This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:01] Brittney Johnson: Hi, my name is Brittney Johnson, and you're listening to Eleven, the official theatre podcast.

[0:18] William J Connolly: Hello and welcome to Eleven, the official theatre podcast that brings the biggest stars and creatives together in one place to discuss life in the arts. She's the Broadway star that's become an international name thanks to her stunning portrayals on stage. With credits including Beautiful, the Carol King musical, Sunset Boulevard, and Motown, alongside her history-making performances in Les Miz, and of course, most recently as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway, a role that saw her rise through the ranks and become the first black woman to ever play the role. And now she's about to put vulnerability first as she debuts her new solo show, Ripple Effect at Birdland, a piece that will allow us all to learn a little more about the wonderful woman behind the stage style.

So here in an exclusive conversation just days before taking to the stage for Ripple Effect, we talk vulnerability, embracing the nerves and owning your own narrative when there's no character to hide behind. We also discuss saying goodbye to the Gershwin Theatre and her chapter as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway, as she also reveals some of the great conversations she's had most recently with the newest member of the Glinda Sisterhood, Miss Ariana Grande, as the Wicked movie takes flight. Plus, we talk representation, representation, representation, and why everybody deserves a place to feel special. So arise, my queen.

[1:47] William J Connolly: To ensure the safety of all involved in this episode of Eleven, Brittney and I connected for this conversation digitally. So please forgive any brief moments while we wait for the internet to catch up. Enjoy.

[2:02] William J Connolly: Please help me welcome to this, the next episode of Eleven. She's the Broadway star that's blazing a trail for the world to see. She is the moment. So let's get right into it here and now by saying hello, Brittney Johnson. How are you?

[2:14] Brittney Johnson: Hello. I don't think anyone's ever called me the moment to my face before. And it's kind of awesome. I like it.

[2:22] William J Connolly: You are the moment because you're you are awesomely talented and unbelievably kind. And I've had the pleasure of spending quite a lot of time with you, and I can confirm that both of those things are true. So I'm gonna be saying it a lot because it is true.

[2:33] Brittney Johnson: This is a podcast, or else people could see me blushing.

[2:36] William J Connolly: Blush away, please, because I'm gonna be doing a lot of that during this by telling you how awesome you are. So I feel like this is a vibe we need to get used to. But just firstly and most importantly, thank you so much for your time. I really, really appreciate it. And I'm really excited to do this because we got to spend some time together in January, which it's literally like four or five months ago, which is ridiculous. I have no idea how time moved that fast.

[2:54] Brittney Johnson: Right? That felt like last month.

[2:56] William J Connolly: Literally, I was about to say, like, oh, I saw you really recently. No, I saw you literally nearly half a year ago. What the hell?

[3:02] Brittney Johnson: Oh my gosh. One thing that I don't care about time is the opportunity to get to talk to you because I have so many questions to ask you. But most importantly, I just want to ask, you have had the most extraordinary few years, literally soaring high on Broadway. You have ended that chapter, your feet have come back down out of the bubble, onto the ground. You've had the opportunity to well, number one, sleep, which I can imagine you're very grateful for, but also to just rest, to take a breath in and out and realize that while of course it is sad that that chapter is over, you've had the opportunity to probably look back and do exactly what you're doing right now, which is have a massive smile on your face and realize what an awesome time it was. So for you having this time now to breathe in and out, how are you feeling? Is it nice to not have to rush to the Gershwin every day?

[3:44] Brittney Johnson: Yes, I honestly I feel amazing. It's exactly what you said. It was like as soon as it was over. First of all, it didn't feel like it was over for at least two weeks. I felt like I was just on vacation and I was gonna go back because I've been with the show for so long. You just you don't really know life without being in the show. And then I would probably say the top of the third week, I was like, oh, okay. Well, let me try to figure out like what's life now? What what's my day to day? What am I working on? What am I, you know, what am I excited about? And I had a bunch of things that were lined up anyway. And so I was like, okay, well, I know I'm doing this reading, I'm doing this workshop, and I have my concert and I have this, but it still just didn't really click for me that I wasn't going back to Wicked. You know what I mean? But I it does. It feels really good to be autonomous again.

[4:36] William J Connolly: What was the thing that you were like, I forgot how much I missed doing this? Was it having an evening to yourself?

[4:41] Brittney Johnson: Yes, I saw my neighborhood in the daytime, which was so strange for me because usually, you know, in the daytime, I'm rushing around, I'm going to the gym, I'm maybe trying to grab some food, or I'm going rushing in my grocery shopping or something, you know, and you're not really looking around, you're just doing your errands. And then I would drive into work, and by the time I drive back, it's nighttime. And so I knew what everything looks like at night. And I remember there was one day in particular, I was driving home and I was like, oh, this is what this road looks like in the daytime. And I realized it was like seven o'clock or you know, six o'clock on a Tuesday. And I was outside. Crazy. I've had Friday nights, I've had Saturdays. What is a Saturday? Usually I'm in the theater all day on Saturday because it's two shows. I can't, I mean, it's it's nice. I love the stage, but I love a weekend.

[5:37] William J Connolly: Is it also wonderful of you? I imagine to know that a chapter, yes, again, I will I don't want to fill out with saying like, yeah, bye Wicked but like to know that that chapter respectfully and on your terms is closed, and therefore you can go, I did that, and that was me, and that belongs to me, and nobody can ever take that away from you.

