All About Eden! Espinosa Talks Shop Before Ford Amphitheatre Concert 7/ 24

RENT and Wicked star Eden Espinosa, who is set to debut at the Ford Amphitheatre in "ME" this Friday, July 24 with special guest Grammy winner Paula Cole sits down with Broadway World's Amber Romina Cassell to discuss her concert debut, all things Wicked, the plight of Brooklyn and getting naked in RENT!

BWW: So let's talk about the show! How are preparations going?

EE: Preparations are going really well and coming together really quickly. I have a lot of confidence in this team and I think it's going to come out really well. We're getting the band together now and doing fittings for my outfit and all that kind of stuff. It's coming together.

BWW: And how are you feeling about it?

EE: You know, I've played to houses this big-1100-1200 seats-but not by myself! It's always been with a huge cast of other people and special effects and costumes, so I'm a little bit nervous. It's scary and exciting and that's part of the reason, and the theme for the show. Coming into my own and getting through those fears and insecurities and making it happen. So, I'm excited but I am a little bit nervous. Good nervous, not destructive nervous.

BWW: You are a Southern California native...

EE: Born and raised!

BWW: How does it feel doing the hometown show?

EE: It feels cool. I have this sort of advantage. I grew up in Orange County and also did Wicked here in LA, so I think a lot of people will come just because of that. People from high school and the church I grew up in, are coming and I'm just like "Oh my gosh, how cool!" It feels a little bit surreal. I try not to make it a bigger deal and remain calm, but it's exciting. It's probably going be one of the best nights of my life.

BWW: Will there be any special faces in the crowd that you're anxious to perform for?

EE: I think I'm most anxious for my family. My parents, my grandparents, my brother, my boyfriend...I love that they're there and the support, but I also get nervous. Because I know that they are, especially my family, they get nervous for me.

BWW: You have some pretty amazing special guests lined up...

EE: Yeah, hello! Audra Mae. She and I have been performing with each other at Upright for quite some time now. I read interviews of what she says about me, and what have to say about her is pretty mutual. She is just so inspiring to me, I love her songwriting, her voice and her heart. I'm honored to have her. I think it's a perfect fit and I love that so many people will get to be exposed to her talent. And a last minute addition is Paula Cole! I can't believe they pulled it off! It's cool that one of her songs is inspiration for the entire show and that she gets to come play! And then Ty Taylor. He and I have something special in the works, but I'm not telling what it is. It's going to be an amazing night.

BWW: In true red-carpet interview style, who will you be wearing?

EE: I'm wearing a special dress designed for me by Frank Morales. He's a Los Angeles designer who has designed lots of, not costumes, but outfits for performers like Christina Aguilera and Mary J. Blige. He came to see my show at Mark's and now he's styling me and made a dress that's just for me for the event. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm sure it'll great.

BWW: For your fans who didn't get to see the other solo shows, some might be surprised that you aren't going to be singing many showtunes. Why is that?

EE: Well, I wanted this to be a different side of me that people hadn't seen. More of myself and different sides to my voice, not just what they've heard in Brooklyn, RENT, and Wicked especially. It wasn't like "I need to get away from theater", I just wanted to do something different. I think the next show that I want to embark on is going to be more theater, while still showing another side to my theatrical work. Maybe more classical and including everything. I will do one, for sure, just not this time.

BWW: What songs will you be singing on Friday night?

EE: We have some Sara Barelleis again, Joni Mitchell, Dolly Parton, Brandy Carlisle, Paula Cole and some surprises. We've worked in some of the old stuff, but they're going to sound a lot different, which is really cool. Part of the thing I was worried about was the people who saw it at Mark's during its development would be like "I don't wanna see it again", but it's going to be a completely different show this time around.

BWW: In what other ways is the Ford show different from the previous ones?

EE: I think just everything is going to be on a bigger, grander scale. The band, the lights, the house, the outfit, the hair and makeup. An outdoor one-night-only summer concert at The Ford. I think honestly this time it will feel much more like a concert than a cabaret.

BWW: When you first began doing these concerts at Mark's, you said your concept was "Found love, lost love, found me". What does that mean?

EE: I can't speak for all women, but I think women go through so many changes from early teens to early twenties to late twenties to thirty, especially when it comes to the way they identify themselves in relationships, whether it's with friends or men or women. It's about finding yourself through that and becoming okay with yourself and fighting for yourself. Being like "No, I'm not going to be treated that way. No, I don't need this person." That's what it meant for me and a lot of these songs were important through those times for me. And that's why the songs have changed every time we have mounted the show, because my life has changed since we first did it Upright at Mark's to Joe's Pub in NYC to now.

