Martin's Musings

Maybe you’ve heard, but the movie adaptation of the long-running Broadway musical Wicked hits theaters later this month, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda. It looks fantastic.

As of this posting, I have not seen the movie. (Womp womp.) But here’s a fun fact: Back in the day, when she was starring as Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, I interviewed Idina Menzel. The interview took place more than 20 years ago, in March 2004, before Menzel won the Tony award for the role. (And before Frozen, and before John Travolta called her “Adele Dazeem”, and before everything else that happened after she left the show.)

The article was the cover story of the May 2004 issue of Continental — yes, the inflight magazine of Continental Airlines. Menzel and I spoke over the phone, but I did go to New York shortly thereafter to see her in the show. And then, after Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth bewitched me in their iconic roles (the latter played Glinda), I went backstage to hang out with Ms. Elphaba in her dressing room — after she’d showered and washed off all the green makeup, of course.

Unfortunately, these were the days before iPhones, otherwise I’d probably have photographic proof of this. Oh well.

Another fun fact: Six years later, in 2010, I interviewed Chenoweth, as well. (Again, over the phone.) It was when she was starring in the first-ever Broadway revival of Promises, Promises. During our conversation, I asked Chenoweth why she thought Wicked had touched such a chord in so many people. “There is in every one of us a little bit of Elphaba and a little bit of Glinda,” she explained. “Elphaba, who is green and is immediately outcast because of that, actually has quite a tough little exterior but is not so tough on the inside. Glinda is pretty on the outside, but what drives her? Insecurity. And then she grows into heartbreak. The show is about love and forgiveness and friendship, and those are the reasons why it has become a classic. Nothing makes me prouder than to have been a part of something like that.”

Anyway, I know you aren’t reading this post to learn more about me. You want to read my article about Menzel. So here it is, in its entirety. Enjoy!