MANILA, Philippines - We’re green with envy over this — Elphaba’s flawless green face on Wicked, more so than we are of Glinda’s irridescent glow (but we love her, too!). My question, having been dragged into children’s theater by my Catholic school superiors (don’t ask), is how in the world does all that face paint stay on? How is it not nahuhulas at the end of Act One? MAC’s Chromacake is the answer, and powder — lots of it.
Ali Calder, who plays Elphaba, says the powder would get into everything, her bag, her phone, her lungs. “It adds another layer to fight through and kind of makes it harder to just act and sing,†she says of her stage makeup. But she’s gotten really good at getting all traces of it off her face by the end of the show.
Wicked head makeup artist Kellie Ritchie, who has been with MAC for 10 years (since 2003 when the show opened on Broadway!) demonstrated exactly how the look is created at the MAC Wicked Greening event. “Act One makeup is youthful makeup, then after the interlude it gets more mature,†she explains. According to Ritchie, consistency is key. “There was a time when we were still airbrushing Idina Menzel, but the paint particles weren’t good for her. So it was actually her who went to MAC and found Chromacake, MAC’s professional face painting range in Landscape Green.†Here’s how the rest goes — she makes it look pretty and easy.