not Reese Witherspoon

I didn't mean to, I swear. But when a video of Studio 60 sits there, asking to be bought, you kind of have to acknowledge it.

Besides, now that I can be counted among the Kristin Chenoweth followers, I don't really have a choice but to pay attention to Harriet Hayes. Yes, that's Sarah Paulson, and between her and Kristin, on whom the character is supposed to be modeled after, that's probably the gayest sentence yet on this blog.

I must say, this love for Kristin was completely unforeseen. Accidental, even. I had only meant to search for a file of her singing Hopelessly Devoted to You, which is a song I actually loathe for simply having been on Grease, but thanks to Pushing Daisies and Kristin... And around the same time I started reading Gregory Maguire's Wicked, I stumbled upon "Popular", which is a song from the Broadway show based on the book.

And I fell in love.

For the past two weeks I have been playing/listening to the soundtrack ad infinitum, and it has put the spark back in my inner Broadway fan.

Every so often something reminds me how much I love Broadway. It started, like most things, because Bonnie plays six degrees of separation with Lea Salonga, and we were on the impressionable age when Miss Saigon came out. Now, say what you will about Lea, but she got local television to air the Tonys, and that is an excellent contribution in itself. I think I helped wear out Neyza's copy of the original cast recording. Oh well. Following Lea's career, from Miss Saigon we moved on to Les Miserables, and who doesn't love A Little Fall of Rain? And The Confrontation (speaking of The Confrontation, when NPH sings Javert, it is awesome)?

After Les Miz I think Lea did My Fair Lady, while Monique Wilson did a slew of non-musical theater, so I momentarily went with Monique for a bit. I would tune in to my copies of Miss Saigon and Les Miz every so often over the years, just to reconnect, to remember. Once my cousin went through his Broadway phase (Andrew Lloyd Webber, so it doesn't really count.), and I tagged along for the ride, but he was all about the Webber, and that wasn't my cup of tea.

In the early 2000's Joss Whedon produced the fine Buffy episode Once More With Feeling, citing the influence of Stephen Sondheim. The same man who produced Sweeney Todd. I haven't seen the play, but I think I want to (although from the movie I hate the boy and Johanna - seriously, why that name for such a loathesome character?).

Around the same time as the great Cabaret debacle (the show was great, it was the rest of that evening that continues to grate, from both sides of my company from that night), in my desire to listen to the soundtrack (or "original cast recording". By the way, I love Natasha Richardson, but... maybe not as Sally Bowles), I came across Forbidden Broadway, which are sendups of famous and not-so-famous Broadway tunes. I got over it, after a while. Went back to my post-grunge bands, my Lilith Fair alumni, my UK imports. And save for Kylie and The Corrs, that was pretty much what played on heavy rotation for a while (alright, The Corrs belong to the UK, and Kylie is a colonial, do they count?).

Then along comes Kristin Chenoweth.

Sure, she's religious, and I'm with Aaron Sorkin when his response to her statement that he has to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior is laughter, but the woman sings opera. At first glance, you feel just like Elphaba, instantly wary of the tiny, perky blonde. She's cheery, optimistic and, well, perky (it deserves saying twice), so you see how she's easy to dislike/dismiss. Thankfully I wasn't really paying attention to The West Wing when she was on, so to discover her on Pushing Daisies is a pleasant surprise.

She's frakking brilliant, and it's nice to have a tiny blonde/beauty pageant alumni that is easy to like. She's funny, she's a good actress, and the woman can sing. In a world populated by half-bit women pretending to be actresses and appearing on shows like The Hills, it's so wonderful to see that true talent still exists.

Even when it comes in teeny packages the size and shape (and hair color) as Kristin Chenoweth.



"If there's a (Wicked) movie, I'm attached. They'll have to pay me a lot of money to not be in it. So if you see Reese Witherspoon or whomever, just know that I have a new house on the hills."
- Kristin Chenoweth