If it wasn’t for a 2013 audition that went extremely well, actress and singer Danna Paola would probably be cooking some tasty birria de arrachera in a fancy restaurant in Mexico right now.
It’s a story Paola recently told vlogger Juanpa Zurita on his podcast No Hagas Lo Fácil. During their interview, Paola said that when she auditioned for the role of Elphaba, AKA the Wicked Witch of the West, for the Mexican production of the Broadway musical Wicked, she found herself at a crossroads in her career.
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“I told my dad, ‘If I get this role, I promise you, I will continue with my career for the rest of my life,’” Paola said. “If not, I’ll dedicate myself to being a chef.”
She said that her father told her she couldn’t be that drastic, but Paola was adamant about her decision. After singing for the casting director, Paola said that he crossed his arms and told her, “I’m going to tell you something, but I don’t want you to get offended.”
Paola then joked with Zurita that at that moment, she imagined herself at a cooking school like Le Cordon Bleu making a chicken dish.
According to Danna Paola, the casting director admitted that he didn’t know who she was. Luckily, for her, he loved her audition, and she was cast in the iconic role. Paola became the youngest person to play the character in a professional production of the musical at the age of 18. She went on to perform in Wicked more than 300 times. That’s a lot of green makeup.