59. “A Bright-Eyed, Bushy-Tailed, Hydrated Elphaba” (with Saycon Sengbloh)

Summary

Sentimental Men: Episode 59 - “A Bright-Eyed, Bushy-Tailed, Hydrated Elphaba” (with Kristin Chenoweth)
Host/Authors: Quincy Brown and Kevin Bianchi
Guest: Kristin Chenoweth
Release Date: July 4, 2024
Duration: Approximately 72 minutes

---

Introduction

In Episode 59 of "Sentimental Men," hosts Quincy Brown and Kevin Bianchi welcome Broadway legend Kristin Chenoweth to discuss her illustrious career in musical theatre, with a particular focus on her iconic role as Elphaba in "Wicked." The episode delves into Kristin's journey in Broadway, her experiences portraying complex characters, and her perspectives on representation in theatre.

---

Kristin Chenoweth’s Broadway Journey

[19:15]
Kristin opens up about her unexpected path to Broadway, initially aspiring to be a pop star. Her passion for theater gradually took precedence as she immersed herself in roles that showcased her vocal prowess and acting skills.

• Kristin: "I always wanted to be a pop star. Theater just kept happening, and the pop star thing just was not happening."

She recounts her early roles, including touring with "Rent" as Mimi Marquez and her transition to playing Aida in the national tour. These experiences laid the foundation for her versatility on stage.

• Kristin: "I played Mimi on the national tour of Rent... then I booked Aida. I was the Aida standby and then starred as Aida in New York."

---

Auditioning for “Wicked” and Becoming Elphaba

[24:07]
Kristin shares the pivotal moment when she auditioned for "Wicked." Initially applying as a standby for Elphaba, she decided to focus solely on this role, foregoing other auditions to dedicate herself fully.

• Kristin: "I called my agent and I said, I cannot do these other auditions. I'm either gonna be really good at one of these or, like, mediocre at all of them."

Her commitment paid off when she was cast as the standby for Elphaba, marking a significant milestone as she became the first Black actress to take on the role on Broadway.

• Quincy: "You were the first Black actress to perform Elphaba on Broadway. Did that feel momentous at the time?"
• Kristin: "I was very proud to be the first Black woman to perform the role of Elphaba on Broadway."

---

Challenges and Triumphs in “Wicked”

[32:16]
Kristin discusses the technical and emotional demands of portraying Elphaba. From managing the intricate makeup process to mastering the powerful vocal performances required for songs like "Defying Gravity" and "No Good Deed."

• Kristin: "If you've had any vocal issues... you gotta be in good voice to have smooth transitions between those portions of the song."
• Quincy: "Wizard and I is awful criminal, that they make the Elphaba start their show with that song."
• Kristin: "I'm a bright-eyed, bushy tailed, hydrated Elphaba. That's how I see it."

She reflects on the physical strain of performing in a heavy, elaborate costume and the importance of maintaining vocal health amidst the rigors of daily performances.

• Kristin: "Running around in that dress. It weighs like 25 pounds. I learned how to... get the hell out of the room and down the thing."

---

Representation and Casting in Broadway

[50:30]
The conversation shifts to the broader topic of representation in Broadway, particularly in "Wicked." Kristin emphasizes the significance of having diverse actors in iconic roles and how it impacts the perception and inclusivity of theatre.

• Quincy: "Do you think it's easier now to cast a Black leading actress as Elphaba with Cynthia Erivo in the new movie?"
• Kristin: "Once people start thinking of Elphaba as just canonically Black, it makes casting a Black leading actress as Elphaba much easier."

She expresses optimism about the evolving landscape of Broadway, where representation is increasingly becoming a priority, and the positive effects it has on both performers and audiences.

---

Transitioning Between Stage and Screen

[61:26]
Kristin delves into her experiences transitioning from Broadway to television and film. She discusses the challenges of adapting her acting style to fit the nuances of screen performances versus live theatre.

• Kristin: "Musical theater is more like basketball and TV is like golf. It's trying to get this tiny little hole 50 feet away."

She highlights the differences in energy management, rehearsal processes, and the solitary nature of screen acting compared to the collaborative spirit of theatre.

• Kristin: "There's something about rehearsing with a group of people... it's a human experience of togetherness."

---

Lessons Learned from “Wicked” and Broadway

[67:01]
Reflecting on her time with "Wicked," Kristin shares invaluable lessons that have shaped her approach to both her personal and professional life. She emphasizes the importance of taking charge of one's destiny and maintaining professionalism as a standby.

• Kristin: "Take life by the throat and get what you want out of life."
• Kristin: "Broadway is a machine. It is a commercial endeavor... You have to be a problem solver in moments like that."

She credits her experiences with fostering resilience, adaptability, and a deep understanding of the intricacies involved in sustaining a long-running production.

---

Future Aspirations and Closing Thoughts

[62:19]
Kristin expresses her continued passion for Broadway and her openness to returning to the stage when the right opportunity arises. She balances her love for theatrical performances with her burgeoning career in television and film.

• Kristin: "I would definitely do Broadway again. It definitely would need to be the right situation."

She concludes with a heartfelt message about harnessing personal power and using her platform to inspire others, drawing parallels between her character Elphaba and her real-life journey.

• Kristin: "Elphaba is a very passionate character... I take that with me in everything I do."

---

Conclusion

Episode 59 of "Sentimental Men" offers an intimate look into Kristin Chenoweth's profound impact on Broadway and her thoughtful reflections on the evolving landscape of musical theatre. From breaking barriers as the first Black Elphaba to navigating the transition between stage and screen, Kristin's insights provide valuable inspiration for aspiring actors and theatre enthusiasts alike. Her dedication to her craft and commitment to representation underscore the enduring power of diversity in the arts.

Notable Quotes:

• Kristin Chenoweth [24:07]: "I called my agent and I said, I cannot do these other auditions. I'm either gonna be really good at one of these or, like, mediocre at all of them."
• Kristin Chenoweth [50:30]: "Once people start thinking of Elphaba as just canonically Black, it makes casting a Black leading actress as Elphaba much easier."
• Kristin Chenoweth [61:26]: "There's something about rehearsing with a group of people... it's a human experience of togetherness."
• Kristin Chenoweth [67:01]: "Take life by the throat and get what you want out of life."
• Kristin Chenoweth [62:19]: "I would definitely do Broadway again. It definitely would need to be the right situation."

---

This episode serves as a testament to Kristin Chenoweth's remarkable journey and her unwavering commitment to enhancing diversity and excellence in the theatrical world.

Transcript

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Hi, y'all. This is Kristin Chenoweth. Hi, I'm Gloria Stefan. This is Sara Bareilles. Hi, I'm Patti LuPone.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

This is Lin Manuel Miranda. You're listening to the Broadway Podcast Network.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

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[Quincy Brown]

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[Kristin Chenoweth]

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[Lin Manuel Miranda]

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[Kristin Chenoweth]

Hundreds on car insurance by checking Allstate First. Like, you know, to check the date of the big game first before you accidentally buy tickets on your 20th wedding anniversary and have to spend the next 20 years of your marriage making up for it.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, checking is smart.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

So check Allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. You're in good hands with Allstate Savings. Vary terms apply. Allstate Fire and Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates, Northbrook, Illinois. That wizard and I, y'all gonna get a fresh. I done ran out. It's fresh. Y'all ready for this? Wizard and I. You know what I mean? Like.

