206. Bonus episode: Wicked's Head of Wigs Heather-Jay Ross on hair that defies gravity
The WhatsOnStage Podcast
This bonus episode features an interview with Heather-ly Ross, the Head of Wigs for the West End production of Wicked. The discussion explor
Key takeaways
- The production at Apollo Victoria maintains 121 active wigs in rotation to account for swings and multiple looks.
- Glinda requires more frequent wig changes, utilizing up to five different wigs, whereas Elphaba uses two but requires more on-head styling.
Main topics
- Wig inventory and maintenance
- Character aesthetic contrasts
Notable quotes
There are 121 active [wigs] that have to be ready at any given time.
Conclusion
The episode provides a deep appreciation for the unseen technical arti
Transcript preview
Speaker 1 (0:00) This episode is brought to you by the West End production of Wicked. Hello What's On Stage podcast listeners and welcome to this bonus episode. Last night, Wicked celebrated its 20th anniversary at the Apollo Victoria in the West End with a very special celebration. Whilst a certifiably joyous hair-raising spectacle, the work being done on hair backstage is much, much more complicated and pulled off with equal aplomb. With that in mind, we sit down with Wicked's head of wigs, Heather J. Ross, to reflect on the technical expertise happening behind the scenes of the indomitable musical and some of the incredible moments working on the show and some misconceptions about the world of wigs in theatre. Speaker 2 (0:55) I'll crack right on. Speaker 1 (0:57) Wicked definitely has some of the most iconic wigs possibly ever created in musical theatre and I imagine it must be a lot of fun but also very... intense in terms of being custodian of all of that in the West End. I mean, how many wigs are currently in rotation at the Apollo Vic? Speaker 2 (1:15) Yeah, I mean, it is a great job to look after everything. We actually counted them recently because I always get asked this question, how many wigs are there? And we finally sat down and counted recently. And there are 121 active. that have to be ready at any given time. So that's not to say that there's 121 wigs in one singular show, but accounting for swings, all of their wigs, some people can have up to six wigs each. Yeah, it's 121 that we have to have ready in case anyone goes off or anything like that. So yeah, it's quite a lot. Speaker 1 (2:02) And so with that many, especially if one performer has six, what does a typical day look like? I'm guessing you do mountains of prep before, you know, it's the half hour call or anything. Speaker 2 (2:13) Yeah. Yeah. So our working day starts at 10 a.m. That's from Tuesday till Sunday. We will have someone in the wigs department there from 10 because we wet set a lot of our wigs, which obviously then takes time for them to dry. Speaker 2 (2:31) On a Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, there's three people in during a day set, getting the wigs ready for the show. And then obviously people in in the evenings, about four to five people in for the evening, running the show plots and doing all the quick changes throughout the show. So, yeah, it's a big team. We've got about 10 of us and then plus swings on top of that. So, yeah, it's a big machine. Speaker 1 (2:56) And then. What's really striking in Wicked is that you do have so many, not conflicting but complementary, but different aesthetics going on, especially between Elfber and Glinda. And I think the film kind of built on the stage show's work, but right the way back to when the show first opened, there was that marked contrast between the two. How is it working with those two very different styles between Glinda's very... minute minute accurate style but then Elphaba's more like free-flowing styles that come especially later on yeah Speaker 2 (3:28) I mean they are so contrasting I guess that's the whole point isn't it is that they are just two completely different ends of the spectrum for us Glinda definitely takes more work and more maintenance she has three looks throughout the show so three different wigs with three different styles. So she's got her bubble wig, her shiz wig, her and her updo. So her ball kind of beginning of act two wig. and she actually then has multiples of some of those. So she's got another bubble wig, another shiz wig that helps us on like two show days with that turnaround. So she can have, she's got five wigs currently. So she definitely takes a lot more maintenance than Elphaba, who has two at the moment. She has her, Elphaba has her act one, which is the plait, and act two, which is the, you know, down, gorgeous. But I'd say throughout the show. Speaker 2 (4:29) Elphaba actually takes up more of our, we do more changes with Elphaba's actual hair on her head. So we have changes where we do like a small, take two bits from the side and do a small pin curl in the back. We've got a bun that we have to do. So she actually changes her hairstyle on the wig more so, whereas Glinda's are set and dressed and just change the actual wig throughout the show. And I Speaker 1 (4:58) guess also, you know, a lot of coverage is made of Elphaba's green paint. And famously, you'll see people on Southern Railway that just, you know, you can see the residual green paint where they're trying to go home after a show. But I guess for you guys, that's a completely unique demand is that you're having to juggle wigs whilst also someone is literally covered in this colour. Speaker 2 (5:18) Yeah, yeah. So with the Elphaba maintenance, like with the paint, We're lucky a lot of our costumes cover it, but you will feel after a certain amount of weeks, the green paint kind of builds up in the hair and you can feel it. So we'll just