Oh, what a celebration we’ll have today! To celebrate nineteen years of Wicked (and two years of Sentimental Men), Kevin and Quincy are joined by Alyssa Joy Fox to chat about cattle call auditions, put in rehearsals and her journey from a non-theatre kid to one of Wicked’s most reliable leading ladies. Plus, the boys get Sentimental about Wicked’s new neighbor – KPOP!

At the beginning of Let It Go

starts. You

hear the inhale and the whispers.

And not just from kids, but.

From the gays.

From the gays.

Very that.

My name is Quincy.

And my name's Kevin.

And this is Sentimental Men from

Theatrely.

We are here to

Talk and maybe scream.

About our favorite women in musical

theater.

Happy a Wicked day, everyone.

Happy wicked day, but also

Happy Second Birthday to Sentimental

Men.

The podcast did we launch on Wicked

Day?

We did. It was Wicked Day 2020.

Oh, wow. Happy birthday, Kevin.

Thank you. I'm so.

I'm not in the mood to be sappy

today.

That's okay. I don't need to be

sappy. But I will just say

it's been a fun two years, and I'm

excited for this next upcoming

chapter because I think we're going

to be doing some really cool stuff

with Aunty Theater early.

Yeah, it has been a very fun two

years. How are you celebrating

Wicked Day. Are you going to do

anything on? We're recording this

before we day, obviously.

Yeah, we do need to go back

and see Wicked.

I know.

Let's do that before we leave for

the holidays.

As far as I know here,

a week out. I do not have any wicked

day plans to you.

I mean, I really am hankering to see

Wicked, and I've been holding off

because I feel like I've seen it too

many times without you.

Not that that's a rule that we have

to. Or do I think we.

Should make it a.

Rule that we have. Yeah,

well, it just feels like if I go too

many times seeing Wicked without

Kevin, it feels a little cheater

vibes. But if you're not committed

to seeing it with me before

Christmas, then I guess I will

have to make do and go

with someone else.

I was going to say that I

am going on a trip next month

and I am going to be in London

and I'm like, Do I, do I like

DM Lucy Jones and be like, Hey

girl.

Yeah, you should. Totally should.

Lucy Jones if you're listening to

this.

But she maybe.

Kevin is going to come and see you

this year.

That is what you should have to see

about in London.

Yeah, I hope to.

How was your week?

Do you do anything fun?

Bad and no.

How is yours?

It's fine. I went to Rhode Island

for the weekend. There are a couple

of things I want to hit on with

these listeners. I went to Rhode

Island for the weekend.

It so happened that I had this fall

weekend planned and also

then Taylor Swift announced an album

and it was perfect.

I had this great Taylor Swift

weekend.

Listen to the album.

If you haven't listened to Midnight

yet, please do.

But on this wicked day, I would like

to talk about Wicked Next Door

Neighbor, K-Pop, the

musical on Broadway.

Everyone, I went to the first

preview of K-Pop, which and I met

Bree, friend of the Pod.

Bree is working on K-Pop.

Oh, forgive me. I forget what

specifically she's doing on K-Pop,

but she was at the first preview and

we finally got to meet in real life,

which was so fun.

But K-Pop is so good and

you'll love it. Have it, I think.

I know. I can't wait.

I can't wait. It's on.

It's on my list for between

Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Yeah, I saw it a bunch of times when

it was off-Broadway five years ago

at Ars Nova, because I was ushering

there at the time and I fell in love

with it then. This Broadway

iteration is very different than

it was off-Broadway.

Very different.

A lot of the same songs are there.

The best song arguably in the show.

They have changed so that it's now

playing on a stereo in the Broadway

iteration and it's not performed

live.

That is criminal.

If anyone involved with K-Pop is

listening to this, there's still

time. You're still in previews.

Please change that because Windup

Doll is the name of the song should

be performed live. It can't be

reduced to just being played on a

stereo. It's just such a good song

and deserves a live performance.

And I really hope that when I go

back to K-Pop on November 11th,

because I already have tickets to go

out again, that that song

is being performed live.

But the whole thing is so great.

Luna was really impressive.

She's the K-Pop star who's leading.

And then I didn't really have any

expectations going in, but walked

out, blown away by her performance.

I'm very excited.

To see what gets the amount of work

in and then.

Oh my God, a double feature.

That would be fun.

Yeah. Who are we talking to today?

Kevin Quincy.

We're talking to Alyssa Joy Fox

today.

This has been a long time coming.

I think that Alyssa was one of the

first few green girls

that started interacting us like

on social back when we

launched the podcast like two years

ago. I feel like pretty early on as

when we started interacting

with her. And so it feels really

cool to have her on the pod,

especially now that she is currently

the Broadway standby.