[Quincy Brown]

I'm Quincy.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And I'm Kevin.

[Quincy Brown]

And this is Sentimental Men. We're here to talk and maybe scream.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

About our favorite wiz in musical theater, Quincy Brown.

[Quincy Brown]

Kevin Bianchi.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

How you doing?

[Quincy Brown]

I'm okay. I haven't talked to you in a long time.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I know. It's been. It's been so long. It's so nice to be back doing, like a proper episode episode and not like a reaction episode, you know, it's.

[Quincy Brown]

Been a long time since we've spoken to a witch and I am chomping at the witch.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I am so excited.

[Quincy Brown]

When was the last time we've given an update on things we've done and seen?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Ugh, I don't know.

[Quincy Brown]

Like, what have we talked and not talked about?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Like, things we've seen together or just general conversations? I went to Bears last night. Broadway Bears.

[Quincy Brown]

How was it?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Was really cute. It was like Vegas slot machine themed.

[Quincy Brown]

Was it Connor's birthday yesterday?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, it was Connor's birthday yesterday.

[Quincy Brown]

And you went to Broadway Bears?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah. Well, a friend of ours was in it and was like, do you guys want tickets? And we were like, yeah, that's a fun thing to do.

[Quincy Brown]

Is It. What's the vibe? I've never gone in person.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It's very Her Lies Love in, like, I would get. Compare it to that if you're on the floor and then there's, like, people seated in. Because at least this year, it was at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Have you ever been to something there?

[Quincy Brown]

I don't know.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I don't know. Where is it? It was very much like, the same setup as Here Lies Love, where there was, like, kind of a Runway stage and people standing around, and then, like, the mezzanine and the balcony were people sitting. I think it's the kind of space that, like, set up.

[Quincy Brown]

I saw Queer Cats.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I'm so jealous. I saw. I saw.

[Quincy Brown]

You should definitely go.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I want to go so bad. Wait, you know what? We just found out. I'm pretty sure Andre de Shields lives in my building.

[Quincy Brown]

That makes sense. You live in the oddest building.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, that makes sense.

[Quincy Brown]

Am I allowed to out that on the podcast? You live in the artist building.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

In the artist building, yeah. I do live on the set of Hell's Kitchen.

[Quincy Brown]

Queer Cats was so incredible. It honestly, like, first, I love Cats. I love Andrew Lloyd Webber.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Me too.

[Quincy Brown]

But putting this concept on top of Cats, because it was. There were some, like, a couple songs that they had a moment, but for the most part, it was just Cats. The score, as we know and love, with the concept of placing it in ballroom culture layered over it, and it worked so incredibly well.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I am so excited. Yeah. I love Cats 2. It was my first Broadway show.

[Quincy Brown]

Definitely go. I think it should move to Broadway. There's been a lot of discourse on whether it should or shouldn't. I think it really, really could work at Circle in the Square. It's kind of built for that.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah. Yeah. I've heard rumors that it's considering it.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah.

[Quincy Brown]

I'd never been to that theater at, I think, the Perelman Performing Arts Center. Stunning.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It's brand new, right?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Mm.

[Quincy Brown]

I thought this was the first show they've done there, but apparently it's not.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It's like, the third, Right. It's early still.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. Oh, you know what I'm also doing tonight?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

What?

[Quincy Brown]

Going to the if Then reunion concert at 54 below.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Of course you're going to that.

[Quincy Brown]

I'm so excited.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I. That's just so stupid. I love it.

[Quincy Brown]

I was like, any chance to hear the if Then score? Do we think Mrs. Gonna appear?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Is she gonna be there?

[Quincy Brown]

She's not slated to, but she's in town. Tony's just happened where she presented Best Musical with Cynthia Erivo.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Oh my God. I lost my mind.

[Quincy Brown]

It was so.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

They just looked so beautiful both standing there. And Adina, just pillars of the community.

[Quincy Brown]

In that movie you're doing is such an Idina way of doing it.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And then when Cynthia was like, I.

[Quincy Brown]

Love you, I also was like, was that off script or was it scripted that she was going to say she was going to go off script? Why wouldn't there be a scripted Wicked reference? You know what I mean?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah. I feel like there was probably a joke written like a Wicked joke written and she decided to say something instead.

[Quincy Brown]

And it was very earnest. It was very sweet. I loved seeing the two of them together. I feel like we've gotten a lot. Not a lot, but we've gotten a good amount of Cristen Ariana content and moments of interaction and not so much.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Cause they existed before, but they were a unit already.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. Someone tweeted where's the actors? On actors? And I would actually love to see that. Yes. Because the Elphaba connection. But also because if you like, they kind of have similar career trajectories in different eras, if you really think about it. And I just think it'd be cool to hear them discussing that and their come up in the industry and their crossover to quote unquote mainstream entertainment and navigation.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And also they're both recording artists. Parallel to that.

[Quincy Brown]

It'd be super. Yeah. Oscar nominated songs.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah. Well, you know, we are available to host any actors on actors.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. I almost was like, yeah, we should do an Idina Cynthia episode. That'd be really interesting.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

That would be really cool. I would love to do.

[Quincy Brown]

Okay, let's put it out there. Any other Tony's thoughts while we're on the topic?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Well, we did get that new trailer. W. Oh, I see.

[Quincy Brown]

I was in the bathroom at the time and I came back and came back for the icked part and was icked or like I came back for CKED and I was like, my brain didn't connect that they had spelled out the rest of the word. I was like, what is this concept? How is this? What are they doing here? Yes. Where we heard a new song line from Ms. Grande.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Follow my lead.

[Quincy Brown]

Do you think they're gonna put out singles?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I don't know. I was thinking about this and I was like, wait, wait, wait. So we're really only gonna get half of a cast recording this year.

[Quincy Brown]

Right. Which. How did they even package that?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I mean, the Same Wicked Part 1 in the same way they're.

[Quincy Brown]

I'm okay. With that. I can live with that.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, me too. But I bet there's gonna be like, in addition, since it's only gonna be like 11 songs. Although if there's new songs, I don't know, they got a lot of movie to fill.

[Quincy Brown]

Do you think they're gonna put Ariana Grande's popular featuring Micah on it?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I think so.

[Quincy Brown]

That is interesting.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Well, while we're on the topic of the movie, can I share with you a nightmare that I had? Oh, yeah, that big scary chistery, which.

[Quincy Brown]

We got flamed for online a little bit. People are saying chisery's always been scary.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

No, it's different. It's different when it's not a twink in a bodysuit, and when it's a.

