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Moundfreek β Stephanie J. Block
Published: 2006-09-29 05:58:23 +0000 UTC; Views: 2494; Favourites: 19; Downloads: 5
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I DID NOT MAKE THIS WALLPAPER!!!!Stephanie J. Block, the best Elphaba EVER!!! And did you know she was the first Elphaba? No, it was not Idina, kind of a sad story. Miss Block was around when Wicked was being created. Most of the music was written for her voice!!! But come performace time, they needed a well-known actress to ensure the show's success. Idina was well known from RENT, Stephanie was not as well known. So she was transfered into a chorus role. SO SAD. What would you do if you were creating this role, this role that would become very very famous, and you were booted because you were not a popular actress? Anyways, I feel so sorry for her, and I like her more than Idina, her voice is deeper and more witchy, I think. Clearer too, I get chills listening to her belt high notes. Don't worry, I still like Idina, none of this is her fault of course.
Good news is Stephanie got to be in the first touring group and I got to see her. Awesome, awesome show.
Sorry for the rant. I just really really like this actress
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Comments: 38
Well, Stephanie J. Block met her husband, Sebastian Arcelus, when she was doing the Wicked tour with him. Β She was the first Elphaba on the Emerald City Tour of Wicked, and became friends with him, although she was dating someone else at the time. Β Block and Arcelus kept in touch, became a long distance couple, and married while doing the show together on Broadway.
Block is heard in the WickedΒ commercials.
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I love her, too 
I like Idina's acting and I like Stephanie's, but Stephanie's voice is just so much better for Elphaba, it's so deep and powerful.
Beautiful wallpaper btw, I had to put it on my desktop
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I agree. I though Idina's voice was too bubble-gummy, too high. not witchy enough. Steph's was dark and deep, fell in love with it immediately.
I'll have to look up Willemijn Verkaik!
Just for the record, I didn't make this wallpaper. I found it online and wanted to share it with the world. Probably shouldn't have done that, but it's so awesome!!
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I LOVE Stephanie! She's one of my favorite Elphabas. wow, I didnt know that story! thats so sad, but at least she got to play Elphaba in the first tour =] and she did 9 to 5 which was amazing. I like her voice way better than Idina's too
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Isn't it as sad story?? But as you said, she got to spread her talent all over the nation when she toured.
Yes, I too prefer her voice to Idina's. It's a bit darker, more daring, and I think brings out both the light and dark that is Elphaba.
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it is! thats not very nice, I would be very crabby if that happened to me XD yes, and I WISH I knew about wicked when the first tour came here, so I could have seen her >.<
that is so true! and when Idina belts, its not very dark, you know? and doesnt put little growls on the words sometimes like Stephanie does <3 I love Stephanie and Kerry Ellis the best, especially on Defying Gravity =]
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Indeed, indeed. The woman is marvelous.
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Have you heard her w/ Annaleigh Ashford or Kendra Kassebaum? They've played Glinda with her as Elphie.
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Yes! I saw Kendra with Steph the first time I saw Wicked! In fact, they are my favorite duo. And I almost saw the pai again when I went to New York (didn't, long story). But I got to meet them both, wich was grand!
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Idina Menzel was the original Elphaba... Stephanie J Block was second I think. In the Gimmarie it says that Idina was the first Elphaba... Not to say Stephanie wasnt good. She was a very good Elphaba
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Yes, Idina Menzel is known to most as first Elphaba, because she started the part on Broadway. However, Stephanie was involved with Wicked a year or two before Idina even auditioned. The majority of the music, like Defying Gravity and Not That Girl, was written for her voice, and she was Stephen Shwartze's originla choice for the part. However, it was believed that the musical would sell out better if a known actress was in the lead role. Stephanie did not have much publicity at the time, but Idina had been nominated for a Tony. So Stephanie had to leave the project because she was not 'popular' enough.
I'm not against Idina. She acted beautifully in that role. However, there is a HUGE misconception when it comes to the roots of this musical, and most people are so attatched to Idina that they are unwilling to accept that she was not the Elphaba the show initially forsaw.
Stephanie was not the second Elphaba. Shoshana Bean was the second Elphaba on Broadway, followed by Eden Espinosa, Ana Gasteyer, etc. Stephanie J. Block originated the national tour, and I was fortunate enough to see her when she came to Denver.
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Ok... So technically she was not really Elphaba at all, but she was part of the music creating process... Not to deny anything, she is an awesome singer, I have heard her
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Well, to say she was not Elphaba isn't at all true. Because the character Elphaba as it is today was WRITTEN for her. Had Stephanie J. Block not been involved, the Elphaba that Idina would premier on Broadway would have turned out very differently. Consequently, she was the very very first Elphaba, despite the offical Broadway premier.
In fact, Wicked's first performance was not on Broadway, it was in LA about a year before. And in the very first performance in LA (commonly known as the World Premier of Wicked) Stephanie played Elphaba. She appeared in the world's very first public performance.
Yes, she is indeed an awesome singer. Very powerful.
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Are you sure that's how it happened? That's the first I've heard of it... The way I heard it was that Stephanie J Block (who, don't get me wrong, was a GREAT Elphaba) was an ensemble member and understudy for Elphie, but got replaced by Kristy Cates. From the interviews I've heard, I think Idina was there from the start and helped develop the role for years, so I have to wonder... I mean, after all, she was there for the San Francisco production in the start, and songs were REwritten after that, so I assume they were for her voice. Anyway. Woah long ramble there, you may want to check your source, that's all.
