The last time Lencia Kebede lived in New York, in 2015, she was a 21-year-old college intern at the United Nations, taking and translating notes for the ambassador from Guatemala, who was working on an anti-poverty initiative.
What a difference a decade can make. Instead of pursuing a career as a human rights lawyer, Kebede is now a working actress in New York defying gravity eight times as week as the first Black actress to play Elphaba full time in “Wicked” on Broadway.
It’s a dream role that is also allowing her to tend to her two passions. “The place where Elphaba and I meet,” she said, “is empathy and advocacy for justice.”
After her internship, she returned to college and graduated from Occidental with a bachelor’s degree in diplomacy and world affairs. But she knew that she had to follow her musical theater ambitions instead of going to law school.
In “Wicked,” a prequel to “The Wizard of Oz,” Elphaba, born with green skin and preternatural sorcery skills, is the young adult version of the Wicked Witch of the West. But the story reveals that she is neither evil nor envious, and instead is a consummate outsider who uses her powers to protect herself and others from the authoritarian rule in Oz.
Kebede, whose parents immigrated to the United States in the early 1970s to escape a military coup in Ethiopia, said her own back story is helping her bring a fresh global and political perspective to Elphaba’s heroism.
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Kebede, now 31, was drawn to the stage — not the film industry in her backyard — and began her musical training in the church choir. She also did community theater programs, and credits the “teachers who invested time in me along the way.” In 2018, she landed her first lead role as Dolores in a regional production of “Sister Act.” Later that year she joined the cast of a 20th-anniversary tour of “Rent,” playing Joanne.
Soon she was auditioning for the touring production of “Hamilton.” Initially hired for the ensemble, she was elevated, in 2023, to one of the coveted lead roles, Angelica Schuyler, which she played for two years before coming to “Wicked” this spring. Between those shows, she had a plum gig as a backup singer in the rehearsals for Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella concert. “To watch her work ethic,” Kebede gushed. “She’s everything.”
Shortly after her Broadway debut, Kebede and I met at Awash, an Ethiopian restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, where we had dinner and talked about her cultural upbringing, her commitment to social change and what being the first full-time Black Elphaba on Broadway means for younger theatergoers. These are edited excerpts from our conversation.
When did you first see “Wicked”?
I’ve been obsessed since I was 12, and saw the show in New York in 2007. I identified with Elphaba, but I mostly identified with the music. The lyrics made me feel empowered. Having this thing that I’ve idolized my entire life now be a part of who I am, it brings me to tears.
What was your response when you learned you would play Elphaba?
I didn’t cry, I started cracking up. I was at a loss for words. I’ve always imagined that I could do something special and impactful in the world. Now I’m having this opportunity to do that. It was an abundance of riches, and it made me laugh.
This is your first Broadway role. How did you prepare for it?
I spoke to previous Elphabas, and the biggest thing that they taught me was just to give myself grace because the role is so intense. A lot of them said, Don’t be a hero. Rest when you need it, and you can’t be a perfectionist in this role, eight shows a week. It’s simply too technical and requires too much. I was reminded that no matter what I felt throughout this process, one of my green sisters had felt it before, which made me feel so much less crazy and alone. They told me to lean on your sisters. It’s a special, secret club. And Cynthia [Erivo] even sent me flowers on my debut.
Speaking of Erivo’s success in the “Wicked” movie, did you feel any additional pressure being the first full-time Black actress to play Elphaba onstage on Broadway?
It feels like I’m a part of a bigger conversation — an international conversation — about what it means to be a member of a marginalized community. And finding a way to self-advocate in a system that doesn’t reflect you, represent you, or make you feel safe. That’s what Elphaba represents to me. So it goes beyond race.
But I also wanted to be a positive inspiration, especially for the young Black and brown kids who haven’t seen themselves in positions like this. Now that more youth and children are exposed to “Wicked,” I want to rise to the occasion.
How do you think the story of Elphaba’s outsiderness resonates with audiences right now?
Humans are obsessed with categorizing things because the unknown is scary. Just because Elphaba is different doesn’t mean she’s scary. If we all embraced our differences a little more, even the small ones, the world would be more peaceful. Difference doesn’t mean it’s a threat.
You spent a semester interning at the United Nations. Where does your interest in human rights come from?
I worked at the Guatemala Mission at the U.N., and I would go to General Assembly meetings and take and translate notes for the ambassador. They were focused on peacekeeping, poverty, equality, and speaking for those who couldn’t speak. It felt like an important duty to represent the country and its needs.
But my mom’s dad, my grandfather, was a diplomat in Ethiopia to England, so he did a lot of work with Queen Elizabeth. Just the people’s work. He was the only politically involved family member. It’s not that I was unaware of it, but it’s just this energy in my family. If you believe in something, you can achieve it. Before joining them herself, my maternal grandmother sent her kids to live with close friends and family in Los Angeles from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. So, my family is just a bunch of warrior women pursuing their dreams.
How did those experiences shape your vision of Elphaba?
We express ourselves very differently. She’s just more explosive. I’m much more like a pacifistic conversationalist. But I feel very attached to her passion, empathy, deep belief in herself, and willingness to fight for what she knows is right, even when everyone disagrees.
What do you hope audiences take away from your performance?
Just because they don’t see themselves in a position that they desire doesn’t make it any less possible or true for them. History happens when people take chances on what they believe in. I didn’t see a Black woman in this role. I didn’t even imagine it when I was a kid. As I grew older, that changed. So I want people to see me and say, “She did it, so I can too.” I tell myself, “I’m going to sit here. I’m going to let myself sit here forever.”
Salamishah Tillet is a contributing critic at large for The Times and a professor at Rutgers University. She won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 2022, for columns examining race and Black perspectives as the arts and entertainment world responded to the Black Lives Matter moment with new works.
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