[Quincy Brown]

Twink in a bodysuit that you're seeing from a distance, it kind of does look cute if you're in the right.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

There's a layer of. I know that's a person. I know that's a girlie I could kiki with underneath there.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

But in the movie it's like, no, that's just a monkey. That would kill me if it had to. Anyway, my realization, my nightmare is I realized at the end of the second movie that scary monkey is gonna be like, miss.

[Quincy Brown]

Maybe he'll look cuter then maybe they'll animate him to have the cute puffy eyes. And that's one way fall in love.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Maybe. I also saw, wait, you know that shot we keep seeing in all of the trailers of the hat sitting kind of in that puddle?

[Quincy Brown]

Uh huh.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I saw somebody on Twitter say that they think that's gonna be the first shot of the movie. Because they're like, why else would they be showing us the end of part two in all these trailers? And it reminded me, I think that would actually work so well with like a theory you had a while ago that we were gonna see at the beginning of act one, Glinda, like running up the stairs in that dress and getting into the bubble.

[Quincy Brown]

Katy Perry Teenage Dream documentary.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Katy Perry Teenage Dream.

[Quincy Brown]

It has to start that way. That's such a brilliant way to start a movie.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It would be really cool because also too, you could do that without giving away the friendship to people who are ignorant of the story. Like, you could show Glinda rushing and getting there to address the people, and she's distressed. And then the transition into good news, she's dead, I think would be so cool.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. What a gripping look.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

So maybe that is the first shot of the movie. If not, I'm Sure. Whatever John has decided is perfect.

[Quincy Brown]

Sure, sure, sure, sure, sure. I think that'll be it, though. We'll see. Oh, I went to Ben Platt's concert at the New Palace. Theata.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Oh, my gosh. The Res.

[Quincy Brown]

The residency at the New palace, which is gorgeous. Super stunning. Incredible slay. Yeah. I'm confused how they moved it up, but it was cool to see.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

That kind of shit baffles me.

[Quincy Brown]

It felt like the Minsk off. Like, it kind of has that vibe to it.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Ooh.

[Quincy Brown]

But he's been having special guests every night. And Kristin Chenoweth was my special guest the night that I went. And they sang Till There Was yous from the Music Man.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Ugh. Till There Was yous from the Music Man. Kristin Chenoweth did the Music man on ABC with Matthew Broderick. Right. I have such childhood associations with that.

[Quincy Brown]

I just love that our ladies are out and about. Like, we had Kristen at Ben Platt. We had Idina at the Tonys. We had Ariana and Cynthia going to see Hell's Kitchen. Like, we're living in such a blessed time.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

We are. We are also. I love that. Definitely. Probably we're gonna have Idina and Kristen on Broadway.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

In the season when the Wicked movie is coming out.

[Quincy Brown]

Potentially nominated against each other again in the season that Wicked is coming out. Leading actress next season. Let's talk about that.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Leading. Well, hold on. Let me finish my point. I think a, it's like, so smart of them because it's like any press is gonna be like, Cynthia Erivo playing Elphaba, a role originated by Idina Menzel, currently on Broadway in Redwood. But also it's giving the gays everything that we can have. Just like a cornucopia of ladies.

[Quincy Brown]

Y.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And it's crazy how things are time.

[Quincy Brown]

Out that way because I'm sure you can say this was all planned and calculated, but the timing of all of this falling so this can all happen is really fortuitous, I think.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I agree. This best actress category will kill me, though.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. Well, first on Redwood, I'm excited for the discourse that's happened. Redwood feels very much. I'm not sure if I talked about this on POD yet, because I went to see it in La Jolla. It feels like Rent fan fiction for, like, part two. What happens to Maureen and Joanne because Idina Menzel is married to a Joanne type lesbian at the top of the show.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Oh, my God.

[Quincy Brown]

And then kind of is going through this. They have a child and is going through, like, relationship fallout. I need to find myself so she drives from New York City to California and goes to a redwood forest and climbs up to the top of a tree and discovers herself. How's that for an elevator pitch for redwood?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Well, and this is something too, right? Cause she's been working on this for. Same as Kristen with Versailles, Queen of Versailles. It's like they've both been working and developing on these for a while. But I remember reading or hearing or reading that redwood specifically kind of started as something else and evolved.

[Quincy Brown]

It feels like there's a deep personal connection there because even in Idina's bio at La Joll, she thanks the redwood trees at the end of it for saving her. So I'm curious what that story is. I haven't looked into it that year.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Well, I bet we'll hear it a lot next year.

[Quincy Brown]

There's a really great song in redwood that I'm excited to enter the canon. Also, you are getting Adina singing the way you want to hear Adina singing in redwood, so that's very exciting. I haven't heard much from Queen of Versailles yet, so I'm excited to see what that's all about. Kevin, who are we talking to today?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Quincy. Today we are talking to legendary Elphaba, the one and only, the inimitable, the fabulous Ms. Sa Khan Sengblo.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Ooh. Ooh.

[Quincy Brown]

This has been in the works since Wicked 20 Carpet, when we fell in love with her.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yes. And this has been. I mean, I feel like we haven't said this on pod in a while, but, like, back in 2020, like, when we were starting, this was an episode we wanted to do off the bat. So it's so exciting to be doing it now. It's so exciting that she's kind of our first big comeback episode in our next little batch that we have. The big comeback. The big comeback, guys.

[Quincy Brown]

We're taking this year day by day by day. The episodes are gonna come when they come. It's a really exciting, busy year for Wicked. It's a really exciting, busy year for us. And we're gonna be here when we're here.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah. And we'll be there when we're there.

[Quincy Brown]

Walk me through Ms. Sangblow's career.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I would love to, Quincy. So Ms. Sang blow. We'll start with her touring credits. She was on tour with Rent as Mimi Marquez, the rare Elphaba.

[Quincy Brown]

Mimi, not Elphaba the Voice.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Okay. Truly a unicorn of the community. She also went on tour with Aida as both a standby and then a principal Aida. She also went on tour with Fela as a replacement for Sandra. She made her Broadway debut in Aida, first as a standby, then starring as Aida. Then she went over to Wicked as the Elphaba standby. After that, she was in the Color Purple understudying Nettie and Celie. After that, she was in the Hair revival, which I saw her in.

[Quincy Brown]

Oh, really?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I actually saw her once in her track and once go on for Dion.

[Quincy Brown]

Oh, wow.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah. How blessed. After Hair, say Khan opened Fela on Broadway, which she then later toured. She went into Motown, the musical. She opened that in the ensemble. She opened Holler if you hear me. Iconic Broadway show. Another thing that's like. That's another one that I feel like really did the, like, contemporary thing very well. Her most recent Broadway credit, unfortunately, and I would dare to say unacceptably eight years ago, was Eclipsed, which started at the Public, transferred to and earned Ms. Sa Con a Tony nomination.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Ooh.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Her TV and film credits are also amazing. She was in across the Universe. She was in American Gangster. She starred opposite Jennifer Hudson in the Aretha Franklin movie Respect. She was on Scandal as a recurring cast member. She was on in the Dark and Delilah as recurring cast member. And then most recently, she was main cast principal on the reboot of the Wonder Years. So, yeah, so that's Ms. Sakon. She's amazing. She's got Grammy nomination as well. She's got a Drama Desk win and Drama Desk nomination. Drama Desk win and additional nominations. She's the best. I'm so excited to talk to her today.

