Wicked

While looking forward to the WICKED movie coming out this November, I’ve been reflecting on the musical theatre experiences of my childhood in Michigan City adjacent to the yellow brick road. My first role in a musical was as a munchkin in THE WIZARD OF OZ. This was Michigan City High School’s musical for the fall of 2000 and was performed at what is now the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center. Several of my friends started their theatre careers as a munchkin in this show. THE WIZARD OF OZ was the first of many musicals I would perform in over the years on many stages in town.

Sue Vail, who is affectionately called Mama Sue by an array of young performers who have become her extended family, is still active in the theater scene in Michigan City. She took her son (Ethan), my sister (Veronica), and me to see WICKED in Chicago in 2008. Before we went, Dr. Ray Scott Crawford, the artistic director for Canterbury Theatre, recalled from his years of experience performing and directing at Canterbury that the actor who was currently The Wizard in Chicago performed at Canterbury. His name is Gene Weygandt, and he portrayed Don Quixote in Canterbury’s MAN OF LA MANCHA during the 70s.

After the incredible WICKED performance, our small group made our way to the stage door to see Mr. Weygandt on his way out of the theater. We asked for his autograph on our PLAYBILL and mentioned that we were currently actors at Canterbury. He smiled and started singing Dream the Impossible Dream, Don Quixote’s main solo from MAN OF LA MANCHA – undoubtedly remembering fond memories of this time at Canterbury, like I am today.

Over the summer of 2006, Ethan, Veronica, and I were in Canterbury’s production of PIRATES OF PENZANCE. One of the perks of being a local actor in the Canterbury company is performing with the rotation of actors before their careers take off. The lead in PIRATES OF PENZANCE is a young man named Frederic, played by F. Michael Haynie, who would later move to New York City to find themselves cast in multiple Broadway shows, including as a replacement of Boq in WICKED during 2012 and 2013.

I hope others who see the WICKED movie take the time to acknowledge the many actors who have performed these roles onstage, since the musical’s release over twenty years ago: not just the incomparable Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in the original cast, but also Brittney Johnson (the first Black woman to play Glinda) and Alexandra Billings (the first openly transgender person to star in the show), just to name a few. Connecting the dots between this much-anticipated upcoming movie and my beloved hometown makes me feel like I have defied gravity.