Glinda It is hard playing a hyper blonde with out cracking up

Elphaba's character is written to be identifiable, so she's out of the running because the acting is easy - just be a little quirky, have a pretty good belt, and play up the inside jokes and the audience will go wild.

Glinda can be the easiest or the hardest - and unfortunately, most actresses take the easy route. I'd like to see fewer "hyper blondes" and more confused young women. She should show all of the levels without feeling fake the whole way through. I'd like to see the Glinda from the novel shining through some more. Glinda is too often played as Elle, when they should be two different characters. The line "And I've had so many friends" needs to be cut.

For all of his debatable complexity, the Wizard is an easy role to play. You just have to be a charming man in his autumn years, preferably with a bit of fame from your glory days. Although it helps to be able to sing and dance the part, it's not necessary (as demonstrated by George Hearn).

I think there are a few roles in this show that could be given complexity, but are shortchanged by the actors. Boq and Nessarose have potential to have depth.

Wow. And I consider myself a fan of this show.

Glinda, if played correctly. She needs to go through a huge character change from being the bubby, ditzy, blonde to a leader actually capable of doing good. Plus she needs to portray the total heartbreak and agony of going from the pretty girl who has the perfect guy to losing him to her former best friend. Plus, I like to think under her pink, perfect shell, she is incredibly insecure and is just desperate to be loved and admired. She DOES grow up a lot in the show, while still having her "blonde" tendencies and characteristics. Plus, I personally think she is more vocally demanding than Elphaba because not only does she need to have a great belt, she has to have a flawless soprano as well. Plus the acting range is greater than Elphaba's as well.

The role of Glinda doesn't require belting. It's Elphaba's that does.

I think that "Thank Goodness" is a pretty strong belt.

I have seen clips of Dian Pikelton (sp?) in the part, and she seems to have a lot of depth that others miss. The strained smile and forced cheerfulness in the opening is a good example.

I guess there was in that song, but that doesn't mean that it was expected for that role. I do recall that, though. Although, that's the only song where she does belt.

Agree.

...and agree. Glinda truly is the harder role to act.

In my book, any good Glinda needs to have both the serious acting AND vocal chops to truly nail it. I agree with the other that think it's much harder to sing than Elphaba, because she has to go from high legit soprano hitting high C and E (some even venture to the F ) to belting the end of Thank Goodness and bits of Popular.
She's also a role that one can totally massacre by trying to be too cute and funny and a lot of actresses fall into that trap.

I'm just going to say this because it hasn't been brought up yet really (with the exception of Baker's comment). Boq is quite tricky, trickier than a lot of people think anyways.

The actor must show the complexity of him longing for Glinda, settling for Nessa (even though he has no real romantic feelings for her), all the while trying to do what he thinks is the "right thing"... which he's not even sure of himself. As a character, he's very confused, and by the end, VERY angry that he's been hurt by the ones he loves time and time again. In fact, he's nothing but a pawn the entire show, and while he doesn't get angry until the end, he still knows that he's being taken advantage of throughout its duration. He merely pushes past that, hoping that if he does the right thing (impressing Glinda, doing her favors etc), everything will work out for him and it will all have been worth it. Obviously it does not work out, and it's truly crushing. I dunno, just my two cents.

Good post - Boq is my favourite character in the show for several reasons and I often see his journey as the most tragic.

I definitely agree about Boq as well. I think both him and Nessarose are characters that can be quite complex but are often overlooked.

uhmm... Glinda is a belter. If anything she belts more often than Elphaba in the show. Parts of No one mourns the Wicked, What is this feeling, Popular, Thank goodness are all belted. Even her small parts in Defying gravity, One short day and For good are belted. She actually only uses her head voice once or twice.

While I agree with you mostly (in fact Glinda was written to be solely a pop belter), I would say that it varies from actress to actress. There are many who wouldn't belt at all in "Thank Goodness" or "No One Mourns the Wicked" - it's often the altos or those with slightly lower ranges that would be comfortable with belting there.