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No, I needn;t check my source, it is the truth. But it isn't very well publizized because very few want to admit that they booted Ms. Block out because her name wasn't popular. And yes, Idina was involved in the development, but not in the early development. Defying Gravity, I'm Not That Girl, etc, were written for Ms. Block, not Menzel. You can actually find many of these details in the Grimmerie, although I don't believe they ever mention why Steph left the cast (or at least not the true reason in detail). But you will see in the first few pages, about the development, Ms. Block is involved. And then they suddenly begin talking about Menzel's audition, with little word about what become of Steph.
This is the truth, but most Wicked fans don't know it. But I have many, many sources and am a huge Steph fanatic and have done tons of research. Heck, I've talked to her dad on the internet on some occassions! I know for sure that Steph was the first Elphaba, and that most of the show's number were written for her.
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Hmmm... well, I'm an Idina fan myself, but they're both amazing so I'm happy either way. It just doesn't make sense when you say that they needed a big name... they already HAD Cheno, who was adored by everyone, and Idina was only known to Rent peeps and followers of Aida and The Wild Party... she wasn't much better off than Steph, who'd been in The Boy From Oz.
But whatever, they both got the chance to play Elphie, and they were the two best methinks, though Julia Murney isn't bad either... anyway. Cheers to Wicked.
Lol I totally forgot to comment on the wallpaper. 'Tis pretty.
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Idina had a much bigger name than Stephanie. She had been nominated for a Tony. They knew the musical would sell better with more knowns, so Steph had to do.
Thanx, though I didn't make this wallpaper. I wish I knew who did, I think it's so fantastic!
Glad to talk to someone who is Wicked literate. Most people I know who are OBSESSED with Wicked know next to nothing about it (which I have dubbed "Wicked-AirHeads"). The know the soundtrack by heart, but most of them have never read the book, know nothing about the show as a musical, and a lot of them HATE the Wizard of Oz, or at least don't appreciate it and call it a stupid kids movie .... so it's great to hear from someone who actually knows more about Wicked than the lyrics to Defying Gravity
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I suppose they knew what they were doing... if it hadn't gotten a running start, it may not have continued for so long and Stephanie might not have got to play Elphie at all.
Why thank you.
I've always liked The Wizard of Oz. It's a bit sticky-sweet, but a nice story. I was slightly obsessed with it when I was little. I prefer Wicked, because Elphaba's more awesome than Dorothy.
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Glad to hear of someone who read the book first! I did too, but I had heard about the musical. But only the song Defying Gravity. I decided to read the book before learning anything else about the show; hearing more songs, looking for pictures, etc.
Hey, you appreciate The Wizard of Oz, tjhat's good enough for me! It doesn't upset me when people say they don't like it all that much, but my blood boils when they say it is retarded crap. What's a childhood without The Wizard of Oz?
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Completely off topic, but about your siggy:
I once saw an icon that had a photo of one of those 'Hello my name is' stickers, and someone had filled in 'INIGO MONTOYA. YOU KILLED MY FATHER. PREPARE TO DIE' and for that, that person wins.
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Haha, that's awesome ..... Princess Bride makes me delighted!
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YES!!! SOMEONE AGREES THAT SJB IS THE BEST!!! Sorry, pretty much everyone I know is an Idina Menzel fan and won't even explore or open their minds to the other actresses
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And it's actually pretty obvious that the part was meant for her!!!
I used to like Idina, but I was blown away by Stephanie!!! She is awesome and just captures the with feel so well!!!
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Was, very obvious the part was meant for her. I fell in love with her instantaneously. Where did you see her? Do you know about her new show on Broadway, The Pirate Queen?
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I heard of Pirate Queen, but haven't seen it... just Wicked (which was awesome, by the way)
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I'm an Idina fanboy....[sheepish]
I can't really imagine a different Elphie. Of course, I saw her in London...lucky me....with Miriam Margoyles as Madame Morrible, THAT is someone else I can't picture anyone else doing as well....but....
Interesting.
Was there anything with Miss Chenoweth that I need to know about?
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That's cool, I like Idina too. And I at first pictured her as Elphie, but not very strongly because I wouldn'y let myself look at Wicked pictures before seeing the musical. That's so cool that you got to see her in London!
As for Chenowith, I don'y know tons about her, but I know that she was the very first Glinda and that Popular was written for her voice (the yodel in 'popU-ULer' was inspired by her). She and Stephanie J. Block worked together in the show's very early development.
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I must say that I love the harmony of Idina and Kristin....and Kristin is pretty much unmatchable in "Popular." The British actress didn't even come close (it was enjoyable, though, all the same, hearing prissy-Galinda in British tones).
Of course, when they sang duets, it was REALLY odd...basically, the harmony of "What Is This Feeling?" was reversed. Idina was the higher, it seemed, and more prominent....the way that the tones shifted was just inverted.
Still cool, though.
Fiyero was the guy from "Coyote Ugly," I don't remember that movie too well, though....
It was fifty-five pounds well spent.
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Sounds awesome! And thanx for describing it to me in such detail, I really appreciate it!
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Wow I just repeated a lot of what you already said, Jemi. You know where I am right now. (In SPACE.)
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No way did they let her say that in my Grimmerie. That's so stupid! The idea of wanting a hit musical is that the actors WILL become well known if not already. Though I cannot part with my Idie, and hopefully she wasn't much of a part in this descision, I still think Stephanie should've gotten the lead, then!
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She didn't really say it clearly in the Grimmerie. They only really say that she was around when the musical was in early development.
Fear not, Idina had NO PART in the decision. As you know she tried out for the part (and afriad she wouldn't get it). I have nothing against Idina, I love her to death in fact! I just feel bad for Steph
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that is kind of discriminatory and unfair. do you have wicked the book up here?
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I do not have the Wicked book up here. But I bet Norlin does
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possibly but it's so confusing. i went to the multi-level area in the stacks and it's a lot of classics
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