’t know why some do and others don’t but some of them wear their natural hair. Summer Naomi Smart did not wear a wig until several months into her run when an associate designer came to see the show and wanted her to have straight hair, instead of her natural curly texture, to maintain the look of the show. I know for certain that there are other Nessas who have not gone the wig route but my Wicked memory is fading a bit.

EDIT: Add Heidi Kettenring and DeeDee Magno Hall to the no wig list. And I’m almost certain Michelle Federer (the original) and Christy Candler (the original understudy and one of the longest running replacement Nessas) also did not wear wigs.

Nessarose as a blonde actually makes more sense than a brunette if we’re supposed to believe that the milk flowers were effective.

[icecastle]

Every actress in Wicked wears a wig. As does every actress in Phantom, Anastasia, Aladdin, Beautiful, Carousel, Hello Dolly, Summer, etc. 

Think of it this way. If Nessarose used her natural hair, she would have to spend a significant portion of her break from her exit in Act 1 to her reappearance in Act 2 getting her hair into an updo. With Glinda it's impossible because she needs to change from her curly bubble dress hairstyle to her schoolgirl hairstyle in less than a minute.

 

[Elegance101]

Wigs are definitely the norm, but it’s wrong to say they are absolutely required. They mostly just make life a lot easier, but I’ve heard multiple sources say that Nessa is not wigged. I don’t know if that’s always been the case or if that’s changed, but I’ve never heard of a Nessa having a wig.

[QueenAlice]

Keep in mind too, that Broadway has changed a lot in the past 15 years that Wicked has been running . It is certainly now more the norm for all actresses in a musicals to wear wigs- for example the entire female cast of Mean Girls is wigged.

I don’t think you can point to a show like Mamma MIA, which was quite a long time ago now as an example.

I would imagine most if not all of the actresses playing Nessarose wear wigs at this point. It’s easier for both the show and the actor.

[mailhandler777]

Wow people have all sorts of theories. The current Nessas do NOT wear wigs. I've seen them all and you have 2 blondes, 2 brunettes ,1 red head and whatever color Hannah Shankmans hair is at the moment. Why would the show go out of their way to make wigs for a character onstage less than 10 minutes.

[mailhandler777]

Also one actress that played Nessa on one of the tours did indeed have to dye her super light blonde hair a shade darker because Nessa doesn't wear a wig.

[icecastle]

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEBvZ5bnSWZ/?taken-by=meganmasako

I stand corrected. Looks like not all Nessas do wear wig. Looking at Jillian Butler as well I'm in doubt.

I assume an actress would wear one if she had a pixie cut or unnatural dyed hair?

[starcatchers]

I believe Arielle Jacobs did not wear a wig. 

[Fosse76]

There are many actresses who don't wear wigs I  stage.   for example, no one in the cast of Come From Away wears a wig. 

[Eliza2]

Fosse76 said: "There are many actresses who don't wear wigs I stage. for example, no one in the cast of Come From Away wears a wig."

Q. Smith does.

[Tag]

^It's absolutely not false.  I'll add to it by saying that most are wigged to maintain the same look and design intentions.  And realistically, it's easier on performer's own hair.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Where's a certain poster to come in and say blondes aren't allowed to play Nessarose because it'll mess with the whole story about the dynamics of privilege? Oh wait, he only complains when black people get roles.

[Bell0708]

Nessa actually has more than a half an hour between her last scene in Act 1 before her first scene in Act 2. She should have plenty of time to get her hair in an updo I would guess.

[Simón Bolívar]

I do not think Mr Platt cares