BWW: Well, since this whole concert is about telling your story, let's start at the beginning. Tell me about your family.

EE: My family's the greatest! I grew up in a very functional, supportive family. I was always the one in high school on Friday night who, when people would ask "What are you doing?" and I'd say "I'm going to the movies with my parents." And they'd be like, "You're hanging out with your parents?!" But we've just always been that way. We're a very musical family, supportive...they're the best.

BWW: Your family seems to have a thing for the letter "E". How did that tradition start?

EE: It started when my parents were dating. They were on a date, I think it was one of their earlier dates...and my dad said to my mom, "You know, if we got married, we would both be E.E.'s." And they had flirtingly, jokingly talked about "Would we name our kids all E's, so we could be all E's?" Well, come to pass, they get married and have my brother and I, and we are indeed all E's.

BWW: Like you said, you have a very musical family. Your father is a composer. How did that influence you growing up?

EE: It didn't influence me that much growing up, so much as just music being around all the time and singing in the car with my dad and harmonizing. We'd be watching TV and he'd always be doodling on the guitar and always be playing and singing. And I, myself, played piano and violin growing up. I think just music being around and music being used as an outlet influenced me more than the fact that he wrote music.

BWW: So you actually play? Do you write?

EE: Yes, I play. I'm just getting to the point where I'm able to show somebody else my writing and  collaborate because I'm so critical of myself. That's also a next step for me: working on material for an album. It's in the works.

BWW: When you were growing up, who were your icons?

EE: When I was really little, before I could make up my own mind of what music I liked, it was Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield, all of those old 60's Motown throwbacks. Tina Turner. And then when I got a little bit older, it was Deborah Gibson. I mean, she was the sun and moon for me. And then, you know, Mariah Carey-early Mariah Carey. Celine Dion still to this day knocks my socks off. I love her career and think she's a great entertainer. And then into my adult years, it was Eva Cassidy, who is no longer with us anymore. Love her. I actually have a lot, but those are just some main ones.

BWW: You often mention your grandmother as being a major inspiration in your love of music and theater. How did she inspire you?

EE: She's the one that got me in music lessons when I was little. Like I said, I was in piano and violin all throughout my adolescence. But she would always take me to dinner theater, or the ballet, or the opera, or the symphony. A lot of different varieties. I got to experience everything, which is really, really cool, and I appreciate it now.

BWW: Did you have any favorite musicals growing up?

EE: Annie. And honestly, I'd never seen it onstage. But I wanted to be Annie so, so, so, so bad. And then when I got older, when those new musicals started coming out, like Les Mis. Les Mis is one of my favorites. And RENT, still to this day is one of my favorites. Dreamgirls. In the Heights, I listen to a lot.

BWW: What is it about the stage that you love so much?

EE: I love the opportunity of stepping into someone else's shoes, but through your eyes. That's how I envision it. You know, there's a blueprint, and build your own version of this person. I love the instant gratification of it. At the same time, being able to try again the next day and knowing immediately "Ah, that didn't work so well today. Okay, I'll try it another way tomorrow." I love that it's a fresh perspective every show. There's nothing like stepping out on that stage and feeling the energy of the audience. Nothing like it!

BWW: Growing up in the Orange County area, Disneyland was always nearby. What made you want to work there and what made you stay so long?

EE: I had two members of my family, my mom's cousin and my uncle, that worked there in entertainment. So whenever we went to Disneyland, we always got to go backstage. Entertainment then was a lot different than it is there now. There was more of it. And it was a very huge part of going to the park. I remember scheduling the day around shows and parades, as opposed to rides. But there's just less of it now and it bums me about a little bit. When I got my first job there, I was ecstatic. Like jumping up and down, going crazy, and I stayed so long because it was a good job. You know, you hear a lot of people go "Oh, theme parks. You worked at theme parks." But I had a sense of pride when I worked there because of their quality. They held such a high standard.

BWW: And now you're the vocalist for Disneyland's new summer fireworks spectacular, "Magical"! How does it feel knowing that you've made a permanent mark on such a landmark place?

