Susan Cella has a long, illustrious career on Broadway, one that includes working with the legendary Hal Prince and understudying the equally legendary Patti Lupone in “Evita” and Kathleen Turner in “The Graduate.”
Currently, the Revere native is appearing as Madame Morrible in the North American tour of “Wicked” at Citizens Opera House in Boston. It opened last week and plays until Nov. 15 in a moving, yet comical production that tells the story of the famed witches of Oz before Dorothy and her cohorts followed the yellow brick road to see the equally famous wizard.
She responded to Stage’s questions with the following answers:
STAGES: WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ROLE IN YOUR NOTABLE CAREER AND WHY?
Eva Peron in the original company of “Evita.” That was my second Broadway show with the legendary Hal Prince. My first great fortune was to work with Hal and the second was to become the Eva understudy. The role is a tour de force and the show was a groundbreaker a huge hit. I had notice the first time I went on so it wasn’t a surprise. I was terrified but prepared and had a lot of family and friends there. It was thrilling. I went on numerous times and performed the role in out-of-town companies. It is a highlight of my career.
STAGES: DESCRIBE YOUR CHARACTER AND YOUR INTERACTION WITH ELPHABA AND GLINDA. I play Madame Morrible and have the most stunning costumes and wigs. I get to be glamorous and wickedly manipulative, with some comedy thrown in. It’s a dream role. In the play I meet Glinda and Elphaba at the sorcery school at which I am the head mistress. I soon discover Elphaba’s gifts at spell casting and take her under my wing and introduce her to the wizard. Glinda, however, is not so talented at witchcraft, but she becomes Elphaba’s best friend, so I must “make nice” even though I’m focused on Elphaba’s rise to fame. Without giving too much away, I basically use both Glinda and Elphaba to gain power for myself. Madame Morrible is a bit of a villain. Who doesn’t like playing villains?
STAGES: WHAT WAS IT LIKE GROWING UP IN REVERE? I was born and raised in Revere, into a huge Italian American family who all lived there. We went to my grandmother’s every Sunday for dinner, went on vacations with my cousins, and for every one of my recitals, concerts or science fairs the relatives showed up. It wasn’t until college that I realized everyone else didn’t grow up the same way. I consider myself fortunate to have had that kind of childhood and my Italian heritage is important to me. I grew up in a time before cellphones or internet, and we really did play kick ball in the street and had to be home for dinner by 5:00. I cherish those memories.
STAGES: DESCRIBE LIFE ON TOUR AND DO YOU EVER TIRE OF IT? My mother used to call me “her gypsy daughter” because I was always doing a show somewhere. I moved to NY after college at the University of Rochester and Eastman School of Music and started auditioning. One of my first shows was in North Carolina, another at Jones Beach in New York and over the years I have performed in most of the lower 48. My family has come to most of them, including Germany and Austria. I’ve also done five other national tours before “Wicked.” Luckily I love to travel, and I go to Europe as often as I can manage. But I’m finding that there’s still so much to explore and learn touring our country. We just finished our Midwest segment and played places I knew nothing about … Omaha, Kansas City, Des Moines. I try to get to at least one museum in every city. Our schedule is challenging with eight shows a week, and some time is spent finding places to eat or laundromats. I’m traveling with my 15-year-old pup and I’m an over-packer, so travel days are a nightmare for me. I’m figuring out how to simplify.
STAGES: ANYTHING ELSE? I am happy to be back in Boston, a city I love more every day. We’re here for eight weeks so I can settle in. The family is coming to the show. I’m lucky.
Visit BroadwayInBoston.com for info and tickets.
IN THE WINGS
ONE NIGHT ONLY — Actor Dennis Trainor Jr. brings his solo show “The Tao of Lloyd” to his live/work loft at Western Avenue Studios and Lofts at 160 Western Ave. in Lowell at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 3. The critically acclaimed show had its world premiere this summer at the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Festival and reimagines Lloyd Dobler from the movie “Say Anything” as a middle-aged zen-punk anti-guru trying to reconcile Taoist philosophy, Gen X idealism, political fury and the question of how to take meaningful action in a culture that seems determined to monetize everything. The dark comedy is also part of the national Fall of Freedom arts initiative, taking place Oct. 2-4 and billed as a national call to creative resistance. Call 978-727-4433 or email [email protected] for info.
Nancye Tuttle’s email is [email protected].
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