Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth bounded onto the 蜜柚直播 Music Hall stage Thursday night donning a blue 蜜柚直播 Wildcats shirt over her sparkling silver gown.
The audience of just over 1,600 cheered and Chenoweth flashed them the Wildcat 鈥淲C鈥 and a smile that sparkled as much as her gown.
Talk about endearing yourself to room full of strangers.
That鈥檚 the magic of Chenoweth, a towering star on Broadway who until Thursday had never stood on a 蜜柚直播 stage. We started the evening as strangers, quickly became friends and by the end of the two-hour concert felt like family.
Family that tells its secrets like Chenoweth鈥檚 childhood dream growing up in Oklahoma to become part of the chorus in a Broadway show.
She was too short, she told us; 4-foot-11, pushing 5-foot-1 in high heels. To prove the point she sauntered over to 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra cellist Robert Chamberlain and had him stand. See, she said, as the 6-foot-3 Chamberlain towered over her.
People are also reading…
Funny how life turns out, she concluded; instead of being part of the chorus, she鈥檚 the star.
With every song she sang 鈥 from Great American Songbook classics to Broadway tunes immortalized by Judy Garland and Julie Andrews 鈥 the 50-year-old Chenoweth wove in funny bits and pieces of her life story, from her early childhood spent in Phoenix until second grade to growing up in Oklahoma, where she picked up a twang that sneaks into her conversations.
She became emotional toward the end of the Jason Robert Brown love song 鈥50 Years Long,鈥 which Chenoweth dedicated to her parents; and again when she and her accompanist/longtime musical collaborator Mary-Mitchell Campbell performed the bilingual version of Stephen Foster鈥檚 鈥淏eautiful Dreamer,鈥 which they recorded on the star-studded fundraising album 鈥淪inging You Home 鈥 Children鈥檚 Songs for Family Reunification.鈥 Proceeds from the album, which included contributions from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Josh Groban and Idina Menzel, benefit organizations that support families separated at the U.S. southern border.
Her set list traversed the Great White Way and Hollywood including 鈥淏ring Him Home鈥 from 鈥淟es Miserables,鈥 鈥淭he Sweetheart Tree鈥 from 鈥淭he Great Race鈥 and 鈥淪omewhere Over the Rainbow鈥 from 鈥淭he Wizard of Oz.鈥 There were emotional turns including the inspired collaboration with 10 University of 蜜柚直播 music theater students on the gospel standard 鈥淯pon This Rock,鈥 and humorous pit stops including the whimsical 鈥淭aylor the Latte Boy.鈥
Every once in a while, Chenoweth would turn toward Chamberlain and shoot him a flirty smile; at one point, she stood in front of TSO Concertmaster Lauren Roth and planted a playful kiss on her cheek. She even attempted to dance with a bass player during 鈥淚 Could Have Danced All Night,鈥 but he shook his head. So Chenoweth waltzed away to center stage and belted out the song鈥檚 final, glorious high C that hung in the air and was so soaring and pure that it made the hair on our arms stand up.
Her show was total fun, from singing along to 鈥淧opular鈥 from her Broadway run in the original 鈥淲icked,鈥 to cheering loudly when she shot a 20- or 30-second Instagram live video.
Perhaps the most interesting performance of the evening, however, was the improbable country-meets-Broadway mash-up of Stephen Sondheim鈥檚 鈥淟osing My Mind鈥 and Willie Nelson鈥檚 鈥淎lways on My Mind.鈥
鈥淚n my world growing up, Stephen Sondheim was royalty,鈥 she said. 鈥淎nd also in my world growing up, Willie Nelson was royalty.鈥
On Thursday, Chenoweth earned the title of royalty in our world.