# Nicola Espallardo - Why Achieving Your Dream Can Be Terrifying

An episode of [You're On Tonight](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1875555963), 26 Oct 2026, 14 min.

Audio: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/698214a319ef991f73ab4515/e/6addd9e8d39b76001f9d2f0f/media.mp3

Nicola Espallardo is a trailblazer. Not only has she appeared in some of the biggest musicals in the world (Les Miserables, Hamilton), she was also the first Asian person to play Elphaba in the West End’s Wicked. All before the age of 30. In this encore, Nicola discusses achieving her dream – not only how empowering it felt, but why it can also lead to the scariest moment in any career: figuring out what comes next. We also hear an incredible story of what happens when Elphaba sings the wrong line – and why that moment is a part of theatre history forever. Link to the full episode: https://pod.link/1875555963/episode/NjlhNzQxYTNkYjk0MmU4NWNjOTNmMjFi If you enjoyed the show, you can follow us at: Instagram @youreontonight TikTok @youreontonight YouTube @youreontonight Get in contact at: youreontonight@gmail.com Hosted by Kara Alberts-Turner & Liam Horrigan. Produced by and recorded at The Sound Company, London. For The Sound Company: Dom Boucher, Luke Nagy, Gareth Wood & Nick Thackeray-Cron alongside Freya Baldwin & Seb Stone. Show image by Louisa Sexton. Produced by The Sound Company. www.sound.co.uk Get in touch: youreontonight@gmail.com www.instagram.com/youreontonight www.youtube.com/youreontonight www.tiktok.com/youreontonight Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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