Sentimental Men is a podcast hosted by Kevin Bianchi and Quincy Brown. The podcast is devoted to the musical Wicked and specifically to the actresses in the leading roles of Elphaba and Glinda.
Brown and Bianchi started the podcast in 2020. The title of the podcast comes from the song "Sentimental Man" in Act I of Wicked, which the hosts admit they would often skip when listening to the cast album. [1]
Almost every episode of the podcast features an interview with a Broadway performer. Originally, the guests were actresses who had portrayed Elphaba on Broadway or in a touring company. [2] Since its debut, the show has expanded to featuring interviews with other current and former Wicked cast members or Broadway actors who have not been affiliated with the show.
Most episodes include some of the same standard questions for the guest:
As of 2024, Bianchi and Brown have interviewd nearly all the actresses who portrayed Elphaba on Broadway.
In October 2022, Theatrely, a Broadway news outlet, announced that Sentimental Men would be hosted on their platform. [3]
In October 2023, for the 20th anniversary of Wicked, Bianchi and Brown moderated a panel about the musical at New York Comic Con. [4]
Elphaba Thropp is the protagonist in Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire, in its musical theatre adaptation Wicked, and in the musical's upcoming two-part film adaptation. The character is identified with the Wicked Witch of the West from L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Shoshana E. Bean is a Tony-nominated American singer, songwriter, and stage actress. She has appeared in numerous musicals, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatres, including in the original production of Hairspray.
Wicked is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Winnie Holzman. It is a loose adaptation of the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which is in turn based on L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its 1939 film adaptation. The musical offers a unique perspective on the classic tale of Oz, focusing on two witches, Elphaba and Galinda, before and after Dorothy's arrival from Kansas. The story explores the complex friendship between Elphaba and Galinda. Their relationship is tested by their contrasting personalities, conflicting viewpoints, shared love interest, reactions to the corrupt rule of the Wonderful Wizard, and ultimately, Elphaba's tragic fall.
Nicole Frances Parker is an American actress and comedian. She is best known for her work on Fox's sketch comedy show Mad TV, for which she was a regular cast member. In July 2009, Parker concluded her run as Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked, a role that she reprised on tour across North America. She voiced Penelope Pitstop in the animated series Wacky Races (2017–2019) and has appeared in the parody films Meet the Spartans and Disaster Movie. Parker currently co-hosts the Earwolf podcast The Neighborhood Listen, along with comedian Paul F. Tompkins.
Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.
Eden Erica Espinosa is an American actress and singer who is best known for her performances as Elphaba for the Broadway, Los Angeles, and San Francisco productions of the musical Wicked. In 2022, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her role as the Queen of Hearts in Alice's Wonderland Bakery. In 2024, Espinosa received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Lempicka.
Jenna Leigh Green is an American actress and singer best known for her performances as Libby Chessler on the television show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, as well as for roles on tour in the musical Wicked and later in the Broadway production.
"Defying Gravity" is the signature song from the musical Wicked, composed by Stephen Schwartz, originally recorded by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth on November 10, 2003, and released on December 16, 2003. It is mostly a solo sung by the main character of the show, Elphaba, with two small duets at the beginning and in the middle of the song between Elphaba and her friend Glinda, and a chorus part at the end in which the citizens of Oz sing.
Rachel Kelly Tucker is a Northern Irish stage actress, best known for her portrayal of Elphaba in the musical Wicked. She also starred in Come from Away on Broadway, having originated the role on the West End. Rachel has starred in various other musicals and plays, including one alongside Sting.
Katherine "Katie" Rose Clarke is an American musical theater actress.
Alexia Khadime is a British actress and mezzo-soprano, known for her roles in musical theatre and television.
Willemijn Verkaik is a Dutch singer and actress. She is best known for her stage roles in Wicked and Elisabeth, and for providing the singing voice for Elsa in both the German and Dutch versions of Disney's Frozen. She was the longest running Elphaba in the musical Wicked, having played the role over 2,000 times, and is the only person to have played the role in three languages. Her first performance as Elphaba was on 31 October 2007, in Stuttgart, Germany, and her final performance was on 22 July 2017 in the West End of London.
Donna Vivino is an American theatre, television, film actress and singer. She is known for playing Elphaba in the Broadway production of Wicked and as the original Young Cosette in Les Misérables on Broadway. She was seen on Law & Order in January 2023 as guest star Rachel Ford. She will be appearing in the upcoming films "Family Affair" and "Inappropriate Behavior" with Bobby Cannavale.
Jemma Rix is an Australian theatre performer, who has played the role of Elphaba in the Melbourne, Sydney, Australian and Asian touring companies of Wicked. Rix first performed the role in the shortened 30-minute version of the show at Universal Studios Japan. She was an original cast member of the Australian premiere production as the standby for Elphaba.
Louise Dearman is a British actress and singer, perhaps best known for playing Glinda and Elphaba in the West End production of the musical Wicked. Notably, she is the only actress to have played both witches in any production of Wicked full-time. She has a number of other professional stage and television credits, such as Eva Perón in Evita, Sarah Brown and Miss Adelaide in Guys and Dolls, and Daisy Hilton in Side Show. She released her solo albums, You and I, Here Comes the Sun and It's Time, in 2005, 2012 and 2013 respectively.
Lindsay Heather Pearce is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theatre. She made her Broadway debut as Elphaba in Wicked in February 2020 and later made her national tour debut as Janis Sarkisian in Mean Girls in May 2022. Other regional theatre credits include Wendla in Spring Awakening, Ivy in Bare: A Pop Opera, and Whatsername in American Idiot.
Jackie Burns is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theatre.
Lindsay Michelle Mendez is an American actress and singer, best known for her work in American musical theatre. She won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Carrie Pipperidge in a Broadway revival of Carousel. Her other credits on Broadway include Elphaba in Wicked, Godspell, and Jan in Grease.
Carla Stickler is an American semi-retired musical theatre actress, who is best known for her work on the musical Wicked. She is mainly a software engineer who came back in 2022 to Broadway to fill in for Elphaba due to the COVID-19 pandemic in New York.
Jessica Vosk is an American singer and actress, known for her work in musical theater.