#Kendra Kassebaum

[madisoncounty]

i know i'm who i am today because i knew you 20 YEARS OF WICKED: FOR GOOD idina menzel & kristin chenoweth • ana gasteyer & kate reinders • alyssa fox & mckenzie kurtz • christine dwyer & jenni barber • idina menzel & kristin chenoweth • stephanie j block & kendra kassebaum • alyssa fox & mckenzie kurtz • lindsay heather pearce & brittney johnson • idina menzel & kristin chenoweth • idina menzel, kristin chenoweth, & various elphabas and glindas of broadway

[gelphiegifs]

The last time they were happy together

[professorspork]

Punctum Project, installment 6

(what the heck is the Punctum Project? read me!)

March 14, 2006 - 1st National Tour Julia Murney, Kendra Kassebaum, Sebastian Arcelus

What:

[Kendra chooses violence]

How come:

Yes I realize I keep saying I have rules for this project and then breaking them but

this HAD to be a montage

because the thing that Gets Me about it is how consistent it is

if Kendra's Galinda likes it, she swats it. if she hates it, she swats it. if she's paying attention to it she swats it and if she's ignoring it she swats it. it is pure Cat Behavior. it is downright pugnacious. and it is INCREDIBLY memorable and endearing to me.

it has serious "my son loved your card so much he ate it" energy

she's got so many feelings in that tiny and unspeakably rage-fuelled body

[ultimategalindaswardrobe]

Galinda's Bubble Dress - US Production

Christine DiCicco (First US Tour)

Kendra Kassebaum (First US Tour)

Annaleigh Ashford (Broadway)

Kendra Kassebaum (First US Tour)

Alli Mauzey (Broadway)

Megan Hilty (Broadway)

Erin Mackey (First National Tour)

Heléne Yorke & Marcie Dodd (Munchkinland (US) Tour)

Kendra Kassebaum and Kerry Ellis (First US Tour) (I think?)

(If anyone knows the name of the two Elphabas featured in this set, please, share that with me so I can update the tags and the description)

(Edit: Elphabas have been added, thank you anewbrainjughead for the info!)

[frottica]

we need more glindas with legit operatic voices

[notebookmusical]

ughhhh i wish i could see ragtime nycc soooo bad

[i10v3sh4rk5]

Elphaba's insecure ass after realising she's actually more down bad than she initially thought.

I'm quite a big fan of Julia Murney and Kendra Kassebaum as Elphaba and Glinda respectively.

[operachristine]

Holiday Gifting Day 2

Day 2 of 5 features a few Wicked videos!

Idina Menzel (Elphaba), Kristin Chenoweth (Glinda), Norbert Leo Butz (Fiyero), Sean McCourt (u/s The Wizard), Carole Shelley (Madame Morrible), Michelle Federer (Nessarose), Randy Harrison (t/r Boq), William Youmans (Doctor Dillamond) July 18, 2004; Broadway || Notes: This is Kristin and Norbert's last show. It was also supposed to be Joel Grey's last show, but he was ill. Video is sound only for first 4 minutes. This is a great video and excellent sound. Includes the speech by Idina. Definitely the best of the early Wicked captures. Idina wiping tears from Kristin’s face is touching and priceless. This bootleg is a treasure.

Link

Eden Espinosa, Megan Hilty, Derrick Williams, David Garrison, Carol Kane, Jenna Leigh Green, Robb Sapp, Sean McCourt May 28, 2006; Broadway || Notes: Megan Hilty's last show in the Broadway run! A very Megan-centric recording, good close-ups and follows the action very well.

Link

Jenna Leigh Green (u/s Elphaba), Kendra Kassebaum (Glinda) 2005; First National Tour Notes: 10mins of highlights include Defying Gravity, the catfight, and No Good Deed.

Link

Jenna Leigh Green (u/s Elphaba), Katie Adams (u/s Glinda) 2005 (2); First National Tour || Notes: Very minimal highlights. Flying portion of Defying Gravity only. Still a nice and rare video of Jenna as Elphaba! Though not great quality.

Link

Willemijn Verkaik (Elphaba), Céline Purcell (alt Glinda), Ferry Doedens (alt Fiyero), Bill van Dijk (The Wizard), Pamela Teves (Madame Morrible), Christanne de Bruijn (Nessarose), Niels Jacobs (Boq), Jochem Feste Roozemond (Doctor Dillamond) January 10, 2013; Scheveningen || Notes: Penultimate, final performance of Cèline Purcell and Ferry Doedens. Muck-up show.

Link

[talas-first-lady]

So is that a maybe then?

I have tentative plans to see it mid-December with the friend I saw the musical with back in like 2005.