[5:53] Brittney Johnson: Yeah, and it's really something beautiful to look back on, actually. I feel like any kind of big period in your life at all is something that when you're in it, you kind of feel stressed about it, or you feel like, oh, this is something because for me, I definitely while I was in it, I was like, I really need to enjoy this because this is one of those moments that you're gonna look back on like, oh, those were the good days, you know, or like that that was a really special time. And when you're in it, sometimes it's hard to have that perspective. But then as soon as you're able to turn the page, you can go back and look at all the things you highlighted. That's something that's been really fun to do.

And I'm still receiving fan mail and stuff, and so it it's kind of keeping me present and like wow, that that happened, and that was me that did it, you know, and it it's still very much alive for people and you know, for myself too. But it it is, it's it's crazy to be like that happened, and it happened so recently. But also when you look at the fact that all of the women that have played this role in the varying productions, because it's basically in every country in the world now, but anybody that's played these two particular lead roles have gone on to such great success, and you'll be part of that sisterhood of women that have all had the same experience, but also are elevated on this platform because it's such a huge role and it's such a signature thing to be able to do that.

There's such a level of respect and trust from the industry that you know you will it will open doors for you in the future that you'll say, actually, I know that it's part of this wonderful chapter that I can still be so grateful for, but also face on these massive challenges because people are gonna go, Well, she's done that. Why don't you bring you in here? And you're saying, Oh my gosh, this is kind of major and huge, and I'm really grateful that Wicked allowed me to be a stepping stone towards this. Have you thought about the future and the fact that there's more to come? This is chapter one, but there's a chapter two coming soon.

[7:38] Brittney Johnson: I mean, just hearing you say that, my stomach was like because sometimes you you don't want to try to look too far into the future, because if you try to plan it, first of all, nothing ever goes the way that you plan it. So in that way, you don't want to get your hopes up, and you also don't want to dream too small. For me, I mean, I certainly hope that all the things that you said are true. I feel like I have worked and continually try to work very hard to be present. I try, I really do try to live in the present moment. I of course plan for things and I, you know, I have I have balls that I'm that I'm putting into motion and things like that. But when I was much earlier in my career, I would I would always look so far ahead and I would miss the moment that I was in, or I would be like, okay, so by 24, I need to do this, and by 27, I need to do this.

And by the time I actually got there, I was like, You blew all of those goals out the window. Like, why are you just stop it? Just work hard, prepare, figure out what your dreams are, figure out what excites you, and act on it when it when it feels right to do it. Be kind to people, you know, it's like the basic things that we should all be thinking about in life anyway, but we're also concerned about what's next, what's next, what's next. Like, I don't know. I'll find out what's next when it gets here.

[8:57] Brittney Johnson: But also, I think you're so right in the being kind part and be a company leader and be a company member and and focus on, you know, I love that phrase of like enough bricks, build a house, but it is true. Like if you're a good person and you therefore radiate that energy and your reputation precedes the fact that you are a good person and a good company member slash leader. Therefore other people will hear about that that could potentially be a prospective employer in the future. So if you've done that, that like hello. So important. I mean you'd be surprised how many people that I've I've worked with or that I have heard about that you you just hear about the reputation before you even hear about their talent.

And it's so unfortunate because it's so easy to be kind. It's so easy and honestly it makes the everyone's experience better. And so it you know I I always try to do that especially because I remember my very first job I remember what it was like for the the people who were kind to me and the people who made me feel like an outsider and I have never ever wanted anybody to feel that way. And so I've I've always made it a point to go out of my way to welcome new people and to ask if they need help and to congratulate people because it's those things are important. This is a hard job and it's a hard life and so you know we all need that that encouragement and then when which is honestly it's still weird to me that people look up to me.

It's very very strange to me still but knowing when you're in a position of leadership and you're in a a status that that people really are looking to and trying to model themselves and their careers after it just made me even more aware to to be kind and to really encourage people because they they need it.

[10:39] William J Connolly: And also, if you're the person at the front that's leading your company, like all eyes are very naturally and organically on you, therefore your behavior is I guess more under a microscope than anybody else's because you're the one that essentially gets the most airtime. So I you know, you should, you know.

[10:54] Brittney Johnson: I I liked the fact that that when I came to see you in in Wicked, and when we were sort of by stage door and and around the front of the theater and went for dinner and stuff, you were were very present in that moment. But I know that you were sort of like reflective of the show and like the audience's reaction and the fact you were commenting on like, oh, I was really this audience felt really attentive, and like it was a really fun audience. Like we were joking around backstage and stuff, and it was like being present, I think is also a key part of that. And it was interesting that you weren't like, oh, I got through it, or like I was great, or like any of the things that I think we all naturally and quite easily fall into. You were actually the opposite, which was like it's about everybody having a good time, and I think that's really commendable, and I think that's a really good trait for you to have.

[11:30] Brittney Johnson: Thank you. It makes it more fun and it takes the pressure off of you when it's not about you, it's about the experience that you're giving to other people. It really does make the show more fun and it keeps it fresh because every I'm doing you know, I get to say the same lines and I'm singing the same show, but every single person in that audience is different. That's a lie. Sometimes people come back, but but you know, the audience changes, and so if I get to make it about them, then I get a new show every night, which is exciting.

[11:59] William J Connolly: Definitely, it is exciting, and that's something that's important. I think we've the fun has to continue, and it's about collective, you know, enjoyment. And I think that sometimes we do all just need to chill out and have a nice time and realize that we're all trying to strive for the same goal. We don't need to be serious too much.

[12:13] Brittney Johnson: Yes, but we do need to be serious sometimes.

[12:17] William J Connolly: I know you sound like my mom.