[Quincy Brown]

Also worth noting, she was the first black actress to take on the role of Elphaba early on In, I think, 2005 or 2006, early on in the run of Wicked, which I feel like this is a topic of conversation that has followed Wicked to this day. So I'm excited to talk to her about that.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah. Especially too, with the movie coming out. I'm curious her perspective on, like, the movie, like, this new definitive version, having a black Elphaba. I'd love to hear what she thinks about that.

[Quincy Brown]

Totally. Kevin. Before we get into the interview, I also feel like we should take this time to acknowledge that we have a new partner helping us with this podcast at the Broadway Podcast Network.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

We do. We love our new friends at the Broadway Podcast Network. They've been really great. They are really excited to help us kind of get the podcast to an exciting, like, next level. And I think a lot of the ideas that they have for us are gonna turn out to be really cool. So I Think I speak for both of us when I say we're excited to kind of like, share that with you as it happens.

[Quincy Brown]

Super exciting.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Super, yeah. Really cool stuff being kicked around right now.

[Quincy Brown]

All right, let's talk to Ms. Sacon.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Let's do.

[Quincy Brown]

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[Kristin Chenoweth]

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[Quincy Brown]

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[Quincy Brown]

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[Kristin Chenoweth]

If you love Broadway gossip, you are not going to want to miss any episode of this podcast. Singular Sensation, the triumph of Broadway.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Plenty of dramas unfold on stage, but.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

The best dramas unfold backstage. And there were no bigger dramas than behind the scenes of Sunset Boulevard. So you were being crucified over here, but not there? No, no, because I was turning in a performance that would get standing of Asians. Excuse me. So check out my podcast, Singular Sensation, for all the juicy details of Sunset Boulevard.

[Quincy Brown]

Say Consangva. Thank you so much for joining us on Sentimental Men Today.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Thank you for having me. Hi, guys.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Hi. This has been a Wish List dream episode for us for a long time, so we're very excited to be having you today.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. And then we got a second to talk to you at the Wicked 20 carpet and fell in love, and we were like, we need to make this happen.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

That was the best carpet. Like, the questions were so good. I really, really enjoyed it very much.

[Quincy Brown]

Just niche, Wicked fandom.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah. I was like, okay. I was like, these questions are awesome.

[Quincy Brown]

So we start every interview with, how did Wicked come into your life? Not as necessarily an actress, but what was your first touch with the show? When do you remember first hearing about this show?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Tell you, incidentally, it was for an audition. I wasn't. So, yeah, I had done the national tour of Rent, and I was. I finished the tour. I came back. I played Mimi on the national tour of Rent.

[Quincy Brown]

By the way, the rare Elphaba Mimi. Not Elphaba. Maureen.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Right. That's what is. That's usually the Pipeline. It's the Maureen Pipeline. That is Mimi. Yeah. Yeah. So at the time, I was playing Mimi on the Rent. That had been the last Broadway. That was the first and what I thought was to be the last.

[Quincy Brown]

Oh, wow, okay.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Broadway thing that I did. So I. Well, I did that. Oh, gosh, wait, it's coming back to me. It's all coming back. It's all coming back to me now. So, okay, I came home from that. Okay, so I'm lying. I went to do. I did the Aida tour. I did. So I did do Mimi, and I did do Rent, and I did think it was the last. I was like, oh, my God, once in a lifetime. I did a Broadway tour. I never thought I would do that again. And then I booked Aida. I was Aida standby. And then I did that tour, and then I did Aida in New York, and I moved back to Atlanta to do the Color Purple. The Color Purple? The musical, which was happening at the Alliance Theater. I played Nettie in the Color Purple.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yes.

[Quincy Brown]

And just for context, was stage actress your career goal at the time?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I never had a stage actress career goal. I always wanted a pop star.

[Quincy Brown]

Gotcha. Okay.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Always wanted to be a pop star. Always wanted to be a recording artist. And theater just kept happening, and the pop star thing just was not happening. Gotcha. You know, I would record. You know, I would record. Something weird would happen to producers trying to get with me or the lawyers trying to get with me. I mean, like, it just every time. But I guess I felt safe in theater. I guess. I don't know. So, yeah, that's what happened. That's what really happened. By the time I came back home to do Color Purple, I was just out of the loop. I wasn't paying attention to what was going on on Broadway. So, yeah, there was this audition call for a show called Wicked. I was not hip. I was not like. I was like.

[Quincy Brown]

Well, you also got in to the show early. Like, it hadn't turned into Wicked the phenomenon yet.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Right.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And the tour probably hadn't gone out.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

No, no, Adina was still there. Adina was still there. But I think she had won the Tony, though.

[Quincy Brown]

Okay.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

She had won.

[Quincy Brown]

So it was starting to become a thing.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Oh, yeah. But I don't know that the fandom was fully locked in the way that it is now. You know, during. I would say during the time that I was there, the fandom had really started to lock in. But that was, like, really the first year or two of the show. So, yeah, it wasn't on my radar. I mean, a lot of stuff wasn't on my radar. I was being back in Atlanta and I was really trying to do this music thing. You know, the city of Atlanta, even the high school that I went to, you know, it was just a lot of music happening there.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. Cause did you go to school for anything?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I Went to school. I studied Spanish and theater. You mean college?

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I studied Spanish and theater. I went to Agnes Scott College.

[Quincy Brown]

Okay.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I never. I always was taking acting classes, theater classes, you know, always thinking that that would be helpful.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

But I think at one point in a pop career.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Well, no. Well, I wanted to be like. You know what it was? I thought pop music and actress. You know what I mean? Like Janet Jackson.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Never to combine the two.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Exactly. Janet Jackson, Angela Bassett. That's how I saw it. You know what I'm saying? You know?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And the Venn diagram is sacan.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes, the Venn diagram. Yes. Yes, it's me. Yeah, that's what I saw. You know, so by the time the Wicked audition, I actually had, like three or four auditions that week. And it was like, gotta fly. Fly to New York, fly back to New York. Cause I had moved back to Atlanta. Fly back to New York, do this audition and do these. And I remember. I will say this. I remember the magic that I felt. I was riding around in my car, listening to the soundtrack. I had a bm. I mean, a Volkswagen vw, not a BMW. I had a VW Volkswagen. The little Beetle, the New Beetle. I was riding around in my Beetle, and I was listening to this Wicked music, and I was like, man, this is good. And then when I was seeing how intricate it was and how beautiful it was and the scenes. I had to do, like, three or four scenes from Wicked. Three or four songs. I literally. I called my agent and I said, I cannot do these other auditions. I'm either gonna be really good at one of these or, like, mediocre at all of them.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah. So I ended up. I cut, I think, two of the auditions, and then I let it just be the Wicked. And then whatever the other thing was. And against their judgment, against their advice, they were like. I know that they were kind of thinking, like, it was a long shot for me.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

But at the time, I was.

