Eden Espinosa
Hometown: Orange County, CA
Currently: Rocking the Plymouth Theatre as the title heroine in Brooklyn, The Musical
Portrait of a Diva as a Young Lady: When asked when she first became interested in singing, Espinosa responds forcefully, "Since birth!" She recalls being "a total ham" as a youngster, saying "I'd make my parents friends sit and listen to me perform. I'd make my brother be in these skits with me, too! I'd even tell people when to applaud."
Big Break: Espinosa cut her teeth in show biz performing in Southern California theme parks, including Disneyland and Universal Studios. "It had its bad points," she recalls. "But it was a very positive experience. I never went to school; I spent my college years working. These jobs helped me to find my own way, in terms of performing." In fact, it was the Brooklyn casting director who first saw her sing at a theme park show and introduced her to creators John McDaniel and Jeff Calhoun. "I'm so grateful that I got the chance to meet and work with them," she says. "This show is the most fulfilling thing I've done."
Taking Her Role To Heart: Having been attached to Brooklyn for over two years, Espinosa takes the show's future very seriously. "This show is me," she says. "I look at it, and I see how it's grown, along with myself. I see how that it's changed from the first workshop, and it's because I've changed too." Espinosa also finds it "fortuitous" that she identifies deeply with her character. "She's a definite ingénue--optimistic, wide eyed--but with a real sense of strength. She may be searching for her father and for who she really is, but despite that, she has a very strong sense of self." She's been so proud of her role, in fact, that she was often seen about town sporting a Brooklyn t-shirt last season, when she made her Broadway debut as Idina Menzel's understudy in Wicked. "It's something I wanted people to associate me with," she says. "I want them to remember me and say, 'That girl has that show coming up soon.' It's subliminal marketing on my part!"
No 'I' In Team: Even though Espinosa plays the title character in Brooklyn, she's more than happy to share the spotlight with her collaborators. Though admittedly drained by the long rehearsal process, she says, "I love working with these people so much that a few extra hours a day to see them feels like a gift." Espinosa is especially moved by the story of how writers Mark Schoenfeld and Barri McPherson came to write the show. At the time, Schoenfeld, having fallen on hard times, was living on the streets, and McPherson, and old friend, took him into her home. They began writing together, and Brooklyn was born. "There is so much heart in this show," she says, "and that is so much a part of who Mark and Barri are as people. It comes through in every aspect of their work, and I feel a responsibility to keep that heart and that humanity evident." Another person that Espinosa can't help but praise is costar Ramona Keller, who plays sassy streetwalker Paradice. She confesses, "I have a really hard time keeping it together when we have to be mean. In rehearsals, it was awful. I kept smiling and giggling. If you look hard enough during the show, I'm sure you can still see the hint of a smile. I just love her so much!"
Lost In the Shuffle?: When Espinosa signed on with Wicked, little did she realize that she was going to be part of something big. Something very, very big. "It really was amazing," she recalls. "I just came back from Denver a few months before I started with Wicked. I came in when they were in tech, and as I sat in the theater taking notes, I realized the scope of what was going to be on the stage. I was used to little brick wall set, and I'm going to be making my Broadway debut in this? Though it was great to work with that cast." And, just for the record, Wicked fans, she wouldn't rule out returning to the show at a later date, admitting "It's never far from my mind."
Making The Cut: To complete her transformation into Brooklyn, Espinosa made a concession to the production team that she had initially resisted--she cut her hair. "The hair was their thing," she says with a sigh. "They wanted me to cut it before our Denver run, but I've had every hairstyle known to woman in my lifetime. I'd had it short for so many years, and I just finally had it long for a small amount of time, and I didn't want to cut it." But when costume designer Tobin Ost showed her sketches for Brooklyn, she saw that shorter hair was part of the overall design for her character. "It was such an integral part of Tobin's vision, that I said to myself, 'Eh. It's hair. I'll live.' And now I'm really enjoying it."