Patrice Tipoki, the star of Australia’s ‘Wicked,’ ‘Les Mis’ and more, answers 7 questions with Emmy

Every week I’m interviewing fascinating people in our community, nation and around the world!

The idea came from a Facebook commenter who saw a video of me and my family floating down the river in Island Park. The person said I should turn the tables and interview my dad (Nate Eaton) – so I did and the rest is history!

Today I’m interviewing Patrice Tipoki all the way in Australia! She played the role of Elphaba, the green witch, in the original Australian cast of the hit musical “Wicked.”

She also played Fantine in “Les Miserables” at the Dubai Opera, toured Australia and Singapore with the show and was part of the original production on the West End in London. Before this, she was Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” and Nala in Disney’s “The Lion King.”

Patrice has an amazing voice and her debut album “A Musical Heart” was released to rave reviews and topped the iTunes charts. She and my dad have been friends since they met 20 years ago in Australia.

Patrice is happily married and has four adorable children (including one around my age!).

Here are the questions I asked Patrice:

• How did you land the role of Elphaba in ‘Wicked’ and what was that like going up in the air every night while singing?
• How long did it take you to put on the green makeup before the show?
• What has been your favorite role?
• What was it like to play Belle in “Beauty and the Beast”?
• How did you get into character to act?
• What was it like to transition from singing on stage every night to being a mother?
• How did you meet my dad?

BONUS QUESTIONS

• Have you ever been to Idaho Falls?
• What is your dream role that you hope to one day play?
• What is your favorite song?
• Could you sing us a part of a song from “Wicked”?

You can follow Patrice on her Facebook page here.

If you have an idea for someone I should interview or just want to say hi, email me! My address is emmy@eastidahonews.com.