Allie Trimm (left) as Glinda in the musical “Wicked” and Ariana Grande (right).
The highly anticipated movie musical "Wicked" is now in theaters, and an Escondido native has a special connection to one of the witches of Oz. She also has a pretty wicked connection to the actress who plays her in the movie.
The witches of "Wicked" are once again working their magic, bringing their story about what happened in Oz before Dorothy dropped in from the stage to the screen.
"It's going to be so special for people who can't get to New York to see the Broadway version or who can't get into a theater somewhere to see it on tour to be able to experience the story," Allie Trimm said.
Trimm first saw the "Wicked" tour when she was 11 years old. She was instantly Oz-struck.
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"My mom tells me that when she would look over me at the audience, the whole time I was just like jaw-dropped and mesmerized by this world," she said.
She returned to see it again the following year and stood at the stage door for hours wearing a "Wicked" T-shirt.
"I just wanted to see Glinda and show her my shirt," Trimm said. "She said, 'I'm so sorry that you were waiting. I had no idea. Let me make it up to you. Let me bring you backstage and show you around and Glinda-fy you.' And it solidified how much I wanted to be a part of the world."
Fifteen years later, Trimm got her wish.
"Right before my birthday, I got this call that I got the Glinda standby job," she said. "Christmas Day, I found out I was on for that show that night. It was the most exhilarating moment. I honestly don't remember very much of it. I think I kind of blacked out, and I think it went well. They clapped at the end, so that's good."
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But Trimm didn't follow the yellow brick road to New York. She credits several local theatres — including The Old Globe and Lamb's Players Theatre in Coronado — with helping her get there as a teenager.
"They're just so near and dear to my heart, and they taught me so much that I know about theater to this day," she said.
Trimm also has a wicked connection to one of the stars of the movie. She did "13" on Broadway with another future Glinda.
"Ariana Grande was in the cast with us," she said. "I played a character called Patrice, and she was one of the understudies for Patrice. And so now, to be in this like, crazy, however-many-years later world, where she's playing Glinda in the film, and I've gotten to standby for Glinda in the musical, it's like a — I don't know — a crazy universal little spell magic happening."
After two-and-a-half years with "Wicked" on Broadway, Trimm left her full-time contract a few months ago. She still steps back in the bubble from time to time when they need her, and she hopes there will be more to her Glinda story in the future.