(1st National Tour, Stephanie J. Block my beloved, Kendra Kassebaum, a brand new Sebastian Arcelus)

But anyway yes I’m sure I will need to discuss the movie after I see it. And until then I am always available to discuss the books, the musical (although I have not been paying attention to the goings on of the productions and will feel very old if you mention anyone more recent than Annaleigh Ashford), various other Oz adaptations…

[polyarmy]

I replied in the comments but I'll put it in a post too Sebastian Arcelus also has fantastic chemistry with Julia Murney, his other Elphaba (he played Fiyero to both SJB and Julia during tour and broadway runs). They were my broadway Fiyeraba (with Kendra Kassebaum as their Glinda) and were excellent! Julia is interesting as an Elphaba too for being one of the most evocative of Margaret Hamilton's Wicked Witch. I'll second that Derrick Williams in general was a great Fiyero, and he played the role with a lot of different casts so it's hard to say who he works best with. Bonus points for him being a black Fiyero, as I'm always a fan of PoC getting the role. He was an *early* Fiyero too.

Sorry this is gonna be a trick question that will cause you to think XD. What would you say are your top 5 Elphaba and Fiyero duos from the stage musical you've seen either live or from bootlegs or youtube clips?

Honestly I don't know that I have a top 5, as weird as that is to say! I saw Idina with Taye Diggs when they were still married, so that was an extra cool experience. But there was really only the OBC when I was in the fandom before, and I'm still getting back into all of what's out there now. I will say I agree with the majority opinion that SJB/Sebastian Arcelus are excellent. (Sidenote, I saw SJB and I believe Derrick Williams on the first Wicked national tour, and Sebastian as Roger in RENT on Broadway and loved all of those performances too.)

[katherinemckay]

*reaches out for gf when the tragedy of our circumstances has forced us apart*

[gelphiegifs]

"It's my fault..."

[professorspork]

Do you have any new gelphie pairing faves or analyses from your Great Wicked Watch?

OOH THANK YOU FOR ASKING

things are still In Progress, so really the only true conclusion I've reached so far is one I already could have told you: the earlier gelphies are way less gay. Like, mad respect bc they were what we had at the time and there's still plenty there to dream on, but compared to how later actresses play them it's really NOT that queer of an interpretation of either role, and isn't as much to my taste. Chenzel just doesn't Do It for me; Megan Hilty's Glinda is deeply affectionate but it's in such an obvious "hey soul sister" way I don't see My Glinda in her.

some random thoughts in no particular order:

I was very taken with Julia Murney and Kendra Kassebaum's chemistry, though I didn't find any one performance of theirs where I felt like it sustained throughout both acts the way I'd like.

I can now say with confidence it's no WONDER I didn't realize I was a Glinda Girlie in my youth, bc my first live Glinda was Jennifer Laura Thompson and her Glinda is among the colder ones (though not as cold as Kate Reinders SHE DOESN'T EVEN TOUCH ANA GASTEYER ONCE IN FOR GOOD GIRL WHAT GIVES). like it does make me LAUGH when, for example, Galinda says "but that was the milkflowers' fault" as though it ends in "you moron" but it is not my Preferred Reading

(on the other hands Nessas who embrace being a self-absorbed cunt start to finish are fabulous and I love them)

I've surprised myself with how fondly I latched onto Shoshana "Smol Bean" Bean's portrayal of Elphaba bc I usually prefer my Elphies far more acerbic, but her view of the character is so crystal-clear and consistent throughout I can't help but be taken with it

more Elphabas should do the "I'm melting" pose during "so happy I could melt" the way Stephanie J Block does

it is very hard to find a good Fiyero who actually has chemistry with BOTH girls, but a bad Boq will lowkey ruin the show in a way a bad Fiyero honestly doesn't

more Dr Dillamonds should refrain from touching their students sir you are a PROFESSOR, SIR--

my inventing something post was inspired by Annaleigh Ashford's first Popular, which I feel really captured something critical in how it unfolded of like... it's like you can almost watch Galinda start getting addicted, it's this compulsion, how the touches become more frequent and more intimate and she doesn't understand why but can't seem to control herself, and it's such a classic pre-gay-awakening "I don't know I just think she's REALLY COOL and want to be her BEST FRIEND" take on it that I loved

our rewatch has just entered the Katie Rose Clarke era, and as someone who started with her and Willemijn it's fascinating to go back to her first tour with Carmen and see how genuinely she WAS trying to play the scenes with Fiyero straight which she eventually gave up on lmao

okay I could probably keep yammering but I'm gonna cut it off there for now

[ohlookitstomorrowff]

Remembering that there have been some absolutely incredible actresses who have played the role of Glinda is what’s getting me through the day.

Here’s just five of my favourites because, why not?

1. Savannah Stevenson (West End 2013-2016).

2. Suzie Mathers (Australia/Asia tour 2012-2014, Australia 2014-2015, West End 2016-2017).

3. Kristin Chenoweth (Broadway 2003-2004)

4. Kendra Kassebaum (1st US Tour 2005-2006, Broadway 2007 & 2008, San Francisco 2009-2010)

5. Katie Rose Clarke (1st US Tour 2007-2009 & 2011-2012, Broadway 2010-2011 & 2013 & 2018-2019)

[raven-curls]

"No one has searched harder for her than you, but don't you see? She doesn't want to be found."

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