Mariand Torres becomes green 8 times in a week.
It’s not envy induced; she plays Elphaba the witch in Wicked, the North American Broadway musical which tours now and till the 7th of July at Paramount Theatre in Seattle. The movie is set in Oz and is based on a novel by Gregory Maguire, the popular show which came on Broadway in 2003 till date with viewing houses that are filled up. It tells of the strange friendship between the blonde with, Glinda who is much popular and Elphaba, the green-skinned wicked witch of the west.
Idina Menzel, the first Elphaba snagged a Tony award in 2004 for the role. Ever since, the role has been played by different women on Broadway, the West End and even while on Wicked tour. Every one of them have also looked in a mirror as they had their faces, necks, ears and chests painted with very thick pea soup.
Joyce McGilberry, the tour makeup supervisor for Torres and Wicked let some guests in to the Paramount Dressing room meant for Torres to observe the colour change. On the door hung a sign saying that nobody should enter because “greening” was ongoing.
Torres said it’s really strange to have her makeup done every night by an artist. This is because performers on Broadway including the stars all do their makeup themselves following a prescribed design.
Torres has experience in playing Elphaba seeing as she played the role all through on Broadway and a previous tour. She has also performed in the following musicals; Natasha, In Transit and Pierre & the Great Cornet of 1812. But the show’s hallmark – the Elphaba look- is complicated and needs a hand that is skilled.
For about 13 years, McGilberry has been on tour with Wicked and handling Elphaba’s makeup. This she does quickly, calmly and efficiently.
It takes about 15 minutes to do the makeup and Torres and McGilberry usually begin 30 minutes before the show starts thereby creating time to put on the costume and a wig. They begin by applying a regular MAC liquid foundation on Torres to keep her skin shielded. McGilberry then uses a wide brush tha is a bit wet – the brush looks like a paint brush- to put the first green layer on her. The green is a bright solid water-based cake called Chromacake Landscape Green, a MAC pro product.