She has been

with Wicked for over

a decade.

Long time.

Long time, which Kevin will

break down for us.

All right. So Miz Fox first

joined the Wicked Family in 2010

in the San Francisco Company.

She was the alphabet understudy in

the closing cast after the San

Francisco production closed from

2012 to 2015.

Alyssa was going in and out of

the second national tour as the

Elphaba stand by before

in 2015, when

she made her principal debut

on the Second National Tour from

2016 to

2017, she was

in the wicked Broadway company

as the Elphaba standby, and

then from 2018

to 2020, she was

in Frozen on Broadway as

the Elsa standby.

The second Elsa we've had on the

pod. The second.

Elsa.

Yeah. After the Broadway shut down

in 2021, Ms..

Fox was back on the second national

tour of Wicked as an

emergency cover.

She also she did the whole run of

Frozen Broadway.

She did the whole run.

Yeah. So.

She was in the second national tour

as an emergency cover December

2021, and then from July

2022 until right now,

which is October 2022.

Alissa has been back in the Broadway

company of Wicked as the alpha

of a stand by, which honestly

I love the transition of power

from Jenny to Noyer to Alissa

Joy Fox.

The transition of the cushy gig from

Jenny to No.

Two as a.

When one supreme leaves, the other

supreme rises.

Like that's that's such a powerful

handoff.

I also love that we've had the

current alphabet principal and the

current of Stand By Now on our

little pod.

Yes. And we also we had Lindsay

and Jenny.

Oh, yeah.

Is this going to be a thing that we

are doing? I guess that makes sense.

Yeah.

And that brings us to today, October

today, 2022.

I saw her like a month ago,

probably at this point.

Oh, yeah. Actually, I talked to her

after seeing her so fresh.

Before we get into that and these

wicked apps we do stuck on a ship

right until 100.

Do I have one?

Yes.

So this stuck on Ashby.

I'm happy because as I have

mentioned before, there are a finite

amount of videos of Stephanie

J. BLOCK on YouTube.

And so sometimes finding

the stock on SJ B is like

a very deep dove, which I

obviously love.

But since the last time we

recorded Ms..

BLOCK is back on Broadway and

she.

Has been doing press.

Well, that is literally

the first bullet point on my

discussion is if there's

if yes, if there's one thing

Stephanie J. BLOCK is going to do,

it's nail it at a press

event. She is so good at

press. She's good at soundbites.

She's good at like the banter of it

all. She's so.

Good. Sure I do.

Yeah. She is one of those that comes

across that they genuinely enjoy

doing those kinds of press moments.

Yeah, sometimes.

Which is fun because you want to

watch someone who does want to be

there do an interview or something,

you know?

Yeah, she's a joy to watch, I should

just say, because I didn't say right

now I am referencing the

Into the Woods revival cast

performance on the Today

show is the I'm.

Amazing that we

get Stephanie J.

BLOCK on the Today show

and that in 2022.

I'm so thankful and I

loved it. It was like Sarah Burrows

opened this this musical

who is like.

Did they do the Today Show opening

cast?

Well, no, because it was like

Broadway week.

I think so.

Like that's why all the Broadway

shows were on that week.

But I just love that.

Like Stephanie J.

BLOCK as the leading lady

or one of the the two leading

ladies and Into the Woods is

getting to like carry the

show through its press tour.

I think it's great.

The second thing that I noticed

when watching this video is they

show a production photo

of Stephanie and Sebastian

and like they're facing each other

and she's kind of like grabbing his

face, kind of

like teasingly almost.

And it's just such a cute picture.

And I feel like it really

encapsulates the energy of

watching them as like

real husband and wife do the

show together.

Last night was Sebastian's last

performance and into the way I Never

Know.

No More, I know.

And Brian D'Arcy James's coming

back right.

Yeah. Mm.

That's an interesting combination.

I would like to hear him and

Stephanie J. BLOCK sing together.

Have they done

something together before?

Why do I think they have?

Was it like a city center thing?

No. Maybe it's just because she

sings. What is it about her that

I'm thinking that?

Because in my head, when I read

that, I was like, Oh, that's going to

be cute. They're going to like

reunite. But now I'm like, Wait, I

don't think they actually have, at

least that I know of, done anything

together.

Another thing that I love about this

video is Stephanie

J. BLOCK. I feel like has a very

decidedly wide

and grounded stance as

the baker's wife.

I just, like, love the physical

choice that she makes because

it's so opposite of like

I feel like the way she kind of

like, stands and moves in real life.

And it's like, of course, Miss

Stephanie J. BLOCK has like a

movement vocabulary for this

character.

I mean, that whole performance was

so thrilling.