[Quincy Brown]

Remember what any of the other auditions were?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I don't. I remember one of them was a musical that had a kind of rent type of vibe. Like multicultural, you know, people. Young, hungry, hot people or something. You know, that's what I. Yeah, that's what I remember. I was like, oh, this feels like some kind of wannabe rent thing. But I remember I did. I did do that audition, too, but I cut the other two, and they were, like, shocked. Like, don't do that. Don't do that. And I said, listen, I need to focus in. I feel like, some magic with this And I need to focus in. So I would just be writing. I remember sitting at. Do you guys remember Borders Bookstore?

[Quincy Brown]

Of course.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Okay. I used to be sitting at Borders Bookstore going over my music, my wicked music, you know? And so I flew up, I auditioned, and then I take us inside. That first audition before I left, I was like, I don't need my being African American, being black. I don't need being black to stop anything. So I called a photographer who had done the pictures for my. I did a record a few years before, and I called him, I said, hey, can we. Oh, his name's Desmond. He's passed away since. But I called Desmond, I said, desmond, I wanna do a photo shoot with green makeup. And he was like, what? And I went to this theater makeup store and I went and got some green makeup and I did a photo shoot. I did my own makeup, and I did a photo shoot with green makeup. Because I was just like. I like. People don't be ready. They be saying they ready, and then they don't be ready. That's how I gotta see it. They don't be ready.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And nobody has the imagination.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

To envision something.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes. Or even think that they have to make a change or be prepared. And sure enough.

[Quincy Brown]

So instead of normal headshot, you sent green photos.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes. I brought him on a little disc, like a little CD ROM. This is early 2000s. It was like on a. It was on a CD or something. You know what I mean? Yeah, yeah, I brought it with me. Adina was there. You know, she's married to Taye Diggs. I remember she was there. It was a Wednesday matinee when I had my callback. I'm trying to remember. I just remember that she walked across the stage. The stage is a raped stage. It has like a. It has.

[Quincy Brown]

You had your callback on stage.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, I had a callback on stage with the makeup. With the poor makeup that was done, because they didn't. They were not prepared. I had a makeup test. They slapped some. So what they would do was, you know, Shoshana. And there was another girl, Christy Cates, I think was in the ensemble. They would just put the dark, dark makeup on, but they would put it on really light, and it would blend to make a lighter green. Whereas me, the dark makeup on my brown skin, it just was really muddy. So I remember having. They put me in one of Vadina's bodysuits or something. It was like the green thing. I put that on and. Yeah. And the poor. The makeup was kind of poor, but I was so glad I had my pictures and they put me on stage. You know, the. The spotlight has green. They have a little green filter for her follow spot. So I remember she walked across the stage. I guess she was on her way in for the matinee. And I remember she was like, oh, black Alphabet or something like that. She said. And I was like. I was like, oh, my God, you did not. Oh, my God. And that was that. Like, I didn't really get to talk to her. She was coming in. Got it. You know, showtime.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

You know what I mean? She had business to do.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, yeah.

[Quincy Brown]

Okay, so wait, so that was your callback. What was the process from first audition to booking the role? Take us through each step, I feel like.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Because I guess the first time was just singing in the room. But I will say Telsey and Company. I guess at the time it was Bernie Telce casting. Now it's Telce and Company. They were already familiar with me. They had cast me as Mimi. They had cast me as Aida standby. And I also played Aida in between the pop star Aidas. And so in between the pop star. Between the pop stars, you know, they had Michelle Williams from Destiny's Child, Deborah Cox, Toni Braxton. I was the Aida in between all of them. And then I was the matinee Aida during their reign as Aida.

[Quincy Brown]

Right, right, right.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I was the matinee Aida. Oh, and Symone, Nina Simone's daughter, Simone.

[Quincy Brown]

Oh, wow.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

In fact, during the time that. I mean, this isn't wicked, but it's still Broadway lure. During the time that Nina Simone passed away, God rest her soul, Simone, her daughter, was playing Aida and she had to abruptly leave the show to go to France to handle her mother's. Her mother's things. And so then I became Aida for a little bit of time, but then there was a strike. So my Aida time got cut off at that point and there was a strike. Some type of strike.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Oh, yeah, A musician strike, right, yeah, there was something.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, yeah. I want to say it was 0403, something like that, but yeah. What I remember during the audition process was like, I used to always take a can of soda with me, like a Sprite or something. Because as wonderfully as you sing at home, when there's a table of people in front of you, cotton mouth is. I get cotton mouth really easily. Like, I just get nervous and it's like my whole mouth dries up. And so I remember being like, hi, everybody. And Walking in and put my can of Sprite right there. And. And they're like, you have a Sprite? And I'm like, yeah, yeah, you know, it's fine. And then I talked with them and did my size, did my lines. I think we had to do the line with the. With the. With the little. With the little. The lion when he's caught in the cage. The scene with Fiero. I don't know why that particular scene really sticks out. For the audition, One of the audition scenes and seeing the wizard and I. I believe. And probably defying gravity and I think.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah. Like the flight section.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes. Yeah. And a little bit of Kiss me too. Kiss me, hold me too tight.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Oh, that's interesting.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I need help believing you're with me tonight. I think I sang a little piece of that. I think. I always think that's Elphaba meets Whitney Houston. Whenever. That. As long as your mind, something about it is like, you know, right where it sits, it's like Whitney Mariah Elphaba moment.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

But, gosh, you guys are taking me back. Love to remember all of this. Love. Yeah.

[Quincy Brown]

So it sounds like before you even auditioned, you were kind of invested in this role, in this fact that you turned down your other auditions. Is that safe to say?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I did. I definitely became invested just because the music was so beautiful. I love the music. I remember meeting Alex Lacamore, and he had all this wonderful curly hair, and he moves really fast.

[Quincy Brown]

But it was so early on, I'd imagine, like, the entire creative team could have been around still.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, yeah. But I mean, for rehearsals, I guess I'm starting to think about rehearsals, but for auditions. Yeah. Yes. The creative team was around for auditions. Absolutely.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

So then once you're a cast and you're in rehearsals, you said that they. You felt they were unprepared for kind of like the makeup.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

The makeup that you did. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

So then what changed? Did anything change once you were in the show and when you went on?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, they started to. He just was trying different palettes to just try to get my green right. There aren't a lot of. I never had an official photo shoot. And there was a photo shoot, but I never had an official photo shoot. So most of the photos of me that are online are from my photos I took in the dressing room or running around backstage, or there's a couple that are from that photo shoot that I did with the photographer in Atlanta, that those are floating around. I think some of them are on my old blog. But I would say that Was the only thing. Yeah, they're kind of floating around. Susan Hilfredy, she made a new Elphaba dress for me. She designed me a brand new Elphaba dress. And I was really the second act dress. The big.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

The act two.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Gotcha.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

The act two dress. I call it my big black wedding dress. I always tell people, I say, it's like running around. That dress weighs, like 25 pounds. It's like running around in a big black wedding dress. The dress itself, you gotta, like, you gotta work that dress. But from Wicked, I learned how to. I can do any red carpet. Like, I know how to get the hell out the room and down the thing. Until now it's time to take pictures. Put that thing down. Now it's time to take pictures. You know what I mean? But, like. Like, a lot of girls, even, like, prom, everybody's, like, letting the dress eat you up. Like, you cannot let that dress eat you up. But she designed a new dress for me. And I thought I felt so special because I was like, I know this is expensive as hell. Like, they were in there with the muslin. The, like, just. Yeah, they really did a whole new dress for me, which I really like. The same way I got. I got new. Yes. I was like, okay, new, you know, And I really. I think about my Mimi boots when I got my own Mimi boots. I should have stole my Mimi boots. I don't know why I didn't take my Mimi boots when I. Cause they measured. They took me to a foot cobbler. It was my first time going to, like, a foot cobbler and having a boot. Like, they're measuring your arch and your feet and like, that whole thing.