[12:20] Brittney Johnson: No, I know, I know. I did say a second ago about chapters closing and what's the future, and and I completely get it about looking too far ahead, and I really like the idea of being present now. But one thing that is gonna happen in actually a few days from now is a rather exciting project, which is I guess you mentioned that you've been part of workshops and a few stuff since then and concerts. But let's focus on what I think is a huge moment in your career, and that's going solo and you doing this solo concert. First of all, talk to me about the name. How did you come up with the name of this concert? And I guess when you're putting a show like this together, where do you sit down day one, page one with a blank page? Where do you start?

[13:00] Brittney Johnson: That's such a great question. Um for those of you who don't know who are listening. Um I'm doing my debut solo concert this Monday, just May 1st at Birdland Jazz. My concert is called Ripple Effect. And I named it that because the entire evening is a reflection on the artists and the songs that have influenced me and that have really created the artist and the human that I am.

[13:42] Brittney Johnson: So when I think about ripples, I think one thing creates the next thing, and out and out and out and out and out. And it starts from your birth, really, and that, you know, that is the proverbial stone in the water for me, really, was just being born, and everything else has just influenced me, influenced the things that I like and the things that I'm drawn to, especially musically. I feel like music has always been the biggest part of my life. My mom said literally that I was singing before I was talking, so I've literally been using music to express myself since I've been trying to express myself. So this concert, I just wanted to be honest with the kinds of music that actually moves me. Because I feel like in this industry, you don't necessarily always get to do the music that you love.

You get to do the music that fits your type or what people think your type is, who people think that you are. But there's so much more to me than I think people have gotten to see. And so I wanted a chance to literally, I'm gonna just be just me on a stage, not playing a character, which is so terrifying. It is so scary to be on a stage by yourself as yourself. Like I can perform in front of millions of people as a character and not sweat it. As soon as I have to get up and talk to someone as myself, God forbid if I know any of them. Oh my goodness, I get so nervous. I'm sweating just thinking about it, honestly. You perform in front of thousands of people. How does that work? Like what's like I'm but I'm playing a character.

I already have the words to say. I already know that it's gonna end either on a happy note or on a sad note. I know how it's gonna go. And it's not my words, it's me interpreting words. They didn't come from me. And I'm not doing any original music this concert. I was like, I'm not ready. I need to just get this one. I need to make sure I can just do it as myself first. Because it's very nerve-wracking. I'm very excited, but it requires a lot of vulnerability to just be yourself in front of an audience. I'm excited. I'm really excited. And maybe I'll call you on Tuesday and I'll be in tears, just in tears. Just like it was so bad. They hated it. They walked out after the opening number.

[16:02] William J Connolly: That is not gonna happen.

[16:04] Brittney Johnson: How dare you even entertain that concept or idea? That is not gonna happen. You'll be kicking about the end. You'll be like, please leave, there is no more. Literally, I have nothing left. I have nothing. But it is vulnerable. And honestly, the amount of megastars in the world that you watch on a stage and you think, oh my gosh, there's nobody can do it like you. They never do concerts. They're like, you want me to go on there and be myself? No, like literally I'll go, you know, from one extreme to another as a character, but I can't do it as me. And I think it's really commendable for the fact that you want to put yourself first and you are doing these songs and you are saying, I wanna show you, you know, good and bad, more about me. And I can imagine as the creative part of you is like, this is exciting. The personal part of you is like, why the heck am I doing this?

[16:57] Brittney Johnson: Literally, yep. And I feel like every day I'm like, oh, I'm so excited. And then the next day I'm like, why did you do this to yourself? Why have you done this to us, Brittney? I'm just, you know, going back and forth because I am really excited. My music director and arranger is James Sampliner. We had a band rehearsal the other day, and I could not stop smiling. It sounds so good. I'm so excited to be able to sing this music, just in general, let alone in front of people, and to share that part of me with people. But man, when I think about it in total, I'm like, oh man, what have I done? But it's gonna be great, but it's gonna be great. I know it's gonna be great, and I have to keep, I have to just remember that people are coming for me. They're coming to support me. They're not coming to throw eggs at me.

[17:53] William J Connolly: I think you should think about that first, you know, because actually everybody that's made a conscious decision to come is coming to purely that. It's entry level see you. Everything else is a bonus. They're there on your side from the start. It's not like you playing in a new show and everyone's like, oh, what's this gonna be like? They just want to see you. And I think that you should say what they're saying, they're just ready to judge me.

[18:15] Brittney Johnson: And you know what? As whoever said they'll judge anyway, whoever create, you know, let them do it. It's true. But I promise you they'll have a great time.

[18:23] Brittney Johnson: Yeah. I really hope so. I've worked really hard. We all have worked so hard on this concert. To get back to your original question, which I strayed so far from, the process for me really was about narrowing it down in order to find the story that I wanted to tell because it was like, well, I want to sing all these songs. And so I started by literally making a Spotify playlist of all of the songs that I love, all of the songs that move me, all of the songs that I feel like narrate my life. You know, this like, you know, you go to your most played songs on Spotify and that's usually a good way to start. And I looked at the runtime and it was like six hours worth of music. I was like, okay, so this isn't gonna work.

So I need to pare this down. And as I started to pare it down, I started to see trends in the kinds of music that I was picking, the kinds of songs that really did, I mean, still spoke to me. You know, because some of them are songs from my childhood, but they're songs that have either grown with me over time or that still make me feel the same way they did when I first heard them. And I think those kinds of songs are really special. I say a good song you love, a great song grows with you as you grow. And so most of, if not all of the songs I think on my list are those songs for me. And they all speak to different parts of my life, to different emotions, different, I don't know. There's some good stuff in there.