I don't know, there was such an

energy because those morning show

performances don't always, I think,

translate very well when you see

them online later.

But that performance really stood

out as like being very there

was just something about the buzz of

the cast together and they were all

in sync. It was really.

Great. Yeah. And especially with

like this show, like cutting down

the Prolog into

like a little capsule

performance for a TV

show is really hard and I thought

that it like they did such a good

job with it. Anyways, all of this is

to say one of my favorite.

It's like right up there with

justifies the beans for me.

One of my favorite moments and into

the woods is when the baker's wife

goes the hair because

it's such like a throwaway line.

But it's always fun to hear how

the baker's wife places it

because it's like, kind of just

like.

Right. And a lot of people like mix

the place.

And I am happy to say

that RMS BLOCK, Miss J.

BLOCK, gives us a solid mix

and a healthy spin in a way that

it's like she has no business

putting all of that into a

tiny little throwaway two

word line.

But she does.

It's never a throwaway when it's

Stephanie.

Jay That's exactly right.

It's never a throwaway.

She is like, you

know, I'm going to butcher this,

which is bad. But, you know, when

they say like this is sensitive

because of into the words, but like,

isn't it like when you kill a cow,

you use every part of it?

Am I making this up?

I mean.

I've never heard that, but.

Sure, terrible analogy.

Anyway, that's Stephanie J.

BLOCK. When you hand her a script,

that is Stephanie J.

BLOCK, she says, I have to use every

single part of this script

to tell this story, and that's the

way to do it.

That's that Virgo Energy go part.

I know she is using

every single part of the cow, the

cow, the cape, the slipper and

the hair.

Okay. Should we go talk to a less

adroit fox?

I think we should.

Elissa Fox is here with us today.

Thank you so much for joining us.

My pleasure.

I know finally after all this time.

Yeah, this has been in the works for

a while. We've been circling each

other. And you sent us into two

truths in a lie for an episode a

while back, right?

Yeah, I. Absolutely.

Which we will get to.

Yeah. Because we have.

Yeah, because we need the stories

behind the truth.

Absolutely. Yeah.

Okay, so we start every interview

with how did Wicked come into your

life as a real person, not as

actress?

Alicia Fox.

I'm trying to remember the first

time it was definitely the

The Cast album, and I wasn't

really a theater person before.

Wicked actually.

Really kind.

Of.

And in a way, I grew up singing in

church and I knew that I wanted to

be a singer, but I didn't really

know how that would translate to

like a career.

But I heard the

cast album for the first time and I

was just like, I heard Idina

sing and

they had a defying gravity.

And I was just like, This is what I

want to do. It was like immediate,

like, I'm going to do this kind

of thing.

Do you remember what juncture of

your life you were at?

I was I think in my I had just

left high school.

I just graduated high school.

And I got it maybe like

a year or two late from when it came

out.

You know, I was.

Behind not being a theater person.

Yeah.

I don't even know how I came

across. I don't remember if it was a

friend that shared it with me and

was like, Check this out, you should

sing this.

Or.

Whatever, because how does a

Broadway cast of them get in your

orbit if you're not a theater?

Exactly. And it was very much

like, what is this world?

Like, I always knew Broadway is a

thing, but wicked and specifically,

like, was like I felt a

very strong pathway into

that world.

Yeah. And where did you grow up?

Dallas or a suburb of Dallas?

I was born in Dallas, but I grew up

in Garland, Texas.

Okay. So when did theater become a

thing?

If you weren't a theater person, why

did you decide to pursue it?

I was always a performer.

I always wanted to sing, and I was

kind of trying to figure out how to

do that after I was, you know,

getting out of high school, going

into college.

And I thought maybe I would do like

vocal performance or choir

or something or other.

Like, I really enjoyed that kind of

singing with other people and

the way that that feels live with

an audience.

And so I

always do Broadway was a thing, but

I didn't know. I thought, maybe you

have to like dance.

And I've never done that.

And I was terrible at that, so

I never knew that it would.

That's a popular Elphaba response.

When I tell you,

it starts off.

She's not a dancer.

So.

So it was kind of like I went to

school and I went to Oklahoma City

University and at that point I

was like, Oh, I want to I want to do

musical theater because I then I

was just like really absorbing every

piece of musical theater that I

could get my hands on.

When I first started college, so it

was really.

What else was like on your

on your iPod Shuffle at that point?

Oh, what.

Other musicals were.

You? Oh, my God.

That's a great question, because it

was it was just I was saturated

in it. I really like indie rock

music, but it just, like, took me

out of that first.

Yeah.

And I just listening to musicals,

my, my friend Neil and I had had

this thing where we would basically

listen to a new musical that

we had never heard every week.

That's very theater, kid review,

very few.

