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Its Broadway debut is serendipitously timed.
Photo: Emilio Madrid
Voguefollowed Espinosa throughout her Sothebys walk-through before a cozy check-in at the Sant Ambroeus downstairs.
Vogue: Did the paintings themselves figure into your research for the role?
Studying them in that way has helped me create the persona of a person I dont know.
Tamara de Lempicka,L’Éclat, circa 1932. Oil on panel, 14¼ by 10⅝ in. 32.2 by 27 cm.
Was there a point you had to stop your research and focus solely on the musicals book?
I did, because although it was fascinating, it was confusing me on how to play the character.
We have a set of facts, but our show is fictionalized.
Tamara de Lempicka,Nu aux buildings, 1930. Oil on canvas, 36 2/8 by 28 6/8 in. 92 by 73 cm.
And [Tamara] also told so many versions of the truth.
I just wanted to take away my interpretation of the essence of who she was.
Just as she tries to capture a moment, Ive felt like I have been trying to capture her.
Photo: Emilio Madrid
Did I do a good job in years past?
Did you learn anything surprising about her?
The balls that she had at every point in her life.
Thats how they got married.
It was a way of branding that just wasnt a thing back then, especially for women.
At the time, how did you have that power?
She had to be careful.
Tamara de Lempicka,LEclat, circa 1932.
Oil on panel, 1414 by 1058 in.
32.2 by 27 cm.
Tamara de Lempicka,Nu aux buildings, 1930.
Oil on canvas, 36 2/8 by 28 6/8 in.
92 by 73 cm.
Its a belt-heavy show.
How are you preserving energy?
The last time I did something this monumental, I was significantly younger.
I have to really use every facility that I have.
Its not easy at 46, Im not going to lie.
I want to leave it all out there; I dont want it to feel calculated.
With finding that, you have to try some things that arent going to pan out every night.
You havent been on Broadway since 2008.
At that point, did you think youd always be working in New York?
It was soul crushing because I thought, Thats it.
Thats partially why Ive been with this for so longnever knowing but wanting to make it to New York.
I think audiences, whether they know it or not, are hungry for big risks.
This showI dont mean to be crasshas very big-dick energy.
Its taking huge swings.
It has a very strong, singular point of view.
And the costumes have a point of view.
The set has a point of view.
We havent had that in a while.
How does it feel to come back?
Are you aware of that Golden Age of Elphabas distinction?
Yes, Im very aware.
That whole craze started right at the beginning of my career here in New York.
Chat rooms were just barely a thing, YouTube was just barely a thing.
People used to hand me bootlegs of my performances on discs before then.
Thats the other thing too.
People go, Wait a minute, you havent been on Broadway for 16 years?
Like, yeah, dude,Rentwas in 2008.
Did you worry that outspokenness would affect your chances of returning to Broadway?
I wasnt really worried about that because I knew that change was going to come but not overnight.
But over time I realized its not as simple as you think.
This toxic industry has taken years to build, and its going to take years to change.
No, its not, unfortunately.
At the end of the day, Karen and I had different ideas about what it needed to be.
Is activism something youre still passionate about?
I just had a conversation with Amber, who founded theBroadway Advocacy CoalitionandBlack Women on Broadway, yesterday.
I take a page from her book a lot.
This conversation has been edited and condensed.Lempickaopens at the Longacre Theatre on April 14.