[Quincy Brown]

Wow.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah.

[Quincy Brown]

So when was the first time you saw the show?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I think the first time I saw the show was I did not see it before my auditions. I think I saw it before my callback or something like that. I think I made a time to do that. I think I slept on a friend's couch or something. I flew back to New York, slept on a friend's couch.

[Quincy Brown]

What do we remember from that?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I loved it. I was like. I was like, oh, I can do that.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And you were seeing Adina.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I was seeing Adina, yeah. I was like, I can do this. This. I was like, oh, I can do this. I remember thinking that really, really specifically.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, you can get the most important meal of the day, any time of day.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I'm Talking about the $5. Big deal. Breakfast meal from Jack in the Box, available all day and all night.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

A Breakfast Jack with a freshly cracked egg, a hash brown, and French toast.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Sticks for five bucks. Sounds good for breakfast, lunch, and dinner at Jack. Every bite's a big deal.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Order Jack's five dollar big deal breakfast meal now.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

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[Lin Manuel Miranda]

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[Kristin Chenoweth]

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[Lin Manuel Miranda]

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[Kristin Chenoweth]

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[Quincy Brown]

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[Kristin Chenoweth]

I remember really specifically, yeah, because you.

[Quincy Brown]

Had played challenging roles prior to Elphaba.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

How did principal roles.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, I would say Aida was probably the closest. Mimi is different in that it's more physically taxing. And I probably messed up a little bit with Mimi because I have a smoother voice than Daphne. And a lot of the Mimis, they're not like, telling you to gruff up your voice, but you can tell when you do. They like it, you know, and so you're kind of. It's not good for. If you don't sound like that. It's not good. I had, like, some vocal problems after I did Rent. I had to go on, like, yeah, I had to go on vocal rest for like a month. Like, I was, like, walking around with a sign. I just saw Lupita on an interview. She was talking about how she was walking around with a sign on and said, vocal rest. I was just like that after I did Rent. But it wasn't because the music was actually that hard. It was more because I was manipulating the voice to try to get that Daphne, that flavor, you know, that rock sound. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She just has such a very unique, you know, voice. Her voice is so unique, you know, very special.

[Quincy Brown]

So how did Elphaba stack up to the past roles you had played?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I played Dina. I have to. Only I have to go back to my high school days, too, because that's what it was. That was like my. You know, I played Dina in Dreamgirls and I had played the show. I was in a theater company that we did a lot of original works.

[Quincy Brown]

Oh, wow.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

And so a lot of the songs that I sang were in my voice because I was the first and only one to sing them. You know what I mean? Yeah. I guess we get into my career later. It wasn't until later that I was doing a show where I just felt like, I can sing this in my sleep, you know? Wicked. I would say no Good Deed is probably the easiest song to sing.

[Quincy Brown]

Interesting.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes. For me, that is my easiest song. Even though it's got all the. I don't know, it sounds like a busy song. But I think it's harder on the piano player than it is on the single. I think no Good Deed. That's hard on a piano player. They're like. And I just be like. And they're like. And I'm just, like, watching them, watching the piano player struggle.

[Quincy Brown]

Just chanting, Just chanting.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Just elegant. Like, it's. It's. It's intense because of the lyric. The lyric is intense.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Right.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

And then I will say, if you've had any kind of. If you've had any vocal issues, like the Fiero, all that, like, switching back and forth, I will say that part. Like, you gotta be in good voice to, like, have smooth transitions between those portions of the song. You know, I love talking to people who know the song, so you know what I'm talking about? You know what I mean?

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. Well, we've also heard from past actresses that that so is where you can kind of just let loose vocally and not have to worry about because you.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Don'T have anything else to do.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Oh, maybe that's what it is. Oh, yeah. Cause you don't have much to do by the end of the show. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Right. And then for good is kind of the cool down.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, for good is definitely a cool down. Absolutely. It's cool down. But then you gotta try not to cry during for good. And everybody. Some people cry. I do not cry and sing. If I cry, the voice is like. Like, it's gone. So I have to really, like. I have to, like, really detach myself.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I have to.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Especially when you're not going on consistently.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah. It becomes a lot more emotional and desensitize yourself.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

You're like, oh, my gosh, she lost her sister to monkey. Oh, no. Like, what's the character? The monkey? This is just Chistery Chestery. You're like, oh, my God, Chystery. I could cry right now. I'm talking to my dog all the time. Like, chistery is, like, coming around. You're like, oh, it's like you cannot be looking at chistory and now you gotta sing. Cause then like, oh, chistory used to wear me out. What's his name? Philip, I think was the. Who's the original chistery? I forgot his name. He was beautiful. Gorgeous boy. Like in per. Like without all that. I said they put all that stuff on you and you just. Gorgeous. Woo. He's gorgeous. But he would be so like. It was just like, oh, you know I love animals.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah.

[Quincy Brown]

Thank you for validating us. Cause we talked in the last episode about Hutch history in the movie is looking real scary because it's like giving Planet of the Apes.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Oh my God.

[Quincy Brown]

People are saying chystery is always scary regardless of what it is.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Chistry never scares me. I'm always like my little friend, my chestry. You know what I mean? Like, oh my gosh. Like, seriously, I got tears coming out. I do. Like, I gotta. Let me wipe my.

[Quincy Brown]

So when you went into audition, you knew you were going in for standby or what was your understanding?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I knew I was going in for standby. It's funny, I have to juxtapose it against the Rent story because I thought I was auditioning for an understudy the whole time. And then they offered me the role of Mimi and I was like, wait, what did you mean? Excuse me. Wait, what? I just knew I was gonna. Because of my type. I knew I was gonna be a Mimi Joann cover, you know what I mean? I was singing Take me or Leave me every time. And I was singing out tonight. And never ever played Joanne, ever never played Joanne ended up being me. So with. But with this, it was always in general. It was like Elphaba standby. And then there was a light conversation about where they would put me. I think I'm assuming it's when they were trying to decide if they were gonna bump Shoshana up or. You know what I mean? And I think they essentially, they just decided to bump Shoshana up and then bring me in as the standby.