And I was like a late bloomer with

the theater kid thing, but so it was

just like all at once I was just

kind of like, this is my life.

But like Emily, Molly was a

good belt song to that.

A whole.

Cast album.

Yeah, sure.

That was big. Yeah.

Anything like Sutton Foster was so

fun because I was just like, this is

so, like, joyful and and

exciting.

And then, of course, like, Jekyll

and Hyde.

You know.

So you knew you were a Belcher as

from the start parade.

Like we're going through all the

things, you know.

Exactly.

I was most drawn to the things that

I just enjoyed singing.

And especially like in the car, I

would just go balls to the wall in

the car driving from Oklahoma

City to Dallas every weekend.

But just like belting out any

any possible random,

obscure musical theater song that I

found.

So were you studying theater in

school?

It was it was a music major, so

it was a little different.

But I was supposed to learn dancing

there, and I did not.

I was just not a good student.

I eventually dropped out

and we'll get to that because the

reason was that I wanted to audition

for other things.

Outside of school.

Yeah, well, that's a natural segway,

because then we want to know

the first audition

for Wicked. How did it even come

about and what was the thought

process then?

I have a really interesting story

because I got cast initially

from an non-equity cattle.

Car ride and

I was like, so

I was I had.

Already I knew that I wanted to

go and do Broadway

and audition for Broadway and get

into that world.

But I was was at the.

Time when you initially went to

school for music or did you think

you were going to do that?

Eventually, I went to community

college for a year.

I didn't really know what I was

going to do. And then I got really

like into musical theater then

and I was like, okay, well I would

like to go to a university for this,

you know, took out way too much in

loans to go to a private.

School that.

I eventually dropped out of because

I wanted to, like, work.

So I was just kind of like I

learned by doing in a way that I was

just like, This is not for me.

So I kind of

I didn't have a lot of money at

all. And I had never been to New

York City before, but I saw on

Playbill.com.

Ever heard of such job of it?

That's exactly what it was.

Filter.

Yeah.

All those. Yeah.

Yeah.

And that's how I found the first,

like the non-equity cattle call.

And it was just kind of like a

general blanket come

this day to

Telsey casting what it was right

there. And.

Yes, yeah.

Come and audition.

And I guess you had no frame of

reference for any of that.

I had semi done

one Rocky Horror

Picture show that was technically

like an equity show.

I was in the ensemble, I danced

and it was the time warp.

That's the cap.

Well, that's about the

dance instruction.

The song is in

the song like.

Yes, yes.

So when you were going into the

non-equity call, were

you like, I'm dead set on booking

this or are you just. Well, I'll try

and see what happens.

It was like it was going to happen.

Like I knew it's like I knew

like.

I and I.

Didn't have a lot of money.

So I was like, okay, I'm going to

fly up to New York for the first

time. My best friend lived there at

the time and lived here at the time

on St Mark's and I flew in.

It was like, you know, like a $500

plane ticket in the fall

of 2008.

Wow. Yeah.

At the.

Time.

What a time to be.

Is probably.

Elphaba in Broadway.

She probably was, but I couldn't

afford a ticket to go see the show.

So the first show I ever saw was

Miss Ali Trim and 13 The

Musical.

They had a rush and I was like, I

can afford that. Let's go there.

And so now.

I see that story now.

Yeah, it's like the first.

Thing I said to her, I was like, You

are my first Broadway show.

This is like full circle.

So I had no idea what I was getting

into. So. So I was going to I

just came in town for maybe two

days, was going to fly back the next

day for like a cocktail

dress. And it was like raining

outside. And they made you line up

outside of.

The on.

The street.

And there was like a.

Line and this was just a general

call. He didn't know you weren't

like alphabet, right?

No, it was general.

So there were there were maybe

I don't feel like I'm exaggerating

by saying that there were about 500

people there waiting in the

rain out on the line.

Out on the street.

Yeah.

Going around the corner,

you know, go to the bathroom at the

McDonald's across the street, right?

Yeah.

So dedication, real dedication.

And so I get in there finally, you

know, after being like freezing in

the cold in this cocktail dress.

And I go up and

it's a bunch of different rooms and

each one has like a casting

associate, I guess in it.

I don't remember I had I just was

like, I don't know what this is.

I'm just going to do whatever they

tell me.

And I imagine it's probably pretty

cool to be in like a real audition.

It was.

It was because.

I just was just like, what is this?

And for a few years,

I was like, This is how auditions

go. And I got in there and they were

like, Can you sing?

Like, we'd like you all to, like,

sing eight bars a

cappella.

Of anything you want.

Yeah. What do you think I say?

I had just done Little Women at OSU,

and I did the end of astonishing

classic.

And then my kids, like, they were

like, okay, that's good.

