Jemma Rix (née Stevenson; born 25 December 1984) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

theatre performer, who has played the role of

Elphaba Elphaba Thropp () is the protagonist of Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel '' Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West'', the novel's musical theatre adaptation, and the musical's two-part film adaptation, '' Wicked'' (2024) and '' ...

in the Melbourne, Sydney, Australian and Asian touring companies of ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * ''Wicked'' (Maguire novel), a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', a 1997 novel series collaboration between Australian children's authors Paul Jennings and Morris ...

''. Rix first performed the role in the shortened 30-minute version of the show at

Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Destinations & Experiences, Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operat ...

. She was an original cast member of the Australian premiere production as the standby for

Biography

Rix was born on the Central Coast of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

. She participated in numerous amateur musical theatre productions from the age of 4. She began to perform throughout Sydney as the lead singer of a pop band at the age of 18. Rix then moved to Melbourne at the age of 21 to devote herself to musical theatre and was cast in a number of commercial projects. Rix moved to

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a populatio ...

after being cast as the Bride of Frankenstein in ''The Monster Rock and Roll Show'' at Universal Studios Japan. In July 2006, she was cast as

in the USJ mini version of the Broadway musical ''

'', which required her to perform parts of the show in Japanese. Throughout the audition process, she met and performed for

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written hit musicals such as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin (musical), Pippin'' (1972), and ...

Winnie Holzman Winnie Holzman is an American playwright, screenwriter, actress, and producer. She is best known for writing the book of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical '' Wicked'', and for co-writing the screenplays for the two films based on the music ...

and Marc Platt. She performed in this role for a year before returning to Melbourne. Rix was cast as the standby for Elphaba in the Australian premiere of ''

'' which opened in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

on 12 July 2008 and ran through 9 August 2009. The show was then transferred to

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, opening on 12 September 2009. Due to the illness of

Amanda Harrison Amanda Harrison is an Australian actress and singer, known for her roles in ''Wicked'' (Elphaba), ''We Will Rock You'' ("Meat" understudy in the UK, and “Oz" understudy in Australia), and for originating the role of Paula Pokrifki in the worl ...

, Rix had many opportunities to perform the role of Elphaba, and on 9 February 2010, after an extended leave of absence, Harrison announced that she would not be returning to the show. The role was then offered to Rix, who continued to share it with Australian theatre actress

Pippa Grandison Pippa Jody Grandison (born 12 September 1970) is an Australian actress and singer. She currently lives in Sydney, with her husband Steve Le Marquand and child. Career Pippa Grandison was born in Perth, Western Australia. She made her debut in ...

. They starred alongside

Lucy Durack Lucy Durack (born 17 November 1982) is an Australian actress, singer and television personality who played Glinda in the Australian production of ''Wicked'', and Elle Woods in the Australian production of '' Legally Blonde: The Musical''. She s ...

in the role of

Glinda Glinda is a fictional character created by L. Frank Baum for his ''Oz'' novels. She first appears in Baum's 1900 children's classic ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'', and is the most powerful sorceress in the Land of Oz, ruler of the Quadling Coun ...

. Rix generally performed in four of eight shows a week, with the remaining four played by Grandison and later, Patrice Tipoki. Rix continued to be the first billed Elphaba, featuring on displays outside the theatre and appearing at most events and press interviews. These included the 2008 Carols by Candlelight, Melbourne's Federation Square and Town Hall, 2009 Australian

Ethnic Business Awards Ethnic Business Awards (EBA) are Australian business awards that recognise achievements of migrant and Indigenous business owners, focusing on contributions made by migrants and the First Australians to business, economy and multiculturalism. T ...

, 2009 QANTAS Business Awards, AFL pre-match entertainment performances, the ANZ Rob Guest Endowment Fund Concert, the Kerri-Anne Kennerley morning TV show, Sydney's Carols in the Domain 2009, the 2010 Telethon, and the 2010 Carols by Candlelight. ''Wicked'' closed in Sydney on 26 September 2010, with Rix playing Elphaba. Rix again played the role of Elphaba on the show's first Australian Tour, which, after delays due to flooding, began in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

on 25 January 2011. In 2011, Rix was nominated for a Helpmann Award for "Best Female Actor in a Musical" for her portrayal as Elphaba in ''Wicked''. Rix played Elphaba again on the Asian tour of ''Wicked'', which began in

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

from 7 December 2011. After a four-month engagement there, the tour visited

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Previous Australian understudy

Suzie Mathers Suzie Mathers is a Scottish-Australian actress and theatre performer best known for her role as Glinda the Good Witch in the Australian, Asian tour, and London productions of ''Wicked (musical), Wicked'' as well Sophie in the 10th Anniversary A ...

took over the role of Glinda full-time at the start of the Asian tour. Rix reprised her role as Elphaba in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

as of 21 September 2013 at the

Auckland Civic Theatre The Civic Theatre is a large heritage combination performing-arts theatre, live-music venue, and cinema seating 2,378 people in Auckland, New Zealand. First opened on 20 December 1929, it underwent a major renovation and two-year conservation ...

. After Auckland she traveled to

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

to perform there. Rix continued to play the role for the 10th Anniversary return tour in Australia, performing in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. During the tour, she reached a milestone by performing the role of Elphaba for 1000th time in October 2014. It was announced mid 2015 that Rix would play the role Lucy, in the Australian production of '' Jekyll & Hyde'' the musical, however the production has been postponed indefinitely. Rix went on to play the role of Molly Jensen in the Australian tour of ''

Ghost the Musical ''Ghost'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Bruce Joel Rubin and music and lyrics by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard. Based on the hit 1990 romantic fantasy thriller film of the same name, it centres on lovers Sam and Molly, who are attack ...

''. In 2017, it was announced that Rix will appear in the Australian tour of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

's updated version of ''

The Wizard of Oz ''The Wizard of Oz'' is a 1939 American Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM). Based on the 1900 novel ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' by L. Frank Baum, it was primarily directed by Victor Fleming, who left pro ...

''. In 2017, Jemma played the role of Teen Angel in the Australian arena production of the musical

Grease (musical) ''Grease'' is a 1971 Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Named after the 1950s United States Working class, working-class youth subculture known as Greaser (subculture), greasers and set in 195 ...

'' when it toured to Adelaide and Newcastle. '' In mid 2018, Jemma joined the cast of Opera Australia's 'Evita' in the role of Eva Perón. She performed this role in Melbourne and Sydney. In October and November 2019, Jemma starred as Lucy in Jekyll & Hyde with Anthony Warlow and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. It was announced on 15 February 2020 that Rix will play the role of Elsa in the Australian production of '' Frozen'' in Sydney alongside Courtney Monsma as Anna.

Personal life

Rix married Josh Rix on 2 February 2009, and they live in Melbourne.

Theatre credits

Awards

References

External links

''Wicked'' in Perth

''Wicked'' in Singapore
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rix, Jemma 1984 births Living people Australian stage actresses 21st-century Australian actresses