[Quincy Brown]

And so this now is your second standby experience, correct? Cause you had stood by for Aida.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Aida. Yep. Yeah. This became my second standby.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Vocally speaking, was it easier to drop in as Aida or as Elphaba? Because those are two pretty comparable sings in terms of what's expected.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I think easier for me, oddly easier for me to drop in is Elphaba. There is a gospel. There's a gospel side to Aida. That was not fully my wheelhouse. That Some of the other aidas, Tariya Campbell, who. She was in the hepka for a minute on the tour, and she also covered me, I think Terea, she also. She did sister act for a while, and she more recently was on the Hamilton tour. I think Teriya, there was just some aidas that had a little bit more of that. The gods love Nubia, the beautiful, the golden, the radiant, the fertile. Like, that's not my. I'll give it to you now. I'll give it to you. Do you want some? I'll give you, you know, I'll give you a little gospel, but I ain't no Fantasia, you know what I mean? Like, I bow down to Fantasia, you know what I mean? Like, oh, my goodness. Right?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

So that's something you're having to put on as opposed to something that just lives in them inherently. Like, that's a tone you're having to add to your.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I'm adding that tone. Yeah, I think. Whereas I think the wizard and I is probably somewhere between the wizard and I and yeah, I guess the thing that you added about the second act and I don't have much else to do. Making no good deed easier to sing. Yeah, but the wizard and I is a generally easy song to sing.

[Quincy Brown]

Sakon, everyone tells us wizard and I is awful criminal, that they make the Elphaba start their show with that song.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Don't you remember you asked me, am I what kind of Elphaba? And I am. I was like, I'm a bright eyed, bushy tail wizard and eye elf. Like, yeah, I'm fresh. I'm hydrated. My makeup's fresh. I just. I just. This. The first song. Y'all about to get this first song by the time as the show is.

[Quincy Brown]

Going to sip of your sprite off stage.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, right as the show is going on. I'm tired. You know what I mean? Like, makeup. Yeah. I'm hot in that dress. So, like, yeah, that wizard and I. Y'all gonna get a fresh. I done ran out. It's fresh. Y'all ready for this? Wizard and I, you know what I mean? Like, that's how I see it. But you said all the other women are saying that wizarding and I is hard crazy.

[Quincy Brown]

Cause the show's just started and they're expecting you to belt to the high heaven.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Oh, what did Jackie say? Did you interview Jackie? Jackie Burns?

[Quincy Brown]

It was Jackie. Jackie was a no good deed.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

I think she was.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Oh, she said she was a no good deed. Okay. Yeah, I could see that in Jackie. Jackie and I did hair together.

[Quincy Brown]

I can't even think of someone who's.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Gotten wizard and I. Jock Jackie said that, like, she kind of went from the wizard and I to no good deed because she did the show so much.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

If I'm remembering, okay, it changed.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

But the only wizard and I's were like. It's like you, Stephanie J Block, Jenny.

[Quincy Brown]

Denoia, Caroline Bowman, I think.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

No, Caroline was defying gravity.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Gosh. You remember each one. It's wild. You guys are aficionados.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Oh, it was. Wasn't. Lucy Jones was a wizard.

[Quincy Brown]

That feels right.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

What's the young lady who's doing it now? Her granddad was. Is a pop star. Her granddad was. Well, she was doing the tour for a minute. Walk like a man, talk like a man.

[Quincy Brown]

Olivia Valli.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, Valley. Valley. Have you interviewed her?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We talked to Olivia and she said no Good Deed because she felt like it was the most like acting. She got to do, like, she really got to, like, put her teeth into that acting wise.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

It's funny. Yeah. You do get to act well. You can tell from the back.

[Quincy Brown]

You can tell you're comfortable in the wizard and I. Cause you have like a strut that happens and some handography that is just very comfortable in that song.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Oh, my God. I remember when Black Wiz. Black wizard.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Ben.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Ben. When Benburin came and he used to call me Sa Con. He used to call me Sa Con. And so Benbari. I remember I was doing something. I think maybe I forgot what. I was doing something and he was on the side of the stage. I rehearsed with him. So I rehearsed with him. I rehearsed with everybody because I was a standby. So I rehearsed. I was the rehearsal Elphaba. Right. So as anybody knew coming in, Rue McClanahan, God rest her soul. Wow. Everybody coming in. I rehearsed with them.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. So what was it like building your Elphaba as the standby? How often were you going off?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

It depended on who was playing Elphaba because, like, Shoshana is the type of person in my. As I recall, she's not gonna. She's not a call out once a week type of person. She's a six weeks straight and then be out for the whole week versus you have the people that will call out, every matinee type of thing. You know what I mean? So it just depended on. I don't like, Shoshana didn't really call out a lot, but if she was out, she was out for a few Days. You know what I mean?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Right? To, like, fully recuperate as a person, give herself a day every once in a while.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, yeah, exactly.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Because she's another one. It. Like she leads with the voice.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Like, it comes from an acting place always. But, like, she's singing, she's emoting.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes, she is singing. And Eden. Eden. I'm trying to remember Anna Gasteyer. I stood by for Anna Gasteyer as well from Saturday Night Live.

[Quincy Brown]

Well, what's also interesting is, like, Shoshana and Eden, even now, looking back, really were able to set a blueprint on how to sing the role differently than Idina was doing it and add their own flair to it. So to be standing by for the both of them had to have been very interesting.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, you know, it was interesting too. And I will say I still learn my original. Original, that light, very faint blueprint was Idina, because I was there when she. You know what I mean? But I liked certain things. I always thought that Shoshan is fat. You know, like when they talk about, like, runners, they got slow twitch muscles and fast twitch, you know, Shoshana, like, the way that she talks. And I just always felt that she was like, like really fast. And I think. I think I run a little slower than her in general. But because the pace of the show, the cast was used to doing it with her. My goal was to not to trip everybody up like you want to be, you know, when you're an understudy or a standby, you don't want to, like, come in and, like, expecting the whole world to just change because now you're here. You know what I mean? You gotta, like.

[Quincy Brown]

But you still want to feel like you're doing your own thing.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

You want to do your own thing, but you want to adapt. You want to, like, not shock people. I mean, even as a dancer. I'm not a dancer dancer. But if you have, like, any type of dance routine, something with somebody, and you're standing by, you're coming in, and they're used to doing with somebody else. You know, you get hurt that way, trying to be like, I'm gonna do my own thing. You get hit with a swinging axle. You know what I mean? Like, you're like, is that a clock? Fuck that clock. Pow. You know what I mean? Excuse my language. No, I was like, I ain't trying to get hit with a clock. I ain't trying to bump into a monkey. I'm not trying to. These gears, these gears everywhere. Like, uh, Like, I'm. I'm Standing on the. Where's the mark? I'm on my mark. Y'all ain't about to knock me out. Gears and monkeys flying everywhere. Y'all not about to knock me out. So, yeah, I wasn't like, oh, I just gotta do my own thing, maybe a little bit vocally, you know, but also, let me just say, I am very self aware in my own power. So like I said, like, even amongst the girls that I grew up singing with in high school, and we've all done Broadway wonderfully, I'm so pleased to know that even other girls who followed behind me at the same school, student of the teacher that I had who taught Jakina Kalicango. Also, we're all from the same high school.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Wow.