There's some good stuff. I'll probably cry a little, you know, like I really do want just to be vulnerable and to really be myself because I want people to get to know me. I want to feel like my audience knows me. I feel like we have social media especially, like it's all a curated experience. You know, like you think that you know the person that you're seeing, but you don't. You see them on their best day. They're gonna see me on a good day too. Don't get me wrong, I'm gonna be dressed up. But you know, I do want it to feel like a personal conversation. And that honestly, thinking about it that way, I'm glad we're having this talk. Because thinking about it that way actually just calmed a lot of my anxiety because it really is just like a talk with a friend.

That really is how I want it to feel. And so maybe it won't feel like a lot of other people's concerts. Comparison truly is the thief of joy. But you can't help but do it. You know, you want people to love it as much as they loved XYZ or as much as you loved whatever, but you're not that person. You're you, so I can only bring what I can bring. And I think what I'm good at is cracking my heart open and pouring it out on the table, crying a little bit, and then wiping my tears and doing a hit. So that's what I'm gonna do.

[21:18] William J Connolly: That is, as you very rightfully say, that is one of the things that you personally enjoy, but you're so wonderful at is finding emotion in songs. You know, you've played so many characters that have this wonderful character arc throughout your career. And I can imagine for you the opportunity, yes, of course we, you know, people immediately have known you for being a soprano, but actually that's probably some place that you was quite new to you most recently because actually you have this wonderful belty voice that you've used throughout so much of your career. And I imagine the opportunity to use that again and to maybe even surprise a few people, I imagine you're gonna embrace that with both hands.

[21:53] Brittney Johnson: Yeah, and you know what's interesting actually, and I will talk about this a little bit in my concert, but I actually started by learning classical voice. That's actually how I started. And so when I began my professional career and I wasn't able to use that part of my voice at all, it was like, oh, okay, well, people want me to use this other part that I've also, you know, trained and worked and learned how to use, but it wasn't actually where my initial training lay. Oh, we'll say both. Call it. It wasn't the way I was initially trained. There it is. Oh, thank you. I'm glad you can speak. You're English. You're supposed to know the real language.

[22:37] Brittney Johnson: I speak American. Yeah, so it actually was so wonderful to be able to use that part of my voice to play Glinda. I wasn't getting auditions for those kinds of roles because people didn't know that I could do it. And then, you know, if you get a request for an audition from someone whose resume says Motown and Carol King and all these things, you're like, what does she want to do? You know, Cinderella and Into the Woods. Like, what? That is a dream role for me. But now I feel like I'm getting a range of roles because now people, and honestly, now it's skewing more toward just using my soprano. And I'm like, you guys, I do other stuff. But that's kind of why I wanted to do this concert is so that I can do all the things that I love.

I literally have Mariah, Barbara, Sondheim, I've got some country, I've got some folk, got some cerebrella. You know, it's like it literally is everything because I am all of those things. And so I'm excited. I'm like, and I am excited to surprise people. I hope they're surprised.

[23:49] William J Connolly: You had me at Mariah, I'm not gonna lie.

[23:51] Brittney Johnson: First one. I posted a little sneak peek on the Instagram.

[23:56] William J Connolly: I saw, I saw.

[23:58] Brittney Johnson: It's so good. I love Mariah Carey so much. I always feel like it's just like, oh hell. She doesn't know just how much she taught me how to sing that way. She taught me how to use that part of my voice. Because like I said, I was taking classical voice and I was like, I don't want to be a classical singer, I want to be Mariah Carey. So I would, that's who I was singing to. So I feel like the lightness of my voice, even when I, I mean, I'm not trying to compare myself to Mariah. I don't need your hardcore Mariah fans coming after me. But you know, I do feel like the very, the light quality of her voice always spoke to me because that is how mine is. I don't have like a heavy, you know, I couldn't hold it with the other gospel singers at church. I was like, yeah, it doesn't do that.

[24:41] William J Connolly: And also it must be nice for you to get the opportunity to show just the fact that you are this artist that has so many very different, you know, opportunities within the talent that you've been given. And I know in this industry that is hard to be given opportunity to even do more than one thing. And you have, you know, you've been very clever in navigating the industry in a way that feels true to you at the time with roles that you want to do. Obviously, you're famous for being an understudy and a standby and going on to these iconic roles that eventually, through I guess through fault of your own, but almost through no fault of your own, have become history-making and have become signature and iconic to you.

So to know that you're breaking down these barriers but then also breaking down barriers for other people, I guess it's this, I don't want to say it's the part two of the industry because it's incredibly important, but it's almost the extra bit for you that makes you go, no, me actually doing this that feels right for me is right for me because it's also right for other people.

[25:32] Brittney Johnson: Yes. And that's the thing too, and that I think is what I've tried really to build my platform on is, you know, this moment, that moment, making history, it wasn't for me. It was for what it now means for people. It's for the fact that now people feel like their dreams have been reinvigorated because they feel like they can see it now. You know, it's one of those things like sometimes you don't know you can dream something because you don't know it exists. You don't know you can, you don't know what you don't know. It's kind of like that. And now that people know, they're excited to get to work on their passion again. You know, not even just in, not even just artists. I've had people in other industries from all over the world be like, you know, watching you break this barrier has encouraged me to go after this thing that I didn't think I could do because I've never seen anyone like me do it.

And now I know that I can be the first one. And those are the stories that really keep me going because it's like this isn't about me. It never was about me. I'm so blessed and grateful that I got to be the one leading the charge. But it truly is just so much bigger than that. And so I feel like me now going about it, kind of being like, okay, so now that you know that anybody can sing this way, let me also let you know the other things that everybody can do. Not everybody, but you know what I mean. Like just because a person looks a certain way doesn't mean that they belong in a certain box. And that I think is my legacy. What I hope my legacy is and continues to be. I hope to be that voice that kind of pushes through first, you know.

