How Ginna Claire Mason made her dreams a reality
When South Orange resident Ginna Claire Mason was just 13, she sat in row K of the Gershwin Theatre, captivated by Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel and the original cast of Wicked on Broadway. She turned to her father and declared that one day she too would be on that stage. Although it was a dream shared by countless young girls, for Mason it came true on Nov. 25, 2015, when she made her Broadway debut as Glinda, the good witch in Wicked.
In anticipation of the film version of Wicked, which premiered on November 22, Mason had the opportunity to screen it with its stars, Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. She was joined by former Broadway Glindas and Elphabas for “the love letter to Broadway that exceeded my wildest expectations.”
Mason’s determination to see her name in lights started in the fourth grade when she and her family traveled to Manhattan for the first time. “I saw Les Miserable at the Imperial Theatre, and my world was changed,” she says. “That was the first time I realized that my after-school hobby could be a job. I could be an accountant or I could do this for a living.”
Growing up in Brentwood, Tenn., right outside of Nashville, Mason followed in her older brothers’ footsteps in community theater. From Annie in Little Orphan Annie to Millie in Thoroughly Modern Millie, she acted, sang and danced her way to Elon University in North Carolina, where she was one of six women accepted into the highly competitive music theater program. She trained and performed with acting and voice coaches, studied abroad in London and graduated in 2013. She returned in 2024 to deliver the commencement speech.
She and her husband, Eric Moffett, were married after graduation. The two moved to Binghamton, N.Y. Her first audition in Manhattan was for Glinda in Wicked. Although it wasn’t in the cards just yet, she landed her first national tour straight out of college, as Gloria in Flashdance the Musical. Moffett, an air traffic controller at the time, held down the fort while Mason hit the ground running.
“It was an awesome experience. I paid off my college loans and made some lifelong friends,” Mason says. can be all encompassing,” she says. “It takes over every part of your life, but I love it. You have to make a lot of sacrifices.”
She says she learned what it takes to perform eight shows a week. “These jobs, depending on if you want to actually show up and give it your best, can be all encompassing,” she says. “It takes over every part of your life, but I love it. You have to make a lot of sacrifices.”
After Flashdance the Musical, Mason starred as Sniper in Newsies. Her next role took her to Las Vegas. She played Korie in Duck Commander Musical, based on the television show Duck Dynasty. After a steady run, Mason made her way back h o m e to Binghamton, where a typical day was spent commuting into New York three hours , one way, on a Greyhound bus, for auditions.
When she was visiting family in Tennessee, her agent called with an urgent request to get on a video call with Wicked’s music director. With only an hour to prepare, she put on a dress, logged on to the call and was asked to sing the opening song, “No One Mourns the Wicked,” acapella. They called her back for an in-person audition. Kara Lindsay, who was starring as Glinda at the time, needed a standby. It was just the break Mason had dreamt of since middle school.
“After 16 months of hanging out backstage, I was hired as the lead Glinda for the national tour,” Mason says.
On April 9, 2019, after a year on the national tour circuit, she assumed the role of Glinda on Broadway. By now, the couple was living in West Orange so Mason’s husband could be closer to the aviation school he was attending in Morristown. She came upon a house near Floods Hill that called her name. A true fixer upper and practically ghost-like in appearance, the couple bought their forever home in South Orange.
In November 2019, after a massive gut renovation, they finally moved in. Months later, when Covid hit, Broadway shut down. Faced with uncertainty, Mason and her friends started Double Name Witches, a virtual music theater school. “This was such a special way to connect with young artists,” says Mason. The school “stretched all of us creatively to find ways to tell stories in the Zoom room. The community continues to be incredibly tight knit. It made me feel like I was part of something bigger than myself.”
After a very long 18 months, Broadway reopened. On September 14, 2021, when Mason sang the show-stopping opening number “No One Mourns the Wicked,” the crowd went wild. “Coming back to that place was like home,” says Mason. To raise awareness of Broadway’s revival, Mason and her fellow cast members appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and performed in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Standing in the freezing cold, Mason watched as the Radio City Rockettes performed their eye-high leg kick in perfect unison. “I had seen the Rockettes growing up. I worshiped them. They’re amazing,” says Mason.
In a pinch-me moment a month later, she was asked to send in a tape for Hallmark Channel’s “A Holiday Spectacular.” Before she knew it, Mason was filming the 2022 special, starring as the lead and dancing alongside The Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall. When her Wicked contract ended, she had the flexibility to take on more projects with the Hallmark Channel.
In 2023 she starred in A Heidelberg Holiday. On Nov. 1, Mason‘s A Carol for Two, premiered as part of Hallmark Channel’s 15th annual Countdown to Christmas. “I am very lucky,” says Mason. “Hallmark has given me special scripts. I feel really honored for the characters that they’ve trusted me with.”
Mason and her husband have two adorable children, who keep them on their toes. She continues to teach voice lessons and writes her own concerts, shows and music (keep an eye on SOPAC’s event calendar). Her debut album, Prepare My Heart to Wonder, is a collection of originals and country music Christmas favorites. You’ll definitely want to add it to your playlist this holiday season!
Amy Lynn-Cramer is a freelance writer, former publicist and founder of Cramer Connect. Based out of Maplewood, she’s a culture changer at heart, an internal comms pro and certified coach. She saw Mason star as Glinda on her birthday in 2021. That’s kismet!
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