From Spirit, April 2007Who: Stephanie J. Block
A singer lands her Broadway break - finally.
By Melinda Mahaffey
Although the lavish new musical The Pirate Queen garnered mixed reviews in its limited pre-Broadway Chicago engagement, critics agreed on one thing: Star Stephanie J. Block is a phenomenon. Block is no stranger to Broadway, but when the show debuts at the Hilton Theater on April 5, it will be her first - and well-deserved - headlining role.
Although Block was the first to play Elphaba in Wicked when the award-winning show was being created, she eventually lost the starring role on Broadway to better-known star Idina Menzel, who went on to win a Tony. Clearly, the road to the titular pirate queen wasn't always, er, easy sailing.
"I know the term, 'paying your dues,' sounds a little cliche," Block says, "but I climbed the ladder rung by rung by rung. With Wicked - because I had worked on it almost since its inception, back in L.A. - I thought Wow, this is going to be the break, the one to introduce me to New York. And then the world turns you on your ear, and says no, it's not your time. Not opening the show on Broadway was a big heartache for me, but looking back, it was perfect just the way it worked out."
The way it worked out was that Block played Elphaba in the first National Tour and then moved on to The Boy From Oz. "I got two hit shows instead of just the one," she says. She also got Wicked co-creator Stephen Schwartz singing her praises. "Stephanie is a fierce and extremely intelligent actress," he says, "as well as a terrific singer."
What can we expect from Block in the future? "There is a new group of musical lovers out there who are ready to see a new actress bring to life Fanny Brice," she says. "It's my goal to get Funny Girl back on Broadway." Surprising - we would have gone with A Star is Born.