Kristin Chenoweth
A versatile singer, classically trained but equally at home in pop, old standards and Broadway musicals, Tony Award-winning singer and actress Kristin Chenoweth made her solo recording debut with the release of Let Yourself Go for Sony Classical. On Let Yourself Go, she harkens back to the golden age of Broadway and Tin Pan Alley in a selection of well-known standards and less familiar songs by Irving Berlin, the Gershwins, Rodgers & Hart, Kern, Youmans, Ellington and others. The disc also includes by three new numbers written by a trio of exciting new composers -- Jeanine Tesori, Ricky Ian Gordon and Richard Dworsky -- who are bringing a new energy and sound to the golden-age style of American song. Tony Award-winning actor Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) joined Chenoweth on Let Yourself Go in a special duet, "Hangin' Around With You" from the Gershwins' 1930 musical Strike Up the Band. Rob Fisher conducted The Coffee Club Orchestra on the recording.
With numerous other projects on the horizon, Chenoweth is currently on Broadway in Wicked, the back-story to The Wizard of Oz. Chenoweth plays Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. Variety's review stated "Chenoweth steals the show whole. She is allowed to be funny and is, spectacularly." The show is the much-hyped musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire's bestselling novel. Chenoweth was seen in the ABC's movie-version of Meredith Wilson's The Music Man opposite Matthew Broderick. She played Marian, the librarian who attracts the romantic interest of a lovable con man. Chenoweth can also be seen on Sesame Street as Ms. Noodle and in Elmo's video/DVD "Elmo's World: Happy Holidays!" This is the first ever Elmo's World holiday special. Chenoweth received rave reviews for her eagerly awaited concerts for Lincoln Center's 5th American Songbook where she performed selections from her album and she also received critical acclaim for her performance in City Center Encores! 10th Anniversary Bash. Chenoweth was a part of ABC's An American Celebration at Ford's Theater with Kelsey Grammer, NBC's Salute to the Olympic Winners, The Kennedy Center Gala honoring Julie Andrews and an episode of Frasier on NBC. Chenoweth has performed with the Kansas City Symphony, the Virginia Symphony and the National Symphony Orchestra, the Tulsa Symphony, the Washington Symphony, and the Boca Raton Symphony. Acclaimed for her distinctive comedic gifts as well as her wide-ranging musical abilities, Chenoweth made her Broadway debut in a production of Moliere's Scapin starring Bill Irwin, followed in the spring of 1997 by the Kander and Ebb musical Steel Pier, for which she won a Theatre World award. The next season, she appeared in the City Center Encores! production of Strike Up the Band and the Lincoln Center Theater production of A New Brain. During the 1998-99 season, she created the role of Sally in the first Broadway production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, sweeping the Tony, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards as the season's "Best Featured Actress in a Musical." Next, she starred in the Broadway comedy Epic Proportions, followed by acclaimed appearances in the ABC television adaptation of the musical Annie (as Lily St. Regis) and in the leading role of the City Center Encores! production of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. Chenoweth has also performed leading roles at the Goodspeed Opera House and the Guthrie Theatre, and she was chosen by the late Jerome Robbins as the guest soloist in his West Side Story Suite of Dances at New York City Ballet. On television, Chenoweth starred in her own series Kristin, for NBC. A native of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Chenoweth studied at Oklahoma City University, earning a bachelor's degree in musical theater and a master's degree in opera performance, performing a number of roles in the lyric coloratura category. She performed in the stage revue at Opryland and won a "most talented up-and-coming singer" award in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, which resulted in a full scholarship to Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. En route to Philadelphia, she auditioned for an off-Broadway show and got the part. She decided to forgo her scholarship to pursue a career on Broadway. |