We'll send you to the other room

with Craig Burns, the casting

director. And so I sang for him and

he was like, Can you sing some of

this Elphaba stuff for me?

And I was like, Sure.

And then I went.

Oh, so he saw that in.

You? Yeah.

Oh yeah, that's right.

It was cool.

But it was one of those things where

I was like, my mom was like, Are you

sure you want to spend your money

and go up there and do this

audition? I was like, Mom, if I

do this, I'm going to play

Elphaba. She was like, okay.

Great. Wow, I love it.

There was like a very it was a very

sure thing in

my head.

And you had known the show at this

point already, so I.

Assume it was.

Incredibly attached.

Yes. And I had seen it on tour

in Dallas at that point.

I'm just like so obsessed with the

fact that like there wasn't even a

doubt in your mind.

And then, like, not only did it come

true, like eventually it came

true, like that day kind of.

It took me about a year and a half

to actually get.

The job, but think there was

back.

A few times but yeah that

that was the initial one though.

Yeah.

Okay.

So what was the journey after that

initial audition like?

Did you get any feedback or anything

after that audition?

Yeah, they.

Were like, We would love to call you

back at a later time.

You know, they were kind of at one

point, they they kind of put the

necessarios material in front of me.

I was like, Can you sing this?

And I think I was too like khaki

for that or something or

loud.

Which might be the.

Delineation because I feel like we

hear a lot from Elphaba is where

when they are auditioning they kind

of get put in this nasal rose or

Elphaba.

Right on right.

Is being quirky.

What brings you to Elphaba?

I don't know.

But there's something there.

Yeah, I feel like.

Because I understand, like singing

wise, if you can sing alphabet, you

can sing. That's a rose. Yes.

And I feel like NASA's just a little

bit chiller, you know what I mean?

And I guess some of

the alphabet is we

that we're loud.

Yes. Rose is more buttoned up.

I feel like she is.

More buttoned up. She is more like

I know the rules, I'm going to

follow them.

And Elphaba is more.

Like and

I feel very I've always felt

very much so.

And thus they were like, Oh, I

did the next rose material.

Like they were just like go out

there and read it first like it and

then come back in here and do the

material. And I did it and they were

like, okay, no.

The pick of the alphabet material.

Yeah.

Oh, my God.

So I said it was Oh yeah.

And I was like, well, I knew that.

I was like, I don't want to be the

rose. I want to see the

Elphaba songs like That's my

character.

She was bullied too.

I would have to be her

for being quiet.

Okay. Yeah.

So what was the next phase of

auditions that brought you to

Elphaba?

So I was working at a

Teavana Inn in Penn Square

Mall in Oklahoma City.

Wow.

That's.

I roll back to.

What I'm telling.

You. Starbucks bought them and now

they do not exist, basically.

Yeah.

But yes, I was working at the mall

at the time, but I was they every

time that Craig Bergman would call

me personally on my cell phone being

like, Hey, can you be

here next week to

sing for the team again?

Or To read and sing for the team?

And I was like, Yeah, of course.

Were you auditioning for other

things at this time?

No, this was it.

The eggs were in the basket.

That was it. And that and that was

after that first initial audition,

that open call I had like got

a taste in. Like Craig Burns is

like, we're going to call you back

at a later date. I didn't he was

like, it could be an yeah.

And I. I was just like, okay, I'm

out of school now.

And just like immediately I was just

like, I'm done with school.

I'm just going to, like, put my eggs

in this basket and make sure it

happens. So it was really.

Okay. So so you dropped out of

school after that audition?

I dropped out of school after that

initial open audition.

And then I worked at the Teavana

in the mall for a year and a half.

And then I finally, like maybe

my like fifth or sixth time

flying back and forth to New York.

They had me do some dancing

and I did some dancing.

Dancing.

And and they were

like, okay.

And I booked that same

day, I think Craig called me and

was like, Hey, congratulations.

We would like you to be

Elphaba understudy in the ensemble

in San Francisco, and that was 2010.

And they said, You have two days to

move to San Francisco.

They always seem to say that.

Yeah, you would think you'd have

a little bit more

time.

It's crazy because we keep hearing

stories like this and it's crazy me

that actors are just like, Yeah,

okay, so I'm just.

Expected to do it.

And they do because like, nobody's

going to like pass up that.

It's wicked.

It's wicked.

It was like my eggs were.

There, like, right.

Got to go get a hot

chicken. Okay.

So you had two days.

You fly to San Francisco.

Is this your first

so Rocky Horror happened?

Would you say this was your first

like big leagues?

Oh, yeah.

Gotcha. I was like three.

Versions versus reality.

I was so green.

And I had no idea what I was doing.