[27:18] Brittney Johnson: Like I've already I already got scraped up, so it's fine. I can keep busting through things first for people so they can walk through after me. Also, as you say that, like you are the first, but you're gonna you and that will always be the first in this instance. But also that continues outside of Wicked with obviously with Le Miz and the way which she made history with Le Miz. I know that Lucy St. Louis that plays Glinda in London has spoken so much about the changes that have happened to her costume, which is an experience with her hair that feels natural to her that you were telling me about that you had in your production, and it has a knock-on effect that I think sometimes we're not even conscious of.

And that's the thing about being the first is you kind of set the stage for everyone that comes after you. And that's something that I was very cognizant of because the process was not easy, especially with wigs and hair and everything like that. Really was not an easy process. There were tears shed and there were, you know, it wasn't easy. And my hope is that because of the way that I handled it and the way that I handled myself and the way that I was able to very clearly articulate why things weren't gonna work and why they, you know, why this is a little disrespectful, you know, like those kinds of things. I hope that because of that, Lucy's experience was smooth and easy because they'd already gotten through all of the you know the chinks in the chain with me. That's always the goal. It's like I'll go through it, but don't put the next person through that.

[28:41] William J Connolly: And I love the fact that you talk so positively of it, which I think is wonderful that you know it is hard. You've been honest about the fact it wasn't always easy, but actually I think in life the stuff that means the most probably are the most difficult to get through, and you're at an experience now where you know that there's a legacy there for you that you can be celebrated for that also has given back to you in ways that you're being seen for other roles, and it's almost I don't say it's a give and take because I think it works in different ways, but I like the fact that you're in a position now to see the good in everything can look forward, and you rightfully get to reap the rewards of that in other different ways where the world can give back to you. And I like the fact that it feels like we're I like the fact that it feels like we're spinning forward, and I think that's important.

[29:22] Brittney Johnson: Yeah, me too. And you know, I think that as a society in general, as a culture, especially our generation and the generation under us, we have to remember that life isn't supposed to be easy all the time. It's not supposed to be comfortable, and you know, like there is no growth in comfort. You don't, you know, even like to go to the most basic example, like imagine what that caterpillar is going through inside that cocoon becoming a butterfly. It is not easy work to change, and so I think that right now we want so bad to be comfortable that we're missing opportunities to grow and be better. And if there is another thing I could leave with people, don't be afraid to be uncomfortable. Find out, first of all, explore that within yourself.

Why do you feel uncomfortable by that? Because maybe that is exactly the area that you need to work through and you need to work on. And maybe it'll help somebody else later. You know, I feel like every single hardship that I've had in life, and when I was younger, I didn't necessarily see benefits in hardship the way that I see them now, but I at least knew to work through them, and I knew that life wasn't always going to be easy, but I knew that it was an up and a down. And if there's a big up, it means that there can also be a big down. And I feel like I can genuinely say that every experience that I've had that I would perceive as negative has a net positive because of ways that it's been able to help someone else. Even just on a one-on-one conversation. I've been able to be like, hey, you're actually not alone here. I went through something similar. Here's how I push through it. How can I help you?

[31:07] William J Connolly: What about the weight of responsibility for the people that, for example, when somebody came along to see, you know, a classic like Le Miz, probably with their parents, with their school friends, with their girlfriends, and then they see you on stage leading, soaring on that particular day with the two respective roles, making history. What about that side of it when you think I'm existing and I'm being me, but actually it's almost bigger than you in that there's somebody that's gonna leave that theater going, there is a place for me in this industry because it's a heavy weight to be able to carry by just existing, and you really are just existing, but you're existing in your most authentic state. And actually I think as you rightfully say there, these days being true to yourself is actually the easiest thing to do, but arguably the hardest.

[31:54] Brittney Johnson: Oh, that's such a deep question. You're very good at this. Um, how do I start okay? So honestly, I have been so lucky because all of the shows that I've been in where I have made history or where I have, you know, like shaken things up, they've been epic shows, you know. So they've been shows that already carry their own legacy with them, that people do come in, yes, wanting to see something, wanting to hear something specific, but they also come in usually either already loving it or having the expectation to love it. It's not like I and I do want to one day hopefully soon originate something, but it's not the same kind of pressure, it's a completely different kind of pressure, but it like when you when you go in and you're playing Eponine, you're not playing it for like the first people to ever see Eponine played.

So you're you're going in to play your version and to maybe give people a different way to empathize with a character they already empathize with. I think when I play a role, I'm thinking, how does my take on this help a person in their real life? So for example with Glinda, because I did and do still sometimes get pushback with it, like, oh, you know, she could never play a role like that. And I'm like, well, honey, you didn't see it, so you don't know. But you know, because people assume that it's supposed to be a specific way, but I'm like, that person isn't necessarily trying to grow in life. They're maybe just trying to enjoy a show, which is fine too. But I feel like when you come to see a show like Wicked, you already know you're gonna love it, and you come in and you expect to see something that's very surface, and then you see it and you have to apply it to your real life because you're like, oh, these are situations that I have seen or that I've been a part of.

These are dynamics that I have seen or been a part of. You look at your neighbor differently when you see them on stage. I think that that's something that has always that how do I say this in English? Um, that's the thing that I think has always been most poignant for me, especially in Wicked, because when I got all of the feedback of it is life-changing to see myself on stage, the other side of that is it's life-changing for other people to see you on stage too.

