Favorite Glinda in Wicked?

[Globefan]

Who is your favorite Glinda in Wicked? 

[BrodyFosse123]

The original: Billie Burke.

[FosseTharp]

Jennifer Laura Thompson.

[darquegk]

Carol Kane as the demented, homicidal Glinda in “Scrooged.”

[windowwaving]

Megan Hilty perfectly embodied Glinda and her vocals were just phenomenal. 

Saw Kara Lindsay on the 15th anniversary tour and found her to be the funniest Glinda (without being cheesy) I have ever seen. 

[greensgreens]

Annaleigh Ashford & Megan Hilty are neck-and-neck for my pick. It was odd to see two star-making performances in the same role, so closely tailored for someone else as replacements in a long-running show.

[CindersGolightly]

Brittney Johnson, Annaleigh Ashford, Megan Hilty, and Heléne Yorke are my top four. Truly groundbreaking in each of their portrayals.

[Hairspray0901]

Kendra Kassebaum for me!

[BrodyFosse123]

Hairspray0901 said: "Kendra Kassebaum for me!"

She reminded me of Amy Poehler.  

[WldKingdomHM]

Kate Reinders for me

[QueenTwinnied]

Of the actresses I've seen, Carrie St. Louis, Brittany Johnson, and Sophie Evans (west end)

[Scott Stephen]

Brittney Johnson for vocals, Alli Mauser for acting! Although both excel at each, I prefer the more comedic Glinda’s. I also got to see Erin Mackey on tour last year and she blew me away. Absolutely fantastic performance!!

[ozjust4]

I saw Hayley Podschun play the role on the show's second national tour back in 2013 and she was brilliant. I also saw Katie Rose Clarke who was incredible as well. They take the cake for me.

[Luminaire2]

Megan Hilty and Kara Lindsay.

Also Brittney Johnson.

[uncageg]

Chenoweth is my favorite. I have seen 3. Kassebaum is my second favorite (Saw her on the tour)

[Ravenclaw]

For me, it's Chenoweth--no competition. Not only was the role tailored to her vocal talents (nobody has sung the soprano sections better, in my opinion), but she lit up the stage with a true star energy. Brantley's review was tepid for the show on the whole but a love letter to her performance. Many Glindas get big laughs but lose the stakes of the story, while others land the emotional arc but miss some of the humor. Chenoweth delivered on both fronts and created a model that others have strained to recapture.

Idina is my favorite Elphaba, but some replacements (Ana Gasteyer, Stephanie J Block, Carmen Cusack) have come awfully close. With Glinda, nobody has really come that close to Chenoweth, in my opinion.

[Sutton Ross]

The very best

[JBroadway]

I don't feel right calling anyone my "favorite" since I've only seen a few people in the role, and so many great people have played it over the years! (I would have loved to have seen Chenoweth do it!) 

But I will say that "my" Glinda has always been Kendra Kassebaum. She was so wonderful; the perfect mix of humor and heart. 

[Blockhead24]

Carrie St. Louis or Allison Bailey

[uncageg]

Ravenclaw said: "For me, it's Chenoweth--no competition. Not only was the role tailored to her vocal talents (nobody has sung the soprano sections better, in my opinion), but she lit up the stage with a true star energy. Brantley's review was tepid for the show on the whole but a love letter to her performance. Many Glindas get big laughs but lose the stakes of the story, while others land the emotional arc but miss some of the humor. Chenoweth delivered on both fronts and created a model that others have strained to recapture.

Idina is my favorite Elphaba, but some replacements (Ana Gasteyer, Stephanie J Block, Carmen Cusack) have come awfully close. With Glinda, nobody has really come that close to Chenoweth, in my opinion."



Agreed. Chenoweth and Menzel were wonderful together. For me, there has to be a chemistry between the two actresses. I saw Kassebaum with Stephanie J. Block. I have become a fan of Ms. Block's but I was not crazy about her Elphaba on the tour. I don't have my Applause magazine handy but the second time I saw the tour around 2009-2010 in Denver, I am almost positive Julia Murney was in the role of Elphaba. I attended the "preview" performance (It was for tech mainly but a paid performance). The understudy went on and I want to say it was Natalie Weiss (If anyone can confirm this or correct it That would be great!). She blew the roof off of the Buell. Her "Wizard and I" was impeccable and her "Defying Gravity" left me jaw dropped. Loved Idina and she is my favorite overall, but Weiss(?) sang the hell out of that role. I can't remember who the Glinda was. She was fine but felt like she was copying Chenoweth.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Chenoweth is my favorite because as funny as it sounds, I think she was the most "grounded" Glinda I've seen. The other ones try too hard to play up the comedy, which I know people like, but I felt like with Chenoweth, Glinda was an actual real person going through a believable arc. I think she and Menzel worked well with that aspect. The character has now become somewhat of a cartoon with more interest in showing off vocal pyrotechnics than anything else, but I don't blame the actors so much as it tends to happen in long-running shows.

[Elfuhbuh]

I LOVED Dianne Pikington and Katie Rose Clarke.

[broadwayindie]

Ali Mauzey was perfect on every level and one of the few that went for the optional high note on No One Mourns. Also, the fact that her take on Glinda was SO DIFFERENT, yet perfect is mind blowing. It's layered complex and really gave the character intense development that I didn't know was there. Just a brilliant performance.

[dianamorales]

Kara Lindsay, queen of Making A Choice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=losf7IjWBCg

[NOWaWarning]

Of the ladies I’ve seen live, Christina DeCicco was my favorite. She walked off with the show the night I saw her.