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SOME WICKED FUN
Makeup Tips for the Wicked Witch
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One of the questions most asked of the folks involved in the day-to-day
production of WICKED is directed to the makeup
artists: “How do you make Elphaba green?”
Whether it’s the Broadway show, the open-ended
runs in Chicago or Toronto, or the national tour (coming to Cleveland
on June 21), it is usually the job of one specific makeup artist
to transform an actress like Julia Murney into
the green-skinned Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. Joseph
Dulude II, the makeup designer for the
Broadway production, and subsequently, all other productions,
developed the creation and approach, mixing his powders and creams
to find the perfect formula. |
Julia
Murney as Elphaba
© 2005 Joan Marcus.
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In terms of skin preparation, the actress is told
not to wash her face or moisturize before the “greenifying,”
since that could affect how the makeup goes on. First the makeup artist
applies a color foundation. Then, using a wide Japanese brush (the type
found in art supply stores), he paints the actress using MAC Chromacake
in Landscape Green.
He applies it to the face and jawline first, then
takes a larger brush to smooth it out. He uses a smaller detailing brush
to fill in the hairline and the ears. Then he applies a waterproof powder
and starts on the regular makeup: eyeliner and purple and brown contours
for the eyes and cheekbones. Finally, the actress’ face is brushed
with Golden Olive pigment to add some sparkle. Then he moves to her
hands. He only needs to go a little way up on her arms because she wears
a green bodysuit. Then the hands are powdered extremely well, and a
spray fixative is applied to keep the makeup from rubbing off.
During intermission, the actress reports back to “makeup”
for her Act II look, when she gets the “glam” treatment
that makes her look older, sexier and just plain witchier. The makeup
artist arches and extends her eyebrows. He smudges the eyeliner, puts
lashes on, increases the contour on her cheeks and jawline, uses a Green
Derma color from Krylon for her lips, and then powders her again. He
touches up her neck and her hands, then powders them and sprays fixative
all over again.
There is always the concern that wearing that much
makeup for so many shows a week would irritate the skin, but the MAC
Chromacake is water-based and contains no oils, so it’s gentle.
After each performance, the actress playing Elphaba can easily wash
off the green in the shower with plain old soap and water. Some places—along
the hairline and in the ears—might require a little more scrubbing.
Ah…what price, green glory? Incidentally, the
makeup process itself doesn’t really take all that long: several
of the makeup artists have it down to 10 minutes! Dulude himself says
his record for “greenifying” Elphaba is seven minutes.
Fun Facts About WICKED
• The electrics department
uses enough power to supply approximately 12 houses. Including the
sound and automation departments, the total would increase to 18 houses.
• 4 – 5 miles of cable are used in the electric department.
• Within the past year on the road, 1,000 feet of steel cable
have been used to restring the flying monkey wings.
• The first notes of “No One Mourns the Wicked”
are repeated in the beginning of “As Long as You’re
Mine.”
• “March of the Witch Hunters”
has exactly the same tune as “No Good Deed.”
• The first seven notes of the “Unlimited” music
in “The Wizard and I” are the
same seven notes as “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”
from The Wizard of Oz.
• In each performance 70 wigs are used, with actors making up
to eight changes from beginning to end. Each is custom-built and can
cost anywhere from $1,200 to $2,400.
• The dragon’s eyes are red LED bulbs that never burn
out.
• The dragon’s wingspan is the same as a Cessna 172.
• During the first big “quick change,” 17 actors
change from the mob scene to Shiz University students in 1.5 minutes
(including costumes, wigs and shoes)!
• There is a song in Act Two that doesn’t appear on the
original cast recording called “The Wicked Witch
of the East.” It deepens Nessarose as a character,
but it is mostly dialogue and gives away a major plot point “spoiler.”
• The novel has 38 characters; the musical cuts it down to focus
on 8 main characters.
• Since WICKED is a “back story” to The Wizard
of Oz, the character name of Elphaba was created to honor the
original Oz author L. Frank Baum (eL-Fa-Ba).
• Kristin Chenoweth (the original Broadway G[a]linda) is now
a regular on NBC’s West Wing.
• WICKED uses more than 200 costumes, each individually tailored
for the particular actor, not to mention double that number in shoes
and hats, each with a unique design.
• There are 179 different types and finishes of leather used
in shoes, gloves, hats and costume trim for the show.
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