[34:27] William J Connolly: You know, we talk about the opportunities and the positives that come out of it and you know, rejecting the negatives because some people are idiots, but to the weight of responsibility as individuals, you know, sort of I guess the sort of similar way that I try and understand it is separation and difference is we've all felt othered in our lives, we've all felt like the other person. So if you understand what that feels like in your core, you hopefully have a desire to make sure that nobody else ever has to suffer that much, because I think that actually being othered is an incredibly difficult thing. You know, I remember being at school and being like the only gay kid in my class, and therefore it was like, well, nobody else is like me.

And then when you see that person or you know and that and that person is just existing, this it finally feels like there is something else out there, somebody else out there that has a similar experience or is on stage in a character or looks like yours sounds like whatever it might be. So when you know that that is happening, the weight of that is that a heavy I was gonna say is that heavy crown to wear but not literally in the Glinda sense, but to carrying that responsibility is this are there some days where you do have to say I I can't go there and think about that because I've got other things to deal with but I understand that it is happening.

[35:33] Brittney Johnson: Oh absolutely and I think the days when it feels too much are the days when I when I make it too much about me. As soon as I remember that it's not about me, it's about other people and it's about what they're getting from it and how they no longer like you said, how they no longer feel othered anymore. It took the pressure off and it freed me to really just be myself and do my best job at my job. And I think I think one something that is not talked about enough is if everyone is an other then none of us are and I think as soon as if you have felt othered in your life because like you I was usually the only black kid in my class. So it's like you know and it it's very easy to be like oh I'm I'm the other I'm I'm the one that's standing out. But every single person has something that they feel othered because of and so if we're all in the category of other then shouldn't we all just be the same.

[36:30] William J Connolly: Exactly. I feel like we we really don't talk about that enough because we're all really trying to separate ourselves in our own way to try to be like well this is what makes me different aka special because we really are we oh everybody wants to feel special and I and of course and everybody should be able to feel special. But if we can think more about what we have in common, what just unites us all as human beings, I think we'll have a lot easier of a time getting along. Because it's it's getting rough out there.

[37:02] Brittney Johnson: Exactly. Exactly. And actually I think it's important to focus on the ways in which we are all very similar but unique in our own being, you know, nobody else is is us. And I think that's all of our greatest power. And yeah. And instead of instead of trying to separate ourselves because of what's other to celebrate it and to celebrate the other in everybody because we all have other in us.

[37:24] William J Connolly: So it should it should unite us instead of separating us.

[37:27] Brittney Johnson: Definitely and I think the opportunity I've my dream world it does.

[37:32] William J Connolly: Well it should it should and it will one day also I do genuinely believe that.

[37:32] Brittney Johnson: I do too.

[37:39] William J Connolly: Yeah. I think the pendulum has to swing the other way.

[37:42] Brittney Johnson: And whether we are on our way to one extreme or whether we're just right in the middle, who knows where we are. I do think that it has to swing back the other way. And like I said before where there's a big high and there's a big there's a big low and on your way up from the low or down from the high there's a middle ground and we we find it. And I think one thing that's exciting about this concert is that you get the opportunity to present you. And I know at the start we joked about the vulnerability the fact that it's kind of like really bloody scary to do. But actually that's arguably your greatest strength is that you're going to get opportunity to go on there and do all the things that you've explained and all the things that feel true to you and probably by default of doing that those very things at their core gives somebody else the opportunity to go maybe I could go to school or to college and I could sing a song that sounds like her or I look like her or I just want to be like her in this industry and that provides opportunity in a window for them to want to to go along a path not too dissimilar to your own. And I think I think there is a way of responsibility.

[38:47] Brittney Johnson: Totally, yeah. Totally. Like maybe somebody is seeing me cry on stage because I'm so scared. Um, maybe it will give them never to go into this industry. That was a terrible idea. How dare you suggest that you know maybe it would give them the courage to be vulnerable and whatever it is that they're scared, too scared to do, you know, like watching someone else be scared but still do something. Cause you better believe I'm gonna tell the audience exactly how I'm feeling. We are all gonna be on the same page. But I think that that's helpful, you know. Like, hey, I'm up here, you see me doing this thing, but it's not for lack of courage and fear. And so, whatever that thing that you've been too scared to try, just be brave.

Cause once you've done it, I always think this once you do the thing that you're like immediately, absolutely not. When you do it, you're like, why did I just why was I ever saying no to that? Like so silly. Why was that so scary? I remember the very first time I hosted, like I hosted like an awards show or something, and I remember being so nervous because it was just like this. I was like, I'm gonna have to go out there and be myself. And what if they like throw their dessert at me? You know, like what if it's like awful? What if they and I remember I got up there and I felt so comfortable because I was like, oh, I'm just a person and they're just people, and we're all just trying to have a good night, and I get to give away these awards. They're the ones that are nervous because they don't know who won. I'm up here with all the answers, you know. And I had a blast, and now every time that I host, I have so much fun.

[40:22] William J Connolly: I'm sure it'll be something like that. Once it's over, you'll be like, I really want to do that again.

[40:27] Brittney Johnson: Right. That's what I hear. Everybody that I've talked to that's done a solo show, they're like, Yeah, leading up to it, you're like, What have I done? And then as soon as it's over, you're like, Oh, I gotta do that again.

[40:36] William J Connolly: We'll see.

[40:36] Brittney Johnson: Well, dot dot dot. I'll have to come to London.

[40:39] William J Connolly: Yes.

[40:40] Brittney Johnson: My concert there. How's my accent?

[40:41] William J Connolly: It's a very good accent, actually. I was quite surprised.

[40:44] Brittney Johnson: Oh, normally you're like, You sound Australian.

[40:46] William J Connolly: Yeah, that's good.

[40:47] Brittney Johnson: But that was very I can't do Australian, actually. I know I can't. I can, but I think it's insulting, and I think people would complain. So maybe we don't do that now.