I had to, like, learn the rules.

Nobody, like, gives you, like, a

rule sheet or, like, this is

etiquette, theater etiquette.

I had just never done that.

I wasn't like a theater kid, like

a theater kid kid.

And so I kind of had to learn it

later while.

Everyone else.

Is a lot. There's a lot of like.

There was a lot exactly.

Like a warm up in the dressing

rooms and like you literally will

get written up and find if you

relate this many times or,

you know, just like so many things.

Did you have a mentor

in that cast that kind of took you

under their wing?

I think some of them were super

irritated with me.

Oh, because

I came in and like I said, I danced.

And so.

They were kind of trying to teach me

the ensemble track and they were

like, Oh, this girl has no idea.

What she's doing.

Why?

They were probably like, Oh, why the

hell did she get hired

that?

So I was being taught and I didn't

know what in turn was.

And so how do you put a person into

an ensemble that doesn't even know

what that is?

So I think they they switched

some of the ensemble tracks around

really.

And I don't think some of the

ensemble members enjoyed that

because it was just like, Oh, this

girl can't dance, let's make

everyone else do the harder work.

But also just because you're special

enough to make a nomination for.

Yes, I think back.

About it now and I'm like, well, I

would be upset if that were me, too.

Like those girls were right.

And now one of my one of my best

friends, Lauren Houghton, who was

she was out in San Francisco with

me. And we were also on the tour

that whole time.

She didn't like me at first, and I

think we got really close after she

was like, Oh, you just did it.

She just didn't know.

I just didn't know any.

She was just a kid.

I was just a kid.

A bright eyed, bushy tailed kid

with, you know.

Very brave

hair, you know, very brave.

But it was.

And you went on as alphabet while

you understudy. And I went.

On the day after my

put in.

Oh, my.

God. Yeah.

I went on the day after my put it

my Elphaba put in.

It's always so.

Chaotic. There's never like.

An.

Alphabet review story.

No, it was crazy.

And at least I had to put in, you

know what I mean? Because later on,

you know, I didn't really have many

put ins since then.

But um.

Yeah, so, so that was,

that was kind of my journey getting

into and the first person I,

the first effort by understudying

for it was Eden Espinosa.

And she was amazing.

And that was just incredible

because like, how many times did I

listen to Once Upon a Time from

Brooklyn?

Right. Like at that point as a

theater kid, I'm sure it was

a thing for you.

Absolutely.

And she had already done like a few

runs as Elphaba, so it was just

like, ooh, I can like learn things

from her. And I did.

She was like a master class and like

this is how you can do Elphaba

without. Yeah, completely.

You have like one eat in memory

that sticks out to you and put you

on the spot.

You know.

I remember the first

week I was there and I think I was

shadowing backstage for

my new ensemble track that

I was coming into, and

they had me watch right there on the

side. And you can kind of see

during Defying Gravity, they were

like, okay, you're going to watch

for the ensemble members to come out

at the end. And I was like, okay,

but I got to watch the entire

defying gravity from the side during

the show and when she

just seeing the way she got

up and got into the lift and

just sang her soul

out was so incredible.

And I was like, absolutely moved to

tears, just like sitting there.

Like I tried to hide from the

stagehands, like, sobbing, you know.

Especially at that stage in your

career, I imagine.

Oh, yeah.

And I was just like, I can't believe

that I'm here right now.

It was very much like, I mean,

this is almost 13 years later, but.

I'm yeah.

I'm still like, it's

still emotional for me, you know.

Somehow.

Somehow that's all for me.

Okay. So that's a good segue

way because this happened.

You were understudy in San Francisco

in 2010, 2010.

That's right.

It is now 2022

Eliza Fox and you are the current

Elphaba stand by on Broadway.

I am

it it's been so long journey

my what is my so I don't want to

jump to the end.

I don't want to jump to the end.

Yeah, because I feel like the

journey is very interesting.

So 2010 happened and then you went

the second national tour.

I stand by in 2012.

Well, I believe 1212.

So what was that, two years in

between? Was there a talk?

Did you think your wicked journey

was done? Where you wanting to

continue on?

I had I think

I had gone in another couple of

times. I was auditioning for other

things. I got an agent at that point

when I moved to New York for the

first time.

Because we were like, we are doing.

This now.

Yes. Like that.

That was that was it.

And people were like, oh, you know,

work, you know, like moved

to New York, get an agent.

You're going to work.

I didn't work for like three years,

you know. So it was

very difficult.

And money is very hard in

New York, especially when you I had

never had money before, so I didn't

really know how to keep money.

So it was a rough it was a rough

two years.

So I worked.

I was a nanny.

I love doing that.

I love kids.

And I also worked at

an Argosy in Columbus Circle.

