Video: How WAITRESS & CATS Helped Keri René Fuller Prepare to Play ‘Elphaba’ in WICKED

Wicked the Musical has released a new installment of its Citizens of Oz video series, this time spotlighting Keri René Fuller, who currently plays Elphaba in the long-running Broadway production. Watch the new episode now! In the new video, she cites Shakespeare, Waitress, and CATS as experiences that helped her prepare to play the role.

“So when I was younger, I did a lot of Shakespeare and that prepared me a lot for just text work. Elphaba speaks a lot. A lot of Shakespeare‘s characters also speak a lot. In terms of the singing of it, my debut was Waitress and I understudied Jenna, so being on stage for a long period of time without being able to go back to your dressing room … that was a stamina thing that I that I really, really needed.”

Fuller also stated that playing ‘Grizabella’ in CATS helped her prepare for Wicked, stating that the pressure of performing “Memory” prepared her to take on the show’s big showstoppers.

“So Waitress really prepared me for the stamina of it and Cats, I was ‘Grizabella’ in the North American tour of Cats. It really prepared me for such an iconic song that was a big weight to carry when I was on tour because everybody comes for the dancing and everybody comes to hear ‘Memory.’ With Wicked, ‘Defying Gravity’ and ‘The Wizard and I,’ these are just extremely popular songs, as they should be, so there is unnatural pressure that comes with that.”

She also states that Elphaba can be an “isolating” role, which makes the rare moments when she does perform with other cast members more powerful.

“I think that the role of Elphaba is just one that is full of solitude and isolation because you never get to see your cast. At half hour, you’re getting green on. You don’t get to go mingle. You don’t get your intermission to mingle. You are in that chair getting green. Then act two, you’re getting the act two plot. So it’s very easy to feel alone. It’s very easy to feel isolated. But whenever I’m singing ‘Defying Gravity’ or whenever I’m singing ‘For Good,’ like these iconic songs, I have like the amazing ensemble. I have Emma Flynn as my Glinda I just feel such a wealth of support in an otherwise isolating role and that is just that’s truly pivotal in the success of playing Elphaba for a year.”

Wicked tells the story of two young women in the Land of Oz, one born with emerald-green skin and extraordinary talent, the other bubbly and popular, whose rivalry grows into a friendship before the world brands one ‘good’ and the other ‘Wicked.’ The musical draws on a score that includes ‘Defying Gravity,’ ‘Popular’ and ‘For Good,’ and unfolds as a prequel of sorts to the story audiences know from Dorothy’s journey to Oz.