[40:57] Brittney Johnson: I um I feel like I would I would literally be taken out into the street and publicly flogged if I didn't ask you about having the newest member of the Wicked family, Miss Ariana Grande, coming to see you play this role. What was it like getting the opportunity to meet her and Cynthia? First of all, they are both so sweet, and Ariana in particular loves Wicked so much that I feel like she was just as excited to meet us. She just it was like it was I remember we met her in the rotunda, and I will never forget because we we walked out of the side door, and then you just see this like little girl in pink. She was like in this like pink uh top, and she had her ponytail, and all I saw was like this person running toward me.

That's my memory, and then I was like, Oh, that's right there. Because she just she was so excited, she was like, Oh my gosh, I can't find it. Like, she loved it. She was getting like everything at the merch counter. She was like, I need everything, I need all of the wicked merch. I need she was like, Can I take a picture with you? We were like, Can you take a picture with like do you know who you are? Like, yes, you can take a picture with us. She was like, Oh, I'm so excited. She was like nervous. She was blushing. She'd like, she's so sweet, and I'm grateful we we've like built a friendship since then, and she's so like, she's just such a genuine person, and she really is so grateful to be playing this role.

And I cannot wait to see her play it. I think she's gonna knock it out of the park. Because the voice on those clips, obviously, I know the clips that have been released are naughty, but she looks phenomenal. I love the throwbacks to the wizard of alls, and the voice is healthy. Listen, I because I feel like that's where she was trained too, you know. Like, I feel like a lot of people who do because you think about Mariah too, her mom was an opera singer. There's a trend. You're a super fan like me. I'm so glad that I feel like we gotta connect over Mariah now. We've really opened up the floodgates of this bell. We're gonna fangirl after this. Well, we'll watch her off the podcast, we'll talk about Mariah.

But I do I think that once you learn how to actually healthily use your facility, you can do so much, and that's something I think like young kids nowadays. You know, I'm I'm an old lady now, but I'm like, people want to jump right into the belting and into the riffing and the whatever. Like, learn how to use your instrument first. It might seem a little bit boring if you don't want to, you know, sing classical music or be an opera singer or whatever, but learn the basics first. Learn how to crawl before you learn how to walk, and it will make running so much easier, and you'll be able to do all of the things because you'll understand that, like, oh, it's just a trick, it's not anything that I have to like work super hard at.

I don't have to like clinch down to try to it's completely the opposite. And so I'm very grateful that I took classical voice first, and that I learned to sing from my auntie Mariah. So I really hope I get to meet her one day and tell her about all of the places that I've been talking about her. She'll be like, please, there's a restraining order coming out for you. Yeah, someone. Did you see she went to um Some Like It Hot? Was it some like a it's it is called Some Like How isn't it? I've not just made that up. That's the show. Yeah, it is. She's a producer on it, and she went, and there's pictures of her like with the cast. I would have, I would have walked out and said, No, thank you. I can't do this.

No, I don't, I don't get starstruck, really. I've met I've met quite a few, you know, of the the famous, and the only person that I fully forgot how to speak, actually, two people, um, Oprah and Felicia Rashad. I at least squeaked out enough to get an autographed from Oprah, and then Felicia Rashad, I literally I walked up to her and I was like, I know that and like my my boyfriend was there, and he was like, It's an honor to meet you. I was like, in honor, it's an honor to meet you. And he was like, Can we have a picture? Can we have a picture? Like, literally, it was like reminding me how to speak English. I it wasn't I I forgot how to speak. She just had the presence, she just like she fills up the whole room.

It's like, how do you do that? But I I lost all words when I got near her. I had prepared, I was like, okay, I'm gonna go up, I'm gonna tell her how much I appreciate her work and everything that she has done for me personally, and then I'm gonna ask for a picture. And I walked up and nothing, I body shut down. So well, my next question to you was actually gonna be, did you or did Ariana ask for any advice? Or did you get the opportunity to give her from one Glenda to another? But maybe you just mumbled to her and made no sense, or what we were you okay in that moment? No, I was okay. Okay, good. She's like, okay, we're gonna leave. She's like, oh god, okay, maybe I should come. Um no, she I don't know if she asked me then, but she you know, she's kind of asked me since we we've talked we've talked about it since, but honestly, she knows.

It's like there isn't I feel like from one Glinda to another. My advice is usually just uh find the humanity in her. Find all of the things that make you love her, because those are the things, at least in the stage show, that you don't always necessarily see, and they're important, they're important to the story, they're important to her arc. They if you don't understand why you should care about Glenda, the second act of Glenda doesn't make any sense. So, like you have to find her heart and her humanity immediately. It can't just be about the frills and the whatever. Like, there has to be a reason why she's like that. And it can be different for every single Glinda. So I you know, I I worked really hard to make her a truly three-dimensional person.

I gave her a a history, you know, like, and I gave her a future because it it's like she she has to be real. You have to care about her too. It can't just be because she is really the only character that changes. Like Alphabet is who she is from the gate. Glenda changes, and so Glinda in that way, I feel like actually is like most people. Everybody likes to say they're an alphabet. I'm the underdog. No, you're not, you're a Glinda. I'm just playing the screen. Just I've realized it's a podcast and everybody see me do that. I I am a Glinda, I'm not an alphabet. Everybody is a Glinda because we all have the capacity to change, and huge moments in our life, usually most people do change us. Hopefully, for the I'm so mad at myself that I just did that.

