'Wicked' actor Kerry Ellis on starring in 'If/Then' concert in the West End

Kerry Ellis is a legend in the musical theatre world, with roles in West End shows such as Wicked and We Will Rock You. Now she heads to the Savoy for a staged concert of Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt's If/Then.

For fans of musical theatre, Kerry Ellis’s name is a big one. Straight out of drama school, she made headlines as Martine McCutcheon’s frequently used understudy in My Fair Lady at the National Theatre in 2001 — and it was here, too, that the seeds were planted for Ellis’s future stardom. Unbeknownst to her, Queen guitarist Brian May had come to watch the show and she’d caught his eye. “I have no idea what it was that did it. I still ask him all these years later,” Ellis says now of her long-time collaborator, May. “It’s kind of a Disney story really, isn’t it?”

The rest is history. After seven long rounds of auditions, May sealed Ellis’s fate. She was offered the role of Meat in the original cast of We Will Rock You, and she stayed with the show for two years — her longest-ever continuous stint in a musical. From there, Ellis’s career went from strength to strength. She bounced from leads in shows like Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, and Rent, collating a shining theatrical portfolio that most could only dream of, whilst also recording albums and heading out on solo arena tours.

Today, I sit with Ellis backstage at the Savoy Theatre, the home of her next big project. On 10 February, she is playing the role of Elizabeth, in the UK premiere of the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical If/Then. Written by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, it follows 38-year-old Elizabeth, who has recently moved back to New York after a divorce. Ellis describes the story as a “sliding doors-esque” tale; we see two possible options of Elizabeth’s future play out in tandem. “She kind of ends up in the same place, but the journey is really different,” Ellis says. “It’s still a normal story about choices and chance that we can all relate to. There’s relationships, there’s falling in love, there’s falling out of love, there’s friendship; it is just in two halves”.

It is clearly formally inventive, but ultimately it was the music that drew Ellis to If/Then; as we sit in the Savoy’s wings, we hear other cast members rehearse their songs. “Just listen to it, oh my god it is so exciting,” Ellis gushes. At The Savoy, If/Then is being performed as a one-off concert; "It means I get very nervous," says Ellis. "You get an incredible adrenaline high for one night". She first encountered the score when Idina Menzel originated the role of Elizabeth on Broadway in 2014. “It was powerful, it really moved me,” she says. “And then when I heard it properly, I thought yes this is good, this is great.” A year ago, some of the concert cast met to do a rehearsed reading. “We just felt like we should do something with it. The show has been in my life for a long time.”

Now, Ellis is finally preparing to play Elizabeth on stage. But, this is not the first time she has followed in Menzel’s footsteps. In 2007, she famously became the first person to take over the role of Elphaba, after Menzel finished her stint in Wicked in the West End. It remains the hardest part she’s ever had to perform. “There’s so much to it, it’s like nothing I've ever sung, eight times a week. You’re doing everything all at once,” Ellis says. “There’s a real weight that comes with that show”.

“I could talk about Wicked for days really, because it was such a big part of my life,” she continues. Ellis went on to play Elphaba on Broadway in 2008, and returned to the West End for a limited 12-week run in 2014. She reminisces fondly about being painted green every night: “I didn’t mind it… getting it off was interesting, I’d find paint in my hair or my ears the next day.” It is still, usually, what fans ask her about, too: “People come up to me and say, oh my god, you were my first Elphie. It’s nice to think you’ve had that impact.”

The release of the Wicked film has made Ellis particularly nostalgic for her time in the show. She had a small cameo in Jon M Chu’s movie adaptation, walked the green carpet for its premiere on the London Southbank, and she’s even taken her kids to the cinema to see it. “It is a full circle moment,” she says. “The film has brought Wicked to a whole new generation”. But what does it feel like to hear someone else sing the songs she knows so well? “It’s so weird because it is so familiar but it is comforting at the same time. It feels like you’re going home for Christmas.”

Being in If/Then will also have Ellis walking down memory lane; she is cast alongside her old Wicked co-star, Adam Garcia, who played Fiyero in the West End from 2006-7. “It’s a real treat,” says Ellis of their reunion. “It’s nice to have the opportunity to tell new stories together.” Of course, things have changed slightly for Ellis since the last time they were on stage together. She’s now a mother, which she admits has impacted her approach to work. Doing a long run, like she previously did with Wicked or We Will Rock You, now feels like a bigger decision. “It would take me away from my kids, which is why I like doing shorter things,” she says.

Still, Ellis seems to be as busy as ever. In 2022, she put on her dancing shoes for Anything Goes — something she describes as a career highlight. In 2023, she played Princess Diana in the concert version of the musical Diana: The Musical at the Eventim Apollo, and she’s just finished a UK tour of 101 Dalmatians, where she played Cruella De Vil — and that isn’t even half of it. Is doing eight shows a week still a pleasure? “I love it, I completely love it,” she says, wholeheartedly.

Performing has always been Ellis’s passion. “I don’t know where it came from,” she says. By her own admission, her family were not arts focused; her dad was a police officer and her mum worked in social services. Her brother now works with freshwater fish — “I mean it couldn't be further from what I do,” Ellis laughs. But, after her parents took her to a local dance school when she was about three or four, she fell in love. “It was a game changer, I would have given up everything else to do it. If my parents said you don’t have to go school anymore, I would have been all over it.”

When she’s performing, she still sees herself as that same theatre-loving girl. And even with 25 years of success under her belt, she's still learning. She continues to call Brian May “a mentor”. “I can bounce anything off him,” she says. “He’s always been a go-to person for me. He’s been in my life forever, he’s like family.” There’s still “loads of things” she’d like to do; maybe screen, more new shows and, perhaps, even a foray into radio. “But really, I just want people to think I was great to work with,” she considers. “Everyone wants to be talented, but that’s what is most important”.

Book If/Then tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: artwork for If/Then, Ellis in Wicked, and Ellis in 101 Dalmatians. (Photos courtesy of production)