Interview: Kristin Chenoweth's For The Girls & Everybody Else

Broadway favorite Kristin Chenoweth returns to Segerstrom Center for the Arts with an evening of songs October 23, 2021. Kristen will be performing heartfelt tributes to some of her female friends and heroines with tunes from her most recent album For The Girls.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Kristin!

What songs can your Segerstrom fans expect to hear October 23rd? Your signature WICKED tunes, of course.

A lot of the For The Girls from my last album that I didn't get to tour. We'll hear lots of Dolly, Patti, Reba, Judy, Leslie Gore, Barbra. All the women that have changed my life musically.

You have concert bookings through April 2022. Are your set lists set in stone?

Never! I can't do the same show twice. I like to personalize each concert I do wherever I'm at. So, no. I throw in new songs or new songs from the past all the time. And soon we'll be moving into Christmas, so I'll be adding some Christmas songs too.

What were you feeling the first time (post-pandemic) you performed live in front of an actual audience? Was it at Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley's first live Stars In The House?

It was very emotional. The first time I sang in front of an orchestra though I was at a wedding. We'd been vaccinated. I had a 30-piece orchestra and that was pretty emotional.

With your vast singing resume, do you still adhere to a vocal warm-up regime?

Oh yeah, I can't imagine not having my warm-ups and my warm downs. More importantly, my vocalizing has got to be on par, so that I can go out there and do all the different kinds of things with my voice that I like to do.

What gives you more gratification - performing as Kristin Chenoweth or as a scripted character?

Performing as Kristin Chenoweth because you get to see the real me.

Is there a Broadway leading lady role you haven't done that you would want to tackle?

There are a few but I hesitate to say right now since I'm in development with quite a few.

You've played Carnegie Hall, the Met, Lincoln Center and countless other prestigious venues. Is there still a place you've never sung at that you'd like to unleash your coloratura soprano in?

Yeah, I'd love to go to the Israeli Philharmonic and sing. That's such a beautiful, beautiful venue, and also incredible musicians.

You held a very successful virtual Kristin Chenoweth's Broadway Bootcamp earlier this year. Any definitive plans for a 2022 edition?

Oh, I loved it. Thank you so much! Yes, if anything the virtual taught us that we're going to have to have both a hybrid - kids there on the ground and also virtual. So be careful what you wish for because it turned amazing!

Thank you again, Kristin! Can't wait to hear/see you live at Segerstrom.

Thank you, BroadwayWorld!

For tickets for Kristin's live one-nighter October 23rd at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, log onto www.scfta.org