I think those two

I really like 30 year old.

I really.

Yeah.

I don't drink coffee.

It's only tea.

From your second act,

you're going to open a tea shop.

I would actually love that.

I mean, I'm not much of a business

person, but

look, she has others.

We can make it happen.

It's great. Perfect, perfect.

Okay, so this two years you were

actively auditioning.

Yes. And doing like

day jobs.

You know.

But I wasn't. And I think I was

doing so much.

I was doing the grind

and I was auditioning and nothing

was hitting. Nothing was hitting.

I got to be frustrating after coming

off of Wicked.

Yes, because.

It was like I was at 100 and then

I had to go back down and

then kind of figure out

what a this pathway

looked like for me without.

Money raised

without time, you know, without

guidance.

I kind of was just doing it

like.

I had artistic fulfillment, too, I

think.

And I really missed that because

that was so like doing Elphaba is

so meaty and I'm sure you've heard

so many girls say this, but it's

like once you do that everything

else is easy.

But I am so addicted to

the challenge.

And you've said before that you're

addicted to playing Elphaba.

I am. It's like a drug.

It's like upsetting how much I still

love it after.

Like that is not a.

Common take that we get from the

alphabet.

I love it.

I love it. I don't know why, but I

love it. I feel like I I'm.

I'm built for it.

Like my voice is built for it.

And I've

seen the crazy

stuff that happens to these poor

Elphaba does.

And it's difficult.

And I'm kind of like, okay, I know

what the job entails.

So how did you get back to

the tour after this?

Oh, right. So we're kind of going

all over the place here, but we're

good.

I'm just trying to think of theater

and theater.

Oh, that's.

Great. Just like you can take

the.

Italy we love.

You can see a place you get

love. Good Christmas present

the Italy.

But okay. So I did a couple

auditions one time.

I went in for them as like a

callback and they were like, okay,

we'll call you back for I think it

was for the national tour of

four.

Because there were two at this point,

right? Yes.

Yeah. I'm not sure which one it was

for, but but

it was for an ensemble member,

again, an understudy.

And I went in and

there was another dance call and

there was like a partnering because

I think there were at that point

they were like, we're not going to

move around the tracks again.

So it was a partnering thing.

So I go into this dance call

trying to do these partnering lifts

and I have my leg up.

I thought it was in the air,

but they were like, okay.

They're like, Okay, that's it.

Can you just pick your leg a little

bit further? And I was like, That's

as far.

As it goes.

And they're like, Great, we'll call

you back with a standby position.

Opens up

so you can stretch while you're

backstage.

Exactly.

Exactly.

So here.

I am. So I've kind of resigned

myself to being like, okay, I have

other strengths.

One of them is not to put my leg up

in the air while being lifted.

You know, like and there are.

There are so many other girls who

do those amazing things with

dance.

And but also.

I don't know when I think of like a

career trajectory, I think kind

of being put in that, Oh, she's not

going to be ensemble understudy,

we're going to put her in this

standby bucket is kind of an

elevation on a career.

Oh, yeah, absolutely.

I mean.

My goal was to have like a principal

contract and and stand by

is a principal contract.

I wanted to do that.

My my goal was not to be an ensemble

member. I knew that that was not

like

what I was good at.

You know, like that

is not what I was good at.

And I have so much

deep respect for anyone who could do

anything more than me.

Dancers are.

Yeah. Blow my mind.

Yeah, totally.

So the very minimal stuff I

could do didn't really work in that

addition.

But.

So did you have to audition

for standby or did they just call

you?

I had to re audition.

I think every time they had me.

Every audition.

Every time until when I'm assuming

that stopped at some point.

It stopped after.

I didn't have to, like, audition

when I was on tour.

And I was the standby.

I was the standby for two and a half

years.

Then they bumped me to lead out

there on tour.

But it took a while.

Two and a half years.

I was there and I really wanted.

And were you like advocacy?

An engineer told us that while she

was sandbagging for a long time, she

started kind of internally

advocating being like, Hey, I would

love to be bumped up to lead.

Absolutely.

Yes. Okay.

And to this day, still doing it.

Yeah.

Right. Like it's and go like, do you

want to do this principal on

Broadway?

You think?

I can't tell you how.

I can't tell you how much I want it.

I really can't tell you how much.

Still, still, like I said.

I still love it.

Like if the second I stop

loving it, I'll be like, I'm out.

By yeah, yeah.

But I still.

There is something in me that is

still so.

Close.

To my heart.

Yeah. And I think you and Jenny are

alike in that way.

We are. And we kind of both moved

up the ranks, you know?

Yeah. Over.

Over a more than a decade,

you know, decade plus.

And I stood by for her three times.

Oh, my God.

