(Kristin Chenoweth) and Elphaba - Camera Obscura: Feminism ...

Wicked Divas and Internet Girl Fans • 61
Peterson, and Jill Dolan for seeing the show with me the first time;
and the Dolans and the Greens for seeing the show with me the third
time. Thanks to Jill Dolan for reading drafts of this essay and to Alex
Doty and Patty White for excellent editorial guidance.
1. Jesse McKinley, “For a Fallen Witch, an Uplifting Farewell,” New
York Times, 10 January 2005.
2. This event was discussed in detail on witchesofoz.com, one
of the many fan sites for Wicked. One fan (who was not there)
complained that if she had paid $100 for a ticket, she would
not have appreciated the actors’ breaking their characters
during the performance or a new Elphaba playing the last
few minutes of the show in street clothes. This comment was
roundly criticized by one spectator who had been there and
by many more who had seen a clip of the event circulating
on the Internet on a bootleg video. Other fans of Wicked
emphasized that “everybody” in the audience appreciated
the public acknowledgment of Menzel’s last appearance and
that “everybody” knew that she had been injured during the
performance the day before. On the fan site, insider knowledge
matters.
3. See Richard Dyer, Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society (London:
Macmillan, 1986), 13. Also see Barry King, “Articulating
Stardom,” in Star Texts, ed. Jeremy G. Butler (Detroit: Wayne
State University Press, 1991), 125 – 54.
4. Ben Brantley argues that the leads of Wicked are “eminently
replaceable,” and this is perhaps so, but, as I will show, girl
fans ably distinguish performance choices and character
interpretations among different actors (“How Broadway Lost
Its Voice to ‘American Idol,’ ” New York Times, 27 March 2005).
On how musicals are “open” and change with different casts,
see Bruce Kirle, Unfinished Show Business: Broadway Musicals as
Works-in-Progress (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press,
2006).
5. On Holzman’s career and fans’ support of her work, see
Jane Feuer, “The Lack of Influence of thirtysomething,” in The
Contemporary Television Series, ed. Michael Hammond and Lucy
Mazdon (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2005), 27 – 36.
6. Salman Rushdie, The Wizard of Oz (London: British Film
Institute, 1992), 42.