[Quincy Brown]

Gotta go visit this high school.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes. Tri Cities High School.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Something's in the water there.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, a lot of outcasts. The hip hop group Outkast came from my high school. Kandi Burris, she was in an R and B group. She's still in. She's a housewife, but she's in Xscape. A couple of the girls from Escape, all from my same high school R and B group producers whose names you may not know, but whose music produced songs for Usher and all that. Yeah, like, all came from my high school, so Atlanta. You know, I think I'm saying all that to say that I'm very. I know where my wheelhouse is. So I know that I might make you cry more for doing my soft thing or my, you know, my tone thing. I'm not gonna try to compete with a runner and try to. That's not gonna be you. You know, I mess around with a little SWV run here and there, you know what I mean? You know, But I know my sweet spot. And so sitting in that comfortably has been and knowing that, you know, has been, I think, key to my own personal success.

[Quincy Brown]

And I think key too. You know, you kind of alluded to it when you talked about getting the green photos done for your initial audition. But the way that the industry can kind of slot black women into filling out a particular archetype in the shows that they bring to Broadway.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Oh, yeah.

[Quincy Brown]

I do think it's interesting because it's kind of become a part of the larger wicked conversation now that there hasn't been a full time black Elphaba on Broadway. But at your time period, it was still early on for that discourse to really be starting up. But you were the first black actor to take on the role.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I was. I'm very proud.

[Quincy Brown]

Did you feel momentous at the time.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

At the time, it felt momentous. Absolutely. I'm very proud to be the first black woman to perform the role of Elphaba on Broadway. And I was proud also to be in the room with Brandi Massey, who also performed the role of Elphaba because.

[Quincy Brown]

She came in as understudy same time you were standing by.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah. And she was in the ensemble. There's Danielle. I don't know if I'm saying Danielle Williamson. She was in Chicago, and I think she was standing by or understudying, you know, in Chicago. And so, yeah, I think we were all, like. The three of us were like. We didn't see Danielle. You know, I would see Brandi every day at work. Also. At that time, Asmerette was in the ensemble. Yeah, she was not an Elphaba cover, but she was in the ensemble. Derrick Williams playing Fierro, you know, like. And then we had Ben Vereen come in with Uber. Reserve good things, come to those who plan ahead. Family vacay. Reserve your ride as soon as you book your flights to all the planners. Now you can reserve your Uber ride up to 90 days in advance. See Uber app for details.

[Quincy Brown]

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[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Once they try it, they'll never go back.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Use code [e-mail] and save up to 40%. That's cozyearth.com Spotify, I think it was. Every time things like that happen, it was very cool, and I was very happy to see it. And it did feel like. It did feel like a very particular and somewhat monumentous occasion. And I'll say it. Not because Wicked had been around so long, but Oz, the lore of Oz, the Wizard of Oz, the Wiz, you know, Judy Garland, the story of the wizard of Oz, and America's connection to that. That story historically did not involve black people.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Right.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

And so when the Wiz happened, that was a thing that the Wiz was on Broadway, and then they did a movie with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson, and to my understanding, that was a flop at the time when it was in the theaters. But now the Wiz has become like.

[Quincy Brown]

A huge Turned into a thing.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, yeah. You know what I mean? I actually went to see the current Wiz that's playing on Broadway now, which Kandi Burruss is one of the producers of. I saw her at a screening last week, and I said, I went to go see the Wiz. You know, I'm so proud to know that she's a producer, you know, but because of the history of the wizard of Oz, that property, it was still a big deal because the Wiz being a prequel. I mean, I'm sorry, Wicked being a prequel brings all this history of the wizard of Oz with it.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Right. And it's like, it's different than being in the Wiz because it's like, you know, black performers, quote, unquote, belong in the Wiz. Like, it's a show for black people.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

But so then to be you and Ben and all of these people all at the same time kind of moving into the very white show. That is Wicked.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, yeah. That made.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It was probably really cool.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Absolutely. Absolutely. I think it was cool or it was innovative. It felt innovative. You. I think Ben Vereen, you know, he wasn't there for a long time, but the time that he was there, he kind of, like, brought that into play for me. I remember he had. I still have. I'm getting my office together here, but I still have. He had. If you got a letter from him or something, it would say, from the desk of Ben Verene. It's got, like, his picture at the top. And, like, I was like, oh, I got to get some diva letterhead going. Like, what? Yeah, diva letterhead. You know, you go in his dressing room, and it smelled like incense and candles and oils. And he was like, welcome. He was very wizard. Like, he is very wizard. Like Ben Vereen.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

So, yeah, I think it was not lost on him in all of his history on Broadway.

[Quincy Brown]

Right.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

In general, it was definitely not lost on him. And so I think that's why I stood up. I wish I could have done it with Cheryl Lee Ralph. I sang at her last year. I sang at her gala last fall, and she was so excited to have me sing. And we had a really special moment because she introduced me along with Going Up Movie Elphaba, Cynthia Erivo. Cynthia. So Cheryl Lee Ralph and Cynthia Erivo introduced me, and then I sang from the show. I sang from Wicked on Sheryl Lee Ralph's show. Cheryl Lee Ralph did a big fundraiser. Yes, she did a big fundraiser. It's actually for your consideration. The show, it's considered a variety Show. So it's up for an Emmy vote as well. We did, like, a. It was a. She does this every fall. She does this show, divas, and she raises funds for HIV aids. And. Yeah, it was beautiful. Like, it was. It was really cool. And I was, like, backstage, you know, chatting with Cynthia backstage, you know, like, I. You know, that was very, very cool.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

With the movie of it all. It's like Quincy and I have talked about before. It's like, so it's such a moment that now, like, the definitive canon Elphaba that everyone will think of when they hear the word Wicked is gonna be Cynthia. Is gonna be Cynthia and is gonna be a black woman.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I'm very pleased with that.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Really cool.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

It's cool. It's interesting, though, I will say, like.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And not only, you know, not only that Cynthia's black, but, like, Nessarose is black and it's a black family.

[Quincy Brown]

And I do think that has trickled down to how the show will get cast. Once people start thinking of Elphaba as just canonically black, it makes casting a black leading actress as Elphaba, I think, much easier.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, maybe it'll make it easier, you know, I mean, in America, you know, they've cast black Elphabas in the uk, you know. I know. Well, Alexia.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Alexia, right now.

[Quincy Brown]

Kadeem.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, yeah, I know. She's. She's been around a while. Because she was around when I was around, you know, so she was doing.

[Quincy Brown]

When you were doing.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, she's come in and out, I'm assuming. Yeah. I think that that will change. It's funny. I was thinking about that. I watched a little bit of the trailer. But let me say this. