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OK! magazine
23 June 2009
Musical star Kerry Ellis joins OK! for lunch at Buddha Bar to talk wicked witches.
We're suckers for big West End musicals here at OK! - especially if we can leave the theatre kicking our heels, waving our jazz hands and murdering the show tunes!
A gorgeous gal who knows all about opening in big, bobby-dazzler shows is musical star Kerry Ellis, the first British actress to play Elphaba in Wicked, and also the first person to star in the role both in the West End and on Broadway.
Fresh from her acclaimed two-and-a-half-year stint as the future Wicked Witch Of The West, 30-year-old Kerry's now packed away her broomstick to star, as herself, in her very own musical showcase The Great British Songbook, which pays tribute to Britain's leading composers and lyricists, with modern chart songs by Take That and Duffy in the mix alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber and Paul McCartney.
With only hours before curtain-up, we decided to grab our West End girl for some laid-back lunchtime chat at the eye-poppingly opulent Buddha Bar on London's Embankment, where over some tantalising pan-Asian dishes, we learnt how Kerry doesn't miss her Wicked green make-up…
Kerry, you're starring in The Great British Songbook - how's it going?
I'm so excited to be doing this show. It's finally something that I can do as me, as opposed to being in a show as a character. It's lovely to be able to sing songs that I really want to sing or which I wouldn't normally get to sing. It's basically just me on stage. I've got a five-piece band and I'm in good hands.
Is it more nerve-wracking than doing a musical?
It's terrifying, because I've never done anything that's just me on stage. This is me, here I am, and this is what I want to do. So there's no one else to take any blame! I just hope people accept it and enjoy what I do.
As well as the usual songs you'd expect from folk like Andrew Lloyd Webber, you're also singing some Duffy, Take That and Coldplay. That's an interesting mix…
I wanted to show people that I'm not just a 'musicals' girl, that I can do other things. I think that will appeal to a broader audience too. I tried to cover all different genres. So I'm doing Greatest Day by Take That as an opener and also Rule The World. I'm doing some Bond themes, and I do a tiny musical section, because obviously that's where I'm from. I do some Annie Lennox, a Coldplay medley, a Duffy track and also Queen - I've worked with Brian May quite a bit and been in We Will Rock You, so I can't not do some Queen!
You were the first British actress to star as Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch Of The West, in Wicked, and the first person to play her in the West End and on Broadway…
Yes, that was a real honour - and what a joy! It's an amazing show and it's still going strong. To be taken to Broadway with it was just a dream come true. Wicked has changed my life, really - it's boosted my recognition and has taken me to another place.
The character Elphaba is green - how long would you spend in make-up?
I tell you, I don't miss it! I got it down to half an hour in make-up, after two and a half years of playing her, and I got it off quite quickly, but I'd always have bits of green in my ears. It's like a poster paint, it's a water-based paint but on top of that is all the powder and make-up, it's full-on. I really don't miss the green in my ears and the tinge around my hairline!
What was Broadway like for you?
It was a very different experience. They work very differently from the way we do in Britain. Their contracts are very different, so while the Wizard was on a four-month contract, I was on a six-month contract, Glinda the Good Witch was on a nine-month contract, so it was like a revolving shop door. But they're so professional and driven - they look after themselves and they give 110 per cent every night, and the level of performance is untouchable, whereas here people have more of a family environment. It's swings and roundabouts, but I'm so proud to have had the chance to do it in both places.
What's next for you?
I've got a concert in Henley, Friday Night Is Music Night, with John Barrowman, on July 10. I've got other Queen concerts coming up too. And I'm working on my album, again with Brian May, which is all about rocking up some familiar songs.
Author: OK! magazine (2009)
Source: Extracts taken from OK! magazine