You can miss out on a lot with a fear of heights. Like skydiving over St Kilda or seeing New York City from the top of the Rockfeller Center. But apparently, getting cast as a broomstick-bound witch isn’t on that list. At least not for Sheridan Adams, the recovering acrophobic who plays a soaring, emerald-green Elphaba in Wicked – the Broadway blockbuster doing its third Victorian run at the Regent Theatre until August, and celebrating its 20th anniversary.
“In high school I went on camps and we’d do obstacle courses. But I was never on tall totem poles or attached to any wires,” the actor and singer tells Broadsheet. But Adams, who grew up in Hoppers Crossing, wasn’t scared to close her eyes and leap in Wicked. For her, the only daunting part was singing Defying Gravity, the powerful ballad that closes act one, mid-air. “It’s not easy to sing that song while flying. Your body has to be set in a certain way. It’s not like you’re on the ground, for example,” she jokes.
Sheridan Adams (Elphaba) performing Defying Gravity. Photography: Courtesy of Wicked / Jeff BusbyIt’s one of many challenges that come with being in Broadway’s fourth-longest-running musical. Since Wicked premiered in 2003, more than 65 million people have seen it across 16 countries. It’s outlasted Cats and has won, to date, a Grammy, three Tony Awards and six Helpmann Awards. It also has a super-fan base. “People have lists of their favorite Elphabas. With that comes a lot of expectation and pressure,” Adams says.
When you’re stepping into well-worn sparkly shoes, do you follow the laid-out path or make the role your own? Courtney Monsma, who plays blissful blond Glinda, has created a magical mix of both. “I inject as much fun as I can that’s suited to the story,” she says. (The 27-year-old cemented her rep as a rising star playing Princess Anna in Frozen the Musical, and performing in Aladdin and Mamma Mia!)
In Wicked, Monsma’s eccentricity shines through in the tune Popular. Pert and bouncy, she dances around the dowdy, less-desirable Elphaba. “Sometimes I’ll do a move that I’ve never done before and it’ll take both me and [Adams] by surprise.” For Adams, it’s one of the most enjoyable acts with her co-leading lady. “If she [Monsma] does something new every show, my response always has to be new. That’s a very fun game to play.”
Courtney Monsma (Glinda) performing Popular. Photography: Courtesy of Wicked / Jeff BusbyThe other thing that changes is the crowds. At stage door, the cast sees the full gamut – from 50-show devotees who follow Wicked around the world, to newbies who’d declared just hours earlier they weren’t into musicals. For Shewit Belay, who plays Elphaba’s sister Nessarose, the best ones are the kids during matinee. “When there’s a plot twist, they gasp and it’s audible. It’s really funny and dramatic.” Belay, a proud Eritrean singer and actress who grew up in Hobart, was an understudy for the three Schuyler sisters and Maria Reynolds in Hamilton before her current gig.
But like much of the cast, she joined the Wicked fan club much earlier. Her first green encounter was playing trombone in a Wicked medley with her high school band. “I can’t even describe how much fun playing that music was,” she says. “I think that planted a seed, whether or not I was aware of it.”
Shewit Belay, who plays Nessarose. Photography: Courtesy of Wicked / Hugh StewartMonsma, originally from the Gold Coast, grew up crooning to the theatre-kid staple soundtrack and first saw Wicked at 14. “I sat in the balcony, so I always look there when I’m performing. I waited at stage door for Jemma [Rix], who ended up being my sister in Frozen.” (That’s just one full circle moment: her sister, Emily Monsma, is Glinda’s understudy and in the ensemble.)
Unlike Glinda, we can’t all come and go by bubble. Beneath those pink frocks and billowing black gowns, the leading ladies are encased in microphone packs and harnesses. Plus, there are the hefty props – from Glinda’s crown to Elphaba’s ancient spellbook the Grimmerie. “You’re running up stairs and you’re spinning around,” Monsma says. “And there’s always this heaviness underneath.”
Rest and recovery between performances is crucial. The trio prioritises sleep, vocal rest, hydration, cutting alcohol and socialising less. “Catching up with someone for a few hours is almost like doing a show when you’re talking,” Belay says. That’s especially true for the leading ladies. “The [vocal and physical] demands of their roles are out of this world.”
But they wouldn’t trade it in for anything. For Belay, it’s about showing up as a black woman in Australian musical theatre. “I always feel proud to represent myself and my community on the main stage,” she says.
Meanwhile Adams (who previously ushered at Her Majesty’s Theatre) is thrilled to live her green childhood dream. “I thought it wouldn’t happen to me, even though I really wanted it,” she says. “I hope in my heart that it can happen to other people. Maybe someone I’ve met at stage door.”
Wicked is now running in Melbourne at the Regent Theatre until Aug 25 before heading to Brisbane in September and Perth in December.
This article first appeared in Domain Review, in partnership with Broadsheet.
