Watch Broadway's queer Elphaba, Mary Kate Morrisey, belt out 'Defying Gravity' at NYC Pride

Broadway’s current Elphaba in Wicked, Mary Kate Morrissey, performed a stunning rendition of her character’s signature song at New York City Pride on Sunday. Sporting a tee with the words, “Here, Queer, & Wicked” from Gay Pride Apparel emblazoned on the front, the word “Wicked” in rainbow colors, she performed for her LGBTQ+ community while the procession of queer people and rainbow flags proceeded behind her.

Known for playing the iconic Janis in Mean Girls on tour, Morrissey is the 25^th person to play Elphaba full-time on Broadway, though she is no stranger to the role. For the better part of a decade, Morrissey has donned Elphaba’s signature green on the national tour of Wicked and as a standby on Broadway. She stepped into the role full-time this past March.

Regarding being queer and playing roles like Janis and Elphaba in queer faves like Mean Girls and Wicked she has said, "You don’t need to have a love interest on stage to recognize queerness, or otherness, or sort of the way that you carry yourself. I think that’s something that I probably personally bring to these characters, but I also think a lot of times it’s written in; there are clues to it everywhere. I try to play just what’s on the page, but if I’m playing something, it’s going to probably be skewed a little more queer than not.

Morrissey’s performance of “Defying Gravity” at New York City Pride was broadcast on ABC. Watch it below.