Interview: Alexandra Socha Lands by Bubble in Oz for the First Time

Alexandra Socha has a very distinct memory of seeing Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel in Wicked 20 years ago. As she embarked upon a career that includes Spring Awakening and Head Over Heels, she never imagined that one day, she’d be coming and going by bubble at the Gershwin Theatre. But here we are: Socha is the latest Glinda in Wicked, and she marked her special anniversary of catching the show for the first time while being the pop-u-lar one herself. It was as surreal and wild an experience as you’d expect.

This conversation has been condensed and edited for clarity.

How’s the show going?
It’s going really well. Honestly, I’m having a great time.

You posted last month about doing the show on your 20^th anniversary of seeing the show for the first time. It must be really strange and surreal to actually be in the bubble now.
It’s just wild. It’s rare to have seen something as a kid and then be in the exact same production that you saw, down to every costume and movement. I will say, the bubble dress has gotten a lot poofier. I look at pictures of Kristin and she did not have this poofy a dress. There are days it feels like an absolute fever dream. I don’t think there’s a word for it other than surreal.

Had you gone out for it over the years?
No. I had never auditioned for it. It had never, ever come my way in all these years. When my agent asked me if I’d be interested in it, I wrote back a very casual response, but in my head, I was thinking “Am I interested!?” It was one of those things I thought I would never do. Most of the time, you have to go on tour first, and I don’t know if I’d ever go on tour, especially now that I have a kid. But it came my way, and it was to go right to Broadway, and I was like “Well, I gotta go in for this.”

Given that this show has been in your bones for so long, did that give you a leg up in rehearsal?
It certainly helped, I think. I actually had a full month of rehearsal, which was really special. Most times when you replace, you have a couple of weeks, but so many of us went in that they gave us more time. And yes, I I know the music, but there are always things you realize you’ve been singing wrong for 20 years. You’re singing what you think is off the album, and then you look at the page and go “Oh, that’s not what it is.” And, rightfully so, they’re very specific there. You do what is on the page.

How is that for you as an actor?
I love that. I think that’s one of the things that’s kept the integrity of the show for over 20 years. New people are seeing the show every day. Even if you think you can futz around with the song because everyone knows it, the fact of the matter is, people don’t. You need to do what the song is. So, I knew it, but there were certainly plenty of details I was unaware of.

Do you remember your first thought when you went up in the bubble the first time?
I think I said out loud, “Oh, this is really high.” I don’t mind because I’m not afraid. Right before I stepped in, they went “By the way, are you afraid of heights?” And I said “No, but this is a terrible time to ask.” [Laughs] It’s pretty cool. When you first come down, you’re level with the mezzanine. It’s really nice that the mezzanine gets something on their plane.

Your husband, Etai Benson, is a former Boq in Wicked. Did he have any pointers for you?
He had the best advice when I was auditioning. You’re so worried about being funny and making them laugh, and when I did go in for the associate director, Etai said “First of all, she’s seen this five million times, so she probably won’t laugh at anything you do. That doesn’t mean you’re not funny, it just means she’s seen everything.” Although, she did laugh a couple of times, I have to say.

I knew I wanted to keep it simple when I was working on it, and Etai kept telling me to simplify it even more and even more. He said the best thing ever, which is that a lot of people come in and try to put their stamp on the role, but you’re never going to be better than Wicked. It’s been running for 20 years because it’s Wicked, not beasue of you. You’re not going to be the one who makes it run for the next year. That was the best advice, because it freed me to trust the story. You don’t need to prove that you are a genius inside it. It’s already genius. That helped me a lot.

Are you having fun each night?
Oh, I’m having so much fun. The show only works, and Glinda, in particular, only works if you’re having a lot of fun. It forces me to have a good time even when I’m tired, and I have a kid, so I’m tired a lot, That’s the way the audience gets on her side. If they see how much fun she’s having, and how silly she’s being, they want to feel silly with her.