Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked is one of the longest-running (and most epically produced) shows in Broadway history, open since the fall of 2003. But its two current stars — Kara Lindsay, who plays Glinda, and Jennifer DiNoia, who plays Elphaba – came to the Billboard on Broadway performance series recently for more intimate renditions of a few of the best known tunes from the show.
Lindsay and DiNoia play the roles made famous by Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, respectively — and which made both actresses stars, in turn. Since their runs in the roles, many of Broadway’s best talents have lent their own interpretation of Glinda and Elphaba to the Wicked stage. “It’s an iconic show,” Lindsay says. ‘These are two powerful women leading this show, and there are few musicals like that.”
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“And it’s about their story,” DiNoia adds. “There are so many layers to both of these girls from the journey they start at the top of the show to the end. As an actor you really want to dive into that and figure them out.”
DiNoia first sings “I’m Not That Girl,” one of Elphaba’s many emotionally complex solos which falls toward the middle of the show “when she’s realizing that there are paths she will probably not go down.” Lindsay then performs Glinda’s perky showstopper “Popular,” in which she’s “helping Elphaba have a makeover — and she’s trying her very best to make Elphaba her new best friend.” The two close out the performance with one of Wicked’s most famed numbers, the lovely duet “For Good.”
Wicked is currently playing at the the Gershwin Theatre.