From being captivated by Wicked as a child in the audience to taking center stage in the role of Fiyero in this year’s national tour, alum Ethan Kirschbaum (BFA Musical Theatre, ‘16) is currently enjoying a full-circle moment in his career. A central figure in the story’s emotional arc, Fiyero is the charming prince caught between the witches of Oz, Elphaba and Glinda, in one of the most beloved and longest-running musicals in Broadway history. In this Q&A, Kirschbaum reflects on how his time at the University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film & Television (TFTV) helped lay the groundwork for his career and shares the journey that led him to this moment.
Congratulations on this milestone achievement in your career! Tell us about how you were cast in the role of Fiyero.
Wicked was the first show I ever saw on a Broadway stage in New York. I was around 10 or 11, and I was completely enchanted. The impact on me at that young age certainly played a part in my decision to pursue acting and theater as a career. So when the opportunity came along to audition for this iconic role in THE Broadway show of the last 21 years, the magnitude of it all was not lost on me. I sent a tape of my work but heard nothing for about 6 months. The casting team eventually came to LA (where I lived at the time) to audition a select few for some specific roles. I was invited to come in for an appointment, but I was going to be on set at the time and wouldn’t be able to make it. So I told them I would gladly send another tape, expecting that to be the end of the interaction. I subsequently received an email from the casting team: they remembered my first tape and emphatically encouraged me to find a way to get into the audition room in front of the director. Then they worked with me to lock down an appointment time. I went in, felt great about my audition, and for the next 3 months I was back and forth on zoom calls with casting and the director working scenes with them. Finally, just before the holidays in December of 2024, I was offered the role.
You’re now about 100 shows into a national tour of the U.S. that began in May 2025 and will continue through June 2026. Unlike other production tours that might touch down in a city for a few days and then move on, Wicked settles in for several weeks in each city. Have the longer sit downs allowed you to explore new facets of the character and perhaps its relationships with other cast members?
The longer sit downs have had several advantages. It has been a great opportunity to explore some places in the U.S. that I may not have seen otherwise. I’ve also been able to spend time outside of the show with my company members which has been great for bonding and developing relationships. Being friends with my fellow actors definitely helps the work. I started this journey with 6 other principals in Salt Lake City where we learned and rehearsed the show together. All of us were in the same boat and I think we all realized the importance of bonding early on. We all made an effort to hang out after rehearsal and spend time getting to know each other. And that has been a significant benefit when sharing the stage together. It just gives us added comfortability. We’re all close and we know we’re there for each other.
Do you notice differences in the audience reception and interaction with the show depending on the city or region you’re performing in?
Audiences in different cities definitely have their own personalities. But Wicked is so well known, now more than ever following the release of the movie, that I would say the excitement level is always there. It’s really fun when audience members come up to us after the show telling us that it was their first time seeing how the story ends or even seeing Wicked at all.
Why does this particular show resonate with you?
Wicked is just one of those once-in-a-lifetime shows. It’s no mystery why it has been running as long as it has. I don’t think it’s possible not to be moved by the music and the story. The themes of friendship and standing up for what’s right, even when it isn’t “popular,” really stuck with me. For months after I first saw the show all those years ago on Broadway, my family and I would listen to the soundtrack in the car on the way to school. I think we were all so moved by the show. We wanted to re-experience as much of it as possible.
In the 9 years since graduating from TFTV, your career has taken some twists and turns. You moved from New York to Los Angeles, where you performed in a variety of stage and screen roles including understudying in the West Coast premiere of The Engagement Party at the Geffen Playhouse and guest starring in the Netflix series The Gringo Hunters. You’ve also had to navigate extended industry disruptions including the pandemic and back-to-back strikes in Hollywood before the offer to join Wicked came along. What did you learn about yourself as an actor along the way?
Oh man. It has been quite a journey! I moved to LA right before the pandemic, which was followed by the strikes, so it was a very slow, tough time to be an actor earlyish on in my career. I know we hear these kinds of stories all the time, but after about 9 years professionally pursuing this career, I was genuinely at a point where I was considering choosing a different path. Then the offer to join Wicked came along. It’s funny how things work like that sometimes. I am just so grateful that this opportunity came to me when it did. It has revitalized me as an artist and I am hungrier than ever to keep working and growing. It has been such an honor to be given the trust to do this. Acting and telling stories and moving people is something I will always be deeply passionate about and I am so grateful to Wicked for letting me continue to do that and keeping me going.
And a question we love to ask our alumni: who at TFTV inspired you and why, and what did you learn at TFTV that you value to this day?
If you ask anyone who came from the program around the time I did, there is one name everyone will say: Monte Ralstin. For me, Monte was such a positive, motivating, kind force. As a freshman away from home for the first time, Monte made me feel welcome and supported. He believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. I remember one particular private voice lesson during my senior year where I wasn’t necessarily sure if I was making the right life decision to pursue this career. Monte not only reassured me, but told me that I possessed something special. He wouldn’t let me harbor those negative thoughts about myself and my abilities. He believed in me, just like he believed in all of his students. To this day, I still use a vocal warmup I recorded of him back in college. It’s one way I honor his memory. He was a loving, incredible man. I miss him dearly. May he rest in peace.
The thing that I really hold onto from my time at TFTV is the importance of acting. As a Musical Theatre major, we did a whole lot of singing and moving, but we learned on day one that none of it matters if the acting isn’t coming from a grounded, real place. I’m not necessarily one who always agreed with some of the techniques but I did always agree that finding the truth of each moment, however you can, is how you tell the most authentic version of the story. And that’s how I work today. Even when doing a musical, it’s the acting that matters above all else. Our director at Wicked, Lisa LeGuillou, told us that “Wicked is a play with songs,” and I believe that to be true of every musical. Tell the story as truthfully and honestly as you can, however you can. In Wicked, the song “Defying Gravity” is as powerful as it is not because the notes are pretty, but because of what’s going on inside of Elphaba at that moment. It’s those emotions and that struggle that motivate her to sing. It’s an incredible climax at the end of the first act because it’s a cocktail of song and stakes and emotion and story. But it only works if the acting up until that point has brought us to those heights. Sorry, I digress – I could talk about acting all day!
Anything you’d like to add?
I would love to acknowledge my family, particularly my mom, who from the start has read lines with me and looked out for auditions for me. I’m incredibly grateful for their support through every step of my career.