“My voice is still becoming.”
So said Keri Renee Fuller as she contemplated growing into the iconic role of Elphaba in Wicked this spring on Broadway. Born and raised in Oklahoma, Fuller was a self-described awkward and energetic kid who loved to sing. She reflected, “Wicked has been in my orbit for so long! I grew up listening to it. I love playing Elphaba because there is something in her that every single person can relate to.”
Fuller has received acclaim in the past few years for various acting and singing roles, and she credits supportive parents as well as her time at Classen SAS high school, community theater and a summer at the Lyric Theater before moving to college. “All my love for the performing arts was born here in Oklahoma,” she said.
“At Classen School of Advanced Studies, I was a drama major. I had to work in the costume shop, learn sound cues, help create sets and make lighting plots. We weren’t only onstage as actors; they wanted us to appreciate every part of what it takes to create productions. Now that I’m in Wicked, I watch everyone involved make this show happen and I have such an appreciation for the work.”
In 2011, Fuller was a part of Oliver, Hairspray, Ragtime and A Chorus Line at the Lyric Theater. “It was such an instrumental summer in my growth. To be in an environment with other professionals was incredible for me.”
At Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio, Fuller had professors and vocal coaches that improved her confidence and range in new ways. During the last two years of college, pre-nodules were discovered on her vocal cords, and she had to go on full vocal rest when she wasn’t singing.
“I had a support system and a very important vocal coach who helped me rehab. At the time, I believed if I didn’t have my full range vocally, I wouldn’t be my full self. I learned that I am the artist. My voice is my instrument. I had it backwards; I thought that I was only of value to this industry because of the way I sing. Those two years of rehabbing my voice taught me that I bring a lot more to the table than my singing.
“I am most grateful for challenges and obstacles—although they hurt so much in the moment, they contribute to what I give in my performances. I can’t wait until I am 40 and there are other things that I have gone through.”
When asked about “Defying Gravity,” the powerhouse ballad that is the musical’s showstopper, Fuller said, “I relate much more to the beginning of the song because it is full of discovery. And I love hearing the audience stop. They know that feeling, too. Even the young ones in the audience know something about that feeling.
“The audience is just as much a player in the show as I am. For better or worse, the players feel the audience, and it changes the show. I want the audience to, respectfully, be a part of the show, and to feel that they are.”
Fuller’s advice for young creatives hoping to follow in her footsteps? “Seek good qualities in people you admire and try to align your life with those qualities. Arm yourself with people who allow you to be fully yourself. Give your life the honesty and boldness it deserves.”
As Keri Renee Fuller continues to defy gravity in the fourth-longest-running Broadway show of all time, we send her love from Oklahoma.
