ABOVE PHOTO: Christian Thompson. (Photo by Joan Marcus)
By Kharisma McIlwaine
“Wicked” is the 4th longest running Broadway musical of all time. The three-time Tony award winning musical is a beautiful reimagining of a story so many of us are familiar with – “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” Based on the novel by Gregory McGuire, with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman, “Wicked” tells a very different story about the Land of Oz.
In “Wicked,” the story isn’t told from Dorothy’s perspective. Instead, it is told from the perspective of a misunderstood woman named Elphaba with green skin, dubbed evil solely because of her appearance. Under the direction of Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, “Wicked” continues “Defying Gravity” as it returns to Philadelphia for a one month-long engagement. Florida native Christian Thompson takes on the role of Fiyero in in the production. Thompson spoke with the SUN about his dream role and what it means to play the role of Fiyero as a Black man.
Thompson was bitten by the acting bug at a young age, which immediately sparked his desire to dive headfirst into the world of musical theater.
“I decided I wanted to be an actor at eight years old,” he said. “My mom moved me to a district where the elementary school there was an arts school, so I was shown the arts at a very young age. I remember seeing a touring production of “Cats the Musical.” It was kind of like ‘Oh, it’s a cat.’ Then it was like ‘No, that’s a human, playing a cat and they get paid to do that… that what I’m gonna do!’ Then there was this really weird laser focus on making that happen.”
Thompson participated in musicals from elementary school on. He continued his studies at a performing arts middle school and earned a scholarship to attend American Heritage School where he studied musical theater. He continued pursing his dream in undergrad at Penn State where he received his BFA in musical theater. After graduating, Thompson began working in theater right away.
“I was very fortunate,” he said. “I strung along a lot of jobs, kind of one after the other. The first thing I did was a regional gig in North Carolina, then I hopped on a cruise ship and did that for five and a half months. Then I came back and was in New York for a little bit. It was a total of three months when I booked the 20th Anniversary national tour of “Rent.” I did that for about nine months, and had two weeks between that and my next job, where I started with the world premiere of “Ain’t Too Proud-The Life and Times of The Temptations.” That was my life for six years.”
In truly kismet-like fashion, Thompson and his mother’s lifelong love for “Wicked” gifted him a beautiful full circle moment.
“My family is a massive “Wizard of Oz” family — they love “The Wizard of Oz”! My mom’s favorite character was always the Wicked Witch of the West,” he said. “When the show came out, I was about 11, and I was firm in my wanting to be an actor. My mom heard that they were making a musical out of this book about the Wicked Witch of the West and what really happened. She immediately brought it to my attention and bought us both a copy of the book and I loved it. I was in New York, and we played the lottery to see “Wicked” at The Gershwin. We didn’t get it. We tried again another day and didn’t get it. Then we had to leave, but she pushed back our flights to try just one more time. We won the lottery and that was the first time I got to see it. We saw it about 8 or 9 times — we were super fans. I grew up with two posters above my bed — “Phantom of The Opera” and “Wicked.” I’ve loved this show since it started!”
After auditioning several times for the show, Thompson finally landed the role of Fiyero — his dream role.
“I was thrilled when they called,” he said. “I put in tapes for “Wicked” before and never heard back. Then almost a year ago, I got a call — they asked me to come in, and I did about an hour and a half audition where I was working with some of our creatives. Then about two weeks later, I got the call from my agent that I booked it.”
Fiyero, the love interest of both Elphaba and Galinda, brings humor, charm and lots of rule breaking to “Wicked.”
“Fiyero is a prince and a transfer student,” Thompson said. “I would describe him as a fun-loving, troublemaker. He doesn’t necessarily abide by the rules of the establishment. He enters into the world of Shiz University and decides that he wants to shake things up. He is immediately taken in by Galinda, but then has an interaction with Elphaba that kind of turns their worlds on their heads. I love Fiyero because he has such an amazing character arch. At first, he’s carefree, self-centered and focused on what he needs and wants. He goes from that to someone who deeply cares and would sacrifice everything for the ones he loves. That’s an amazing journey to inhabit every night.”
“Wicked” makes a strong statement through Fiyero and Elphaba, that we are all more than what meets the eye. As a Black man in the role of Fiyero, Thompson felt the parallel of what it means to be judged solely by appearance is amplified even more in the show.
“Fiyero is a complex human,” he said. “Maybe all he really needed was for someone to see him for him, instead of the “princeliness” of it all. I think Elphaba gets to the core of who he is, and that’s super special. I also think it’s super special being a mixed Black man. When I do this show, it is a person of color love story. It is green and black and there’s something incredible about that. I think the audience has to confront just how ostracized they are for what they look like and that’s highlighted by me inhabiting this role. I love that… it is such a privilege and honor that I don’t take lightly.”
“The impact that this show has is amazing,” Thompson continued. “The diversity from background, race, age — every demographic loves this show. That’s so incredible to be a part of and to feel in the theater! “Wicked” lives up to all the magic even 20 years later. It holds a very space in the theater world. I hope that after people see the show, they walk out of the theater with joy and we can help put some more of that out in this world.”
To continue supporting Thompson on his journey, follow him on IG @christianthompsonactor. “Wicked” will be at The Academy of Music on the Kimmel Cultural Campus November 1-26. For more information on tickets and showtimes, visit: www.kimmelculturalcampus.org.
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