‘Wicked Divas’ sing show tunes with SR Symphony

Emily Rozek, left,who played Glinda, and Nicole Frances Parker, right, who played Elphaba in the hit musical “Wicked.”

Everybody loves show tunes, but sometimes it’s fun to enjoy the tunes without the show.

“Wicked Divas,” the latest concert in the Santa Rosa Symphony Pops Series, will showcase songs not only from the Broadway show “Wicked,” but also from “The Phantom of the Opera,” “My Fair Lady” and even the Monty Python stage spoof, “Spamalot.”

Actresses Nicole Frances Parker and Emily Rozek, both lead performers from the Broadway production and national tours of “Wicked,” will join the Santa Rosa Symphony, conducted by Michael Berkowitz, on Sunday (Feb. 17) at Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, co-sponsor of the symphony’s pops series.

“Our show is not really just about ‘Wicked,’” Parker said by phone from her home in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles. “It’s about divas in all sorts of musical styles. You can’t do a divas concert without songs by Liza Minelli and Barbra Streisand. And we do disco hits by Donna Summers.”

The “Wicked Divas” program has become popular pops concert material with orchestras all over the country. Four actresses who have performed in “Wicked” take turns, in pairs, covering the concert dates.

“It was born out of an accident,” Parker said of the “Wicked Divas” format. “Kristin Chenoweth, who was the original Glinda in ‘Wicked,’ was supposed to perform at a pops concert in Cincinnati, but she got ill and had to cancel.”

John Such Artists’ Management, a talent agency in New York, stepped in to supply substitute performers from “Wicked,” and has continued to promote the “Wicked Divas” shows for the past three years.

The schedule can be demanding, said Parker, who has performed at “Wicked Divas” concerts in Ohio, Texas and Canada.

“It keeps you on your toes,” she said. “Depending on the orchestra’s scheduling, we normally get only one rehearsal. I might fly in very late at night and then in the morning have a rehearsal that lasts all day, and then the performance that night. I’m used to it now.”

Still, after playing the wicked witch Elphaba both on Broadway and in the first national tour of “Wicked,” Parker finds the pops concerts a pleasant change of pace.

“I’m not green. I’m not doing a two-and-a-half-hour show, where I’ve been running around like crazy and screaming,” she said. “It’s nice to sing those songs out of context, in a beautiful red or black dress, and not have to hover 15 feet in the air.”

Parker’s resume includes comedic work on the “MADtv” cable TV series, which she finds useful in the live pops concerts.

“I had one show where the conductor forgot his music for my next song,” she recalled. “Before I knew it, he was leaving me on the stage, all alone, while he went and got it. I filled the time with Ellen DeGeneres impersonations, and I don’t think the audience realized anything was wrong.”

Even if you miss the “Wicked Divas” concert, you have one more chance at the Santa Rosa Symphony Pops Series on April 21, when the season closes with “A Tribute to Neil Diamond,” with guest performers singing the pop star’s hits.

You can reach Staff Writer Dan Taylor at 521-5243 or dan.taylor@pressdemocrat.com. See his ARTS blog at arts.blogs.pressdemocrat.com.

POP GOES THE DIVAS
What: The Santa Rosa Symphony Pops Series presents “Wicked Divas.”
When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17
Where: Wells Fargo Center for the Arts, 50 Mark West Springs Road, Santa Rosa.
Admission: $32-$75
Information: 546-3600, wellsfargocenterarts.org, santarosasymphony.com