Brittney Johnson has manifested her career. She’s done the breathwork, tweeted #BrittneyTheGood enough times to seal the deal, and now will be the first Black woman to lead as Glinda in Wicked on Broadway.
Johnson has embodied Glinda, the Good Witch, since she first played the role on January 10, 2019. She worked as the storybook character as an understudy for over a year, only being called into the coveted role when the previous full-time Glinda was unavailable. Now almost three years since her ground-breaking debut, she is preparing to make her historic Broadway return, in a show that has run for over 18 years before having a Black actress lead full-time. However, Johnson believes everything happens in its perfect time and order. “This is a special moment for me,” she said. “It’s going to be like my debut all over again. I haven’t performed in almost two years. I haven’t gotten to do the thing that I do.”
Johnson joined BAZAAR.com on a Zoom call to talk about her future with Wicked and the impact she will make on younger generations of people of color, who will finally get to see themselves on stage in one of the most popular shows on Broadway.
You are now the first Black woman to play Glinda the Good in Wicked on Broadway. Take me through your journey.
It really just clicked for me last week that I’ve been on Broadway now for 10 years. I was talking to somebody and they said, “Tell me about your favorite roles.” And so, I was going back through the Rolodex and I remembered, “Oh yeah, I was Eponine [in Les Misérables].” And oh my goodness, that was in 2012. I’ve been in this industry for a long time. I’m really blessed to have worked for this long.
As far as my journey, every show has been so different for me. From the audition process to the length of time I was in the show, the role I played in the show, every single show has been so different. Believe it or not, Wicked was probably one of my easiest and quickest auditions. But it took me eight years to get in the room. I’ve never been able to get an audition before. Then when I finally got one, it was like, “Here’s an audition, here’s a call back, here’s another call back. You’re starting next week.”
People say when something comes that easy, it was meant for you. Do you believe this role was meant for you?
I believe it wholeheartedly. Honestly, you really have to in this business because there’s so much rejection. You have to know that what is for you, is for you, in the timing that it is meant for you. There are things that you think you’re ready for that God knows, the universe knows, when to put you into positions that you now are prepared for. I’m just grateful that it is now my time.
Emilio Madrid
There is a photo of you and your mother at Wicked when you were 15 years old that’s floating around the internet. How do you feel about this full-circle moment?
At 15 years old, I was just starting to get into musical theater. Wicked was one of the first shows I ever saw, and so my perception of the industry was just what I could see on stage. I was this very optimistic preteen. The story in my head was, “I’m going to go to New York and all the Broadway auditions are going to be on the stage of the theater and I’m going to book the first thing.” I’m grateful that my mom was so supportive and told me, “You can do anything. You are talented enough for this and I’m going to make sure that you have every opportunity.” I didn’t grow up in a musical family, so she was like, “We’re going to go to New York every weekend.” She believed in me. And when I decided that this is what I wanted to do, she was all in.
What were you seeing on stage at that age that may have swayed your optimism?
As a preteen, I wasn’t going into things necessarily looking for myself. And I say that in retrospect knowing that if I had seen myself on stage, I probably would have had a different experience. But I was so used to not seeing myself in cartoons or movies that I liked. You get used to it and so it stops being something that you notice. It comes to the point when you do see yourself, you’re like, “Oh, where’d you come from?” And it’s pointed out instead of just being a part of the narrative.
That’s something that I think is so powerful now about how kids are growing up. They’re having opportunities to see people like me in these roles that are iconic. Hopefully, it will eventually turn into something that’s just the mainstay. My hope is to see brown people on stage and in movies playing characters, fully formed, with full lives, not being the accessories to the leading ladies. Hopefully that stops being something that we have to notice every time.
What does being the first Black Glinda on Broadway mean for you?
I feel relieved. That was honestly the first thing that popped into my mind. It feels like stopping for a water break on a marathon, like, I’ve just been running for so long. And it’s not the end of the marathon, but it is a water break and that’s nice.
I have worked so hard to be where I am in my career. I have been through so much. And even just at Wicked, I was in the ensemble and then I moved up to the standby and now I’m getting this role. It hasn’t been an easy. It’s relief that my hard work is paying off, and it’s relief that I’m finally being seen. And it’s a relief that this moment is being taken seriously and embraced and that because of all of those things, people are seeing themselves represented. It’s a relief that the next generation is standing on our shoulders. It’s that moment when you actually see your hard work pay off and notice it has been worth it.
I can take a deep breath. Now I’m to the next leg of the marathon.
Emilio Madrid
“It’s good to see me, isn’t it?” is the first line that Glinda says when she arrives on stage in her bubble. That line has taken on many meanings for different reasons over the years, and I suspect when you arrive on stage and say those words, it will offer something totally different for another generation of Wicked fans. What do these words mean for you?
I think it’s going to mean something different every time I say it. It’s going to mean something different depending on what’s in the news that day. It’s going to mean something different depending on who’s in the audience. It’s going to mean something different based on what I went through the night before. “It’s good to see me, isn’t it?” is full of so much pain for Glinda. I mean, what she literally just went through before she arrives on stage! And now she has to come in and keep it together because she has to be the beacon for everyone else. She has to be the inspiration and the calming presence, the thing that people want to look to for inspiration and courage, and all of those things that I really do relate to now.
Having a Black woman step into a role of a character that is seen as someone who personifies goodness has major impact. Knowing this, are you fueled by it or does this put pressure on you?
It only fuels me! There are so many stereotypes that have been put on us as Black people, and as especially as Black women. In this entertainment industry, everything is closely guarded for us: what we can and cannot play, how we can be seen, how strength is viewed when it’s on a Black woman. Having a character who literally personifies goodness — who, when she walks into a room, people are drawn to her, they want to know her, they want to be her, they just want to be close to her, Glinda the good — is a different role for girls like us. Having a person who, without saying a word, without qualifying her, we already know that she is good — having that person come out on stage and be Black, it means something.
And I mean, even if you’re not thinking about that at all, it’s going to inform your opinion about Glinda based on your experience as a Black woman, or as somebody who knows Black women or doesn’t know Black women but only have seen how we’ve been portrayed in the media. It is a huge moment. I feel like it is what I’ve been trying to do my whole life, as someone who has often been the only Black person in a room or one of two and the only woman. I have always wanted to leave an impression with people that when they go back out into their lives and they encounter someone else who looks like me, because of their interaction with me, they will always give that person the benefit of the doubt. They will always come with a softer, more malleable view of who that person is.
What excites you the most about getting back on stage?
I’m so excited to play with my friends. That sounds so silly and juvenile, but I am. I am so excited to create this world and, honestly, figure out Glinda. When you don’t get to play a role consistently, when it’s not yours, you don’t really get to sit in it in a way that lets you bloom and grow. I’m excited to figure all of that out with these people who I love and who also love this show and want the same thing. There just isn’t anything like the theater and theater people and sharing an experience with 3000 people all at the same time.
Johnson will officially step into the role of Glinda in Wickedfull-time on Feb. 14, 2022 at the Gershwin Theatre.
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Brittney Johnson on Being the First Black Glinda
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