Lencia Kebede on Being Wicked's New Green Girl: 'My Soul Is Singing Right Now'

Sometimes, if an actor is lucky, the role she is playing reflects the kind of person she aspires to be off stage. Lencia Kebede, the first full-time Black Elphaba in the Broadway company of Wicked, puts it more poetically, declaring in her program bio that the green witch represents nothing less than an opportunity “to continue living out her soul’s purpose on the Gershwin [Theatre] stage.” In a Broadway debut performance of strength and honesty, Kebede is carrying on the tradition of the charismatic, big-voiced actresses who have brought Elphaba to life for more than two decades.

“This role feels so aligned with who I am,” reflects Kebede, who joined Wicked in March after several years on the road, first as Joanne in Rent and then as Angelica in Hamilton. “I have the opportunity, especially as the first full-time Black actress in the role, to positively affect kids, adults—anyone who has ever felt different. It feels like I’m doing something important, something that makes people question themselves and the world around them in a healthy way. So, yes, my soul is singing right now.”

As the daughter of immigrants and a first-generation Ethiopian-American, Kebede identifies with Elphaba’s tenacity, empathy and struggle for acceptance, explaining, “I have first-hand experience of the world not trusting me because of what I look like.” Unlike her character, however, the Los Angeles native had steadfast support from her parents, even as she shifted her focus from an undergraduate degree in diplomacy and world affairs to a career in musical theater. “My family unit is so strong,” she says proudly, “and that taught me to trust myself.” When Elphaba sings of longing for a father who is proud of her and a sister who doesn’t act ashamed, “I literally think about my own family, and it’s such a blessing.”

Speaking of “The Wizard and I,” it’s the first of three songs Elphaba performs alone on stage, in addition to her celebrated duets with Glinda (“Popular,” “For Good”) and Fiyero (“As Long As You’re Mine”) and, of course, the epic Act One roof-raiser “Defying Gravity.” Kebede seems surprised when her trio of solo numbers, including “I’m Not that Girl” and “No Good Deed,” comes up. “I don’t even realize I’m alone because I’m so lost in the mental labyrinth of what the character is experiencing,” she says. “I’m so focused on getting to the bottom of my feelings as Elphaba that I truly don’t think about going from number to number.”

Wicked remains in excellent shape in its 22nd year on Broadway, beautifully sung by Kebede, Allie Trimm as Glinda, Jordan Litz as Fiyero and Jenna Bainbridge as Nessarose. The elder characters of Madame Morrible and the Wizard are currently being played by a pair of Tony nominees, NaTasha Yvette Williams and Brad Oscar. “This creative team does not settle for anything less than the truth,” affirms Kebede, crediting Broadway vet Lisa Leguillou, the show’s associate director, with keeping the large cast on its toes. “No one is phoning it in,” she says with a laugh. “Lisa pushes us to be unapologetically honest in every scene, and that has really helped me grow as an actor.”

It’s been an action-packed decade for Kebede since she interned during college for the Guatemalan ambassador at the United Nations. She had a passion for politics but an even bigger one for musicals, noting, “My goal as a kid, my dream, was to be on Broadway.” Where did that ambition come from for a girl growing up a continent away from Times Square? “I don’t know!” she exclaims, but her studies in diplomacy took place alongside roles in community theater, notably Motormouth Maybelle in Hairspray. “That’s when I discovered my capabilities as a singer and actor, when I burst out of my shell for the first time.” Pausing, she adds, “A lot of my life endeavors have been driven by a deep curiosity, and I thought, ‘I want to investigate this and see how far I can go.’”

Kebede soon embarked on an international tour of Rent and five years on the road in Hamilton, moving up from “Woman 5” to Angelica. “I became a professional tour artist,” she says now, which turned out to be an exciting way to spend her 20s while developing her craft. The key to remaining grounded was to a make each stop on the road feel like home. “I traveled with little twinkle lights and the same scents in a candle,” she says, “and I learned that no matter where I am, my home base is in myself. That’s been helpful in keeping me grounded going into this experience as Elphaba.”

While making her Broadway debut in one of musical theater’s most demanding roles, Kebede is also adjusting to living in New York for the first time and finding her place in the theater community. “There’s such a diversity of storytelling on Broadway right now,” she says, “and it’s exciting to see other people’s work.” She’s been photographed with Idina Menzel, partied with Cynthia Erivo after the Tonys and leaned into advice from the powerhouse “sorority” of former Elphabas. “The biggest thing I heard from them was to remember that anything I’m feeling in this process, every other Elphaba has gone through, as well. They made me feel like there’s nothing I can’t overcome.”

Anyone brave enough to invite 60 friends and family to see her first performance in Wicked, as Kebede did last March, is certainly up for almost any challenge. “My whole family wore their traditional Ethiopian clothes, and to see all those people standing on stage after the show was so special,” she recalls. “I am telling you, I could not have imagined this moment.”

Now that her Broadway dreams have come true, Kebede has a new goal: to originate a role. After all, she’s already played a trio of instantly identifiable heroines as Joanne, Angelica and Elphaba. “Isn’t that crazy?” she says. “It’s been such an interesting experience to play characters the public knows so well, and I’m excited to see how those skills can translate to building a character from the ground up. After this, I would love to originate something on Broadway, in TV and film or even animation. I would love to be a new Disney princess! I’m just curious about what else I can do and how far I can go.”