Uh earlier when you were talking about next chapters, I was like, Well, as one door o closes another, I was like, No, I know she'll actually hang up the call if I say that. I hate us. I hate us. I'm so sorry. Everything is a musical reference. I think great music, great musicals do that to you. My mum and I have a saying that we say every single day. Apart we say, we say, have a nice day, ma'am, in an American accent. That's like our favorite way to end calls. We love it. I'm so sorry, America. Don't cancel me. But we also love saying that's the way it is. Like that's literally our favorite Seleneon song. And we just go, do you know what mum? That's the way it is. And she and she'll sing that's the way it is to me.

And it's so true. Because just it's just like, yeah, that's that's it. That is the way it is. That is, and that's just it. And it when you and also in life in general, like when you realize that some stuff you can change, and it's like that's just how it is. Then it releases you. I love the fact this is turned into therapy now. Thank you so much. I will be paying you. Well, I am a life coach. Um, I'll be sending you my bill. My final question was gonna be how much do you think that we collectively have to pay to get Ari to do the stage show? But I imagine that that's probably a pipe dream for her somewhere. Like, we gotta we gotta have enough money between us, right? You and I? Uh uh maybe we could ask a few people on it.

Yeah, maybe we could like scrounge up a few dollars, you know. I don't think it would take much to for her to do like a one night only. I feel like honestly, it's probably on her bucket list. But after she's done all these months of it, I think she's gonna be so tired. I don't think she I don't think she knows how tired she is yet. Because that's what happened to me. It was like I was in it, you're just in it, and you're doing it, and you're just so happy to be there, and you're just like, I'm gonna do my best and I'm gonna make everyone proud, and you don't realize how much you're putting your body through, and then it's over and you can't get off the couch. That's what happened to me. And I feel like with her right now, I like I just talked to her last week, and she was like, you know, I I feel good.

Like I don't feel like there's too much pressure. I feel like I'm just enjoying the moment. I'm I'm having a good time. I'm I'm working really hard to make sure that I'm being true to her, and I just want everyone to be proud of the character that I'm building. And I remember just being like, you just like uh whenever it's done, she's gonna be on the couch, just like all the rest of us. I'm gonna text her like you good. Number blocked, sorry. Because it really does it sneaks up on you. Only when you're done though. Like you can do anything when you're in it as soon as it's done. Week three. Week three, it's like nada. Week three, that's the magic week. I cannot believe we've been talking for an hour.

I'm so sorry to people that have had to listen to this short story that we've been we've been talking about. But I forgot we were doing a podcast for a second. I thought we were just talking. By the way, this was literally what we were like after the show, we were just going through the most obscure things, talking about it, pulling it apart, and it was such a joy. I feel like your food for my brain. So we need we need to do more of this. But I I do want to just ask you one final question before I do promise that I will wrap up because you've been so calm with your time. I don't want to downplay how many iconic and signature and historic moments you've had in your career so far. It feels I can imagine for you as one person, you feel very privileged to have one, to have multiple to your name and to have achieved the the level of success that you have across varying different touch points throughout your career is not just commendable to you as an individual, but to the industry and the fact that you've been able to reach those and re you know, complete those chapters in such a professional way.

When you look back at some of those, not I don't mean not just wicked, but when you look back to the varying different shows that you've done, the people you've met, the lives you've changed, if you're aware of it, you know, directly or perhaps indirectly from a distance, when you think back to your desire to want to be in this industry and just to have one percent point one of a percent of what you've had, you know, to this point, before we even look at the next chapter. I mean, what would all of this have meant to that young girl thinking, I'd quite like to do this? I don't think she would have known. I think back then I just wanted to sing. I just wanted to work, I wanted to tell stories, I wanted to enjoy the job that I was doing, and I I I wanted to find a way to do this thing that I've been doing since before I could talk and actually have it provide a life for me.

You know, that was that truly was my goal. I wasn't, I didn't set out to like break barriers and certainly make history or even really win a Tony even. It was like those were things that like you think about and you're like, well, that'd be pretty cool if you know, if that happened. But I remember when I got my first job, I was just excited to have it. And I was excited about what I was gonna learn and how I was gonna get better, you know. I I've always been the type of person that just wants to get better. And so I I don't think I don't think that that girl could have ever imagined it, that she could have planned it, although she would have tried to very hard. I I'm a planner. But I I have grown into a woman that I never could have ever created by myself.

And I I I certainly have this industry and the people that I've met and the characters that I've been able to play to thank for that. And I am excited to see who I'm gonna become. And you know, all of what's next. Like I because I know that I tried to plan my life so much and it superseded my expectations and my I didn't even know to dream some of these things. So knowing that I'm really like you said, I I just turned the the page on chapter one. Like who knows what's to come next. I've got some things that I want to do, some things that I'm really excited to do, and then we'll we'll see what else what else happens. To be able to talk to you, and this this might sound disingenuous to keep saying it, but you have such a wonderful energy and such a wonderful way of holding yourself that I hope that whatever comes next that stays with you.

Because I feel like that light and that way in which you approach the world is the reason why you've been entrusted with so many great responsibilities and opportunities because good things happen to good people, and I'm I'm excited for for what comes next. And most importantly, I'm excited for Monday and the ripple effect that's gonna happen. Wait. I'm so excited. Ha ha! I see what you did there. I saved it till the end. Don't hate me, please. Thank you very much. But but for the performance that I was lucky enough to get to witness live from the front row, which is a very strange experience for me, but I did love it. But also just from the friendship that you've given me, thank you so much, and most importantly, good luck on Monday. And just remember before you walk on that this is your time to shine, and you get to enjoy it as much as the audience. So good luck and thank you so much.

[54:11] Brittney Johnson: Thank you.

[54:14] William J Connolly: You've been listening to Eleven, the official theatre podcast. Find out more about Eleven at 11 Podcast.com or via the Broadway Podcast Network.