EE: It's unbelievable, it really is. I remember when Fantasmic first opened, I'd be in the park and hear the track be like "Man, that's so cool! I wanna do that." And then they started doing tracks like that for the fireworks shows, like "Believe". When they approached me, I was just like "I don't care what the terms are, if it's for free, I don't care! I want to do it." It kind of came full circle to be asked back to record for the fireworks show. I just felt very respected and honored. Especially since this was a new thing. It's the first time they incorporated a ballad and had a new flight pattern for Tinkerbell and added Dumbo. So it was very, very cool. I still get really excited about it.

BWW: But the fireworks aren't the first Disneyland milestoNe You've been a part of. You've performed at several of their special events. Are there any that you're particularly proud of?

EE: Singing "God Bless America" at the Raising of the Flag after 9/11. That one was really special. It was just such an emotional time for our country and to see people flooding Main Street with American flags and little boys on their dads' shoulders waving a flag...it was so hard to keep my composure together. I almost lost it in the beginning of the song and I gave myself a little talk like "You gotta pull it together. Now is not the time."

BWW: And from Disneyland you went to Universal Studios, where a casting director got you an audition with the creators of Brooklyn: The Musical. What was that audition like? What did you sing?

EE: The audition was at Mary Lou Henner's house because her and Jeff Calhoun are really good friends. I just went in there and sang the two songs and did the scene and they picked me!

BWW: You said back then that Brooklyn was the character you most associated with as a person and wanted most to be associated with as a performer. Is that still true?

EE: Yes and no. I think at the time I wanted that to be my first real Broadway role and I'm proud of that show and what we did, but I'm also never not going to be associated with Wicked because I've done it so much. And I don't mind that at all, just because I've done so much work. If people who saw me here in LA could see me when I was the standby, I don't think they'd think it was the same person. So I'd like to be known for the work and the growth that I had in the five years that I was with that show.

BWW: Your actual Broadway debut was in Wicked. What was it like stepping onto a Broadway stage for the first time?

EE: When I got the job, I was the Elphaba standby, but they also threw in "you have to cover Nessarose as well". I got called into rehearsals much earlier than expected because Idina tore her meniscus in her knee and they weren't sure if she was going to have to have surgery or not. So I was there all through tech and trying to learn the role on my own. When the show started previews, and we started understudy rehearsals, they were like "Don't worry about Nessarose right now. Just focus on Elphaba." So I had done ONE rehearsal as Nessarose and I get a phone call on my way to the theater. Michelle Federer was injured and it so happened that the understudy from San Francisco was on vacation, so I was on. [Laughs] So my Broadway debut was as Nessarose. I remember sitting in the wheelchair when the father's getting ready to wheel me out for the first scene and I couldn't stop grinning. My face was all lit up because I was like "Oh my God, I'm doing the show!" My first time going on as Elphaba was months after that. I knew I was going on, which, in hindsight it would've probably been better if I didn't because I built it up so much. It was very surreal. I remember when it was over being like "Did I just do that? Wow." It was a lot of pressure for both Laura Bell Bundy and I. We didn't know if the show could be pulled off without Idina and Kristen.

BWW: And then you returned to Brooklyn to open it on Broadway. What was it like being the star of brand new, original Broadway musical?

EE: It was exciting. At that point I had already invested so much time. And I think since Wicked was my first Broadway experience, I naively thought "Oh, this is what it's like for all Broadway musicals". I expected Brooklyn to have the same success or hype or whatever you wanna call it. Karen Olivo and I were the only ones to have done all three versions, so to finally be there doing it was cool.  [Laughs] We were like "finally!"

BWW: You have said from the beginning that you felt Brooklyn wasn't quite as embraced as Wicked. Is that true?

EE: I mean, it's a completely different scenario, right? Wicked is Wizard of Oz, Stephen Schwartz, and however many Broadway names. Brooklyn was a five-person show, unknown author, and no one of that name power. Karen had done RENT before, Kevin Anderson had some TV & film, Cleavant Derricks was the only Tony-winner. You know, we didn't have any champion people, so you can't have the same anticipation. The other thing, and I've seen this since then, is that many people in the Broadway community are crying out for "new works, new works, new works" not based on books or movies or anything else, but when they get it, it gets torn apart. Many works aren't given  any sort of living space or room to become something. In the Heights is one of the only ones that hasn't closed. I just think there's room for everything. It is sad to see that there aren't that many original shows that really succeed. No show is perfect. I learned a lot in Brooklyn and wouldn't  trade the experience for the world, but at the same time, it was heartbreaking for us at moments.

