Alyssa Fox, the first Asian-American to star as Elphaba the witch in Broadway's 'Wicked,' spoke with Cheddar News to discuss how she landed her dream role and the logistics behind her character.

<div class="block">Alyssa Fox, the first Asian-American to star as Elphaba the witch in Broadway&#39;s &#39;Wicked,&#39; spoke with Cheddar News to discuss how she landed her dream role and the logistics behind her character.</div>

Closing Bell

Alyssa Fox on Playing Elphaba in Broadway's 'Wicked'

May is Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and all month long cheddar news is shedding light on trail blazers and leaders who are changing the game in different industries. China News. Hannah caught up with Alissa Fox the first Asian American to star as al by the witch in Broadway's Wicked. They talked about landing Fox's dream role and playing a character who is targeted simply for being different from everyone else. Take a look. We are in the middle of the theater district where you pay Alpha in Wicked. One of the longest running plays here on the Great White Way. Tell me about you getting the role. Um So I've been doing this role for a long time. I started out as an understudy back in 2010. So it's been a long time coming. And the first time I auditioned was 2008. So it's been a really long journey from the very beginning. I spent all the money in my bank account. Flew to New York. I had never been here before and auditioned in an open call and there was about 500 people lined up down the block and I got to sing eight measures a cappella. And then the rest is history. What was it like when you got the call that you got this role? This, it was different from the first time, the first time really changed my life. This time, it was something I really spent time working towards. And when I got the call, it was like all of this, the dream built up inside of me. And then it finally coming to realization, it was just such a cathartic, beautiful moment that I got to experience. So your character gets treated differently because of the color of her skin. Now with a api hate so visible. How much more of the gravity does this role hold for you? I think it's very important story because you know, when things are really hard, people try to find a scapegoat and sometimes the easiest people to go to are the people that are different. And I think that is something that's very current right now and very much happening and related to the show related to the character of Alpha. But because she gets ostracized because of the color of her skin, a lot of our viewers wanted to know about the paint. Can you tell us about the makeup process? Yes. So um I it doesn't take me very long to get on. We have a wonderful makeup artist, Krista and um she paints me up in about 20 minutes before each show. So it doesn't take as long as people think, but I think it takes me longer to take the makeup off. I believe that I have to shower after the show and there's a lot of like coconut oil and a lot of ways to remove all that makeup because there is a lot of it. It's been 20 years since Wicked has been on Broadway. Do you think it holds a different place in Broadway than 20 years ago? How has it changed? I think it's changed a little bit just because the time change, you know, things become a little bit different and art takes on a different meaning, the longer it lasts and 20 years is a really long time and a lot of change has happened in America and the world. But I think the general story of Wicked is still so relatable and still so relevant to where we are now. That's the last question. I have no doubt. There are so many people watching you. Any advice for the fans who dream to be like you one day? Yeah, I think, you know, try as hard as you can work on yourself as much as you can. What my mother's advice always was to me is work hard and be kind. And so that's kind of always the message I try to share with everybody. I love that. Thanks to Chatter News, Hanna do with Alyssa Fox currently starring in Wicked on Broadway and don't forget that you can catch more special a api month coverage all month long. Right here on Cheddar News.