And then you two were like trading

places.

Yes, I know.

They're so crazy.

So, yeah, I think there's all these

there's all these Elphaba girls,

too, that you're just like, yeah, I

know you. Or I've understudied

you or you know, we were

all kind of very like we knew

each other's journeys.

So it was neat looking at Jenny

like, Oh, she has advocated

for herself in a way and has

achieved those goals that she wanted

to. She for herself.

And so it was a wonderful example of

like, Oh, I can do this.

I am able to achieve those goals

that I put myself forward

for.

So I did get bumped to lead on

tour.

And that was it.

How long like after you

had decided to stand by on tour?

I want to do lead and I'm going to

start advocating for myself.

Was it a struggle to get bumped up

to lead or did it happen kind of

naturally and organically?

It was a struggle.

Okay. I mean, I.

Had stood by for

a few girls and because Stand

By on tour is harder than it is

on Broadway, just because

just like psychologically, I

feel like because there's not that

there's not a Glinda standby out

there. There's only an of.

Oh.

And so I realized that.

And then if you don't go on for a

while, you're just kind of isolated,

traveling from city to city, not

really having a purpose because

you're not, like, actively in the

show. So all the experiences of

everyone else that you're traveling

around with, you're not

participating actively in the things

that are happening.

The whole reason that we're on the

tour, you know, so it's just like

kind of messes with your head.

I was just like, if I don't do this,

you know, I'm going to lose

it. And so there was it was hard for

a while because stand by the tour

now I'm kind of like I know,

like I enjoy being a standby.

I actually do.

I really.

Especially in New York, if you live

here.

It's great, you know?

Yeah.

Yes.

Not bad at all.

And sharing the dressing room

with the girls is so wonderful.

And I and it is it is different

on Broadway on tour.

So how did you find out that you got

bumped up on tour?

How did I find you back?

Yeah, I know.

I think my agent at the time called

me and was like, Hey, so

do you want to stick around that

tour a little longer?

I was like, Oh, yeah, sure.

And I knew that it was I knew that

it was opening up and I was like,

Oh, yeah, sure.

You know, hypothetically.

Yeah, I absolutely like, you

know, that I want that.

And he was like, okay, so so how do

you feel about playing Elphaba?

Eight times a week? And I was like,

Oh, you want to do that?

Give me that.

So I signed.

I was a dramatic stat.

Agents used to deliver news.

Sometimes they're just like, Who?

How can I say this in the most

dramatic possible?

And I love for it.

I love this. Then you get those like

nobody's.

Ever like camera phones were

as much of a thing in 2008.

But if.

Somebody like a recording you

if somebody.

Recorded me while I got those calls,

it would have been.

Like, yeah.

You know, the sobbing, the falling

down, the like laughing, the

screaming. It would have been all

that stuff.

So yeah.

So enjoy your.

Experience. The ball did you notice

like what was the difference between

now having to do it eight times a

week as opposed to being a standby?

And was it an easy transition for

you?

It was because I already

had a relationship with the cast.

The stamina was something that you

obviously have to work up to.

It's different doing like a one off

every week or two show,

you know, and to doing it eight

times a week. That's, that's just

so much more energy for Elphaba.

You have to for playing lead

Elphaba you have to give up

your entire life like

that is what you're doing to

me. It just takes every bit of

energy from you.

And was it because Jackie Burns told

us that it took her until her second

or third contract to feel totally

comfortable and be able to have fun

doing it? What was your experience.

Like from from early, early

on to.

From doing it.

As a lead?

As a lead, I think I don't remember.

That as much.

I think I was a little I think I was

pretty comfortable at that time.

Like I it was kind of like

I wanted this to happen.

Now it's happening and now I'm

enjoying it. And I did enjoy it.

And sometimes, you know, wicked

is crazy in the way.

That, you know, it just.

Is.

We just go a little nuts, you know,

Elphaba crazy and you never

lose your voice or your body or your

brain.

I feel like the standby to principal

journey is very special

in a way that is different

from, like, the tour to Broadway

journey. Yeah.

And did you feel

like any kind of way now

having a standby?

I think being a standby

for so long before being a

principal, before being lead

taught me what that

track goes through.

And so I.

I hope that.

I kind of took the torch

and was like, I know where this

person's coming from.

I'm going to try to

let them know when I'm calling out

because, you know, like, it's hard

to do those eight shows a week and

sometimes you need a rest.

Like, I know that you guys always

say, Let the alphabet and

rest.

LAUGHTER Missed, like, Oh,

come on, please let them.

I want that on a t shirt and t

theater.

Li Yeah, same,

same. I would be so silly, whereas

I would.

Actually wear that.

Let the alphas rest I think.

Really like first.