BWW: Is that why you don't sing "Once Upon a Time" anymore?

EE: Partly. I sang it once, in London, since the show closed. There were just a lot of life lessons and business lessons learned during that time for all of us. It's funny, a lot of people are like "It's probably because she can't anymore. Her voice is just..." Blah...it has nothing to do with the demand of the song. I sang it eight times a week! It has nothing to do with that. It has to do with personal reasons. I'd rather just leave it for what it is. Maybe one day...but not as often as people ask me to!

BWW: After Brooklyn, you returned to Wicked and truly made the role of Elphaba your own. How does it feel when people say that you are their favorite Elphaba?

EE: It's very humbling because some of the best women in current Broadway have played Elphaba and will continue to play her. I think that's what I'm most proud of, especially in the LA run, I really got the discipline down. I can honestly say, no matter what show anyone saw, I gave it my all. So it feels good when people tell me that. I don't think it takes away from anybody else, but for one reason or another, some people relate to my version, and that's awesome!

BWW: Do you ever get sick of people asking you to sing "Defying Gravity"?

EE: No. I'm pretty positive about it. I'm going to be asked to sing Wicked songs for a pretty long time. And that's fine with me. I owe a lot to that role and that show and I wouldn't be where I am today without it. So, if they don't mind me changing it up every once in awhile, I'm fine with it.

BWW: Maureen is obviously a much different character than Brooklyn or Elphaba. How did you approach that?

EE: I didn't have a game plan with her. For her monologue-the performance piece-especially in the later years, it had become jokey/schticky, which worked, but I didn't want it to be that way, because I felt that there are certain aspects of her personality that need to be there. Self-absorbed. She thinks she's really, really good and she might not be that great. [Laughs] But she's sincere and she has a lot of love. So I wanted my performance piece to come off serious, in turn it is funny because she's SO in it and it's not working out that great. It is interesting because my friends came to see it and they were like "Eden, a lot of yourself is really in there. You're as big of a dork as Maureen." And I was like "Oh, I didn't realize." Also, it was fun because Elphaba is in the forefront of almost every single scene of Wicked, and it was nice to be in the background, reacting to the other leads like Roger and Mimi. So yeah, she's definitely different. Maureen's got a lot of balls, that's for sure. [Laughs]

BWW: She's also more...revealing...than your other roles. How was that?

EE: That was not fun! I had conversations with Michael Greif and the dance captain about it and they were like "Look, people do whatever they're comfortable with." Sherie Rene Scott barely pulled her pants down. The actress playing Maureen that was there before me pulled them down, ran over to Mr. Grey and bumped him. I mean, her pants were DOWN! I saw that and was like "Do I have to do that? I don't know about that, guys..." So I did what I did, and it was very uncomfortable for me. Two of your cast members are right there, not to mention the entire band and the entire right side of the house. So then just to get my mindset out of it and not be thinking "Oh my God, they're staring at my ass!" I started slapping it. And that's where the slap came in. It got easier, but it never was comfortable.

BWW: And then you had to do it on camera...

EE: You know, I asked the director what the shot was going to be, and he told me it was going to be the shot from the house, meaning in my head "Oh great, side view. No problem." And then I saw it in the movie theater with the entire cast and right there, bigger than life! I gasped so loud because I was not expecting it! People were texting my dad, "Oh, I saw your daughter's ass." And he's like "Don't tell me that!" Ugh. What can you do? It's there for everyone, forever. [Laughs]

BWW: After all of your great experiences, and now this new experience at the Ford Amphitheatre.  When the audience leaves on Friday night, what impression of you are you hoping that they take with them?

EE: I want them to leave with more of a sense of who I am, what I've gone through. But also I'd like them to leave inspired, feeling stronger. I want them to feel uplifted and inspired.

Eden Espinosa: ME performing One Night Only on Friday, July 24 at 8:30pm at the Ford Amphitheatre, 2580 Cahuenga Blvd. East in Hollywood. Produced by Chris Isaacson and Shane Scheel, directed by Billy Porter with musical direction by Chris Bratten.

Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.fordtheatres.org or www.uprightcabaret.com/events or by calling (323) 461-3673.

For more information on future Upright events, including the star-studded concert with "Wicked" creator Stephen Schwartz and special guest acclaimed soprano Lauren Flanigan on August 23rd, visit www.uprightcabaret.com/events.