‘Wicked’s Music Director Dan Micciche Shares Grounding Advice for Actors

Insights: Lessons from Dan Micciche

• Prioritize honesty in your performance by trusting the script and music.
• Keep your portrayal authentic, even in fantastical roles.
• Be patient with auditions; casting can take time, and directors often remember you for future opportunities.

While Elphaba may defy gravity, it’s the performer’s job to stay grounded.

This notion has kept the fantastical story of Wicked anchoring Broadway since 2003. Though Oz may seem like a gossamer dream, rooting the land in honesty is what makes audiences feel.

The blockbuster’s current Music Director and Conductor Dan Micciche knows this. “It really is honest material,” he told The Art of Kindness podcast, “and now we’re at a place where this show is so elevated in everyone’s social awareness. You know, it can be daunting to people, let alone all of Elphaba’s songs are daunting. I mean, that’s just insane.”

Though insane, it doesn’t stop masses of performers from auditioning for the Stephen Schwartz megahit every year, a task in which Micciche plays an integral part. The music director attends open call auditions for Wicked all over the world. Once a performer himself (Broadway’s Chicago), he understands how vulnerable the casting process is and aims to provide as many emerald insights to actors as possible:

“You know, yes, Wicked is a green machine and there’s a way to sing it and there’s a way to play it, period. But it also is such good material that you have to trust. And so it doesn’t become gimmicky and it doesn’t become put on,” he told me.

“The emotional arc that is written into the notes and rhythms that Stephen Schwartz wrote are there for a reason,” Micciche adds. “And the more we trust them, the more the material lands. The busier it gets without it being motivated– it doesn’t make sense. Even though the world loves to go, yeah it’s the riffs.”

While Wicked riffs may soar on social media, the main goal at the Gershwin Theatre is to maintain the emotional integrity of the story. “There are approved riffs from Stephen Oremus, from Schwartz, from the team,” the vocal coach says. “With ‘Popular,’ my note is I want the notes and the rhythms correct because the phrasing and the scanning of it works out that way. The way to play ‘Popular’ is you’ve got to play it truthful.”

The iconic song trilled to fame from the pink-colored lips of Tony-winner Kristin Chenoweth, who Micciche praises for her “understated” comedic chops. “And it can be crazy, but… people get in the way of themselves with that,” he says of auditioners vying to be Glinda. “It has to be rooted in realness and truth.”

Micciche reveals that being cast in Wicked can be a long game, and reminds performers to not get discouraged if they don’t hear back. “To all the actors out there, we really, really do spend so much time on those [casting] files. And when you are auditioning for a long run, I know for Wicked, since we’re doing all these open calls all over the country now, there are many times where I say see you in a year, you know, and the person won’t hear anything. So you never ever know where you’re being put and remembered.”

Much like a core theme of Elphaba’s story, this adage serves as a wonderful nudge to not give up. After all, you never know who’s waiting behind the curtain to make you their “magic grand vizier!”

Dan Micciche is the current music director and conductor of Wicked on Broadway and has been with the show for over 10 years – including the national and international tours. He was recently inducted as a member of the Grammy’s Recording Academy this year. Before Wicked, Dan began his acting career as the youngest actor to play Mary Sunshine in Chicago for 2000 performances on Broadway as well as the national tour, Japanese, Alaskan and Thailand companies. He is one of the other performers to sing solo and conduct at The Kennedy Center.  His TV / FILM work includes:  Wicked (universal), The Tonight Show with Jimmy Falon, the 2021 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Good Morning America and Cake Boss.  His concert work includes: Soloist at Carnegie Hall/ The Kennedy Center: Bernstein’s MASS. Recordings: Bernstein’s MASS (Grammy nom 08’). In 2021, Dan started a company that brings Broadway into your home, company or event.  His program features new Broadway talent, to learn more or book your own Broadway event visit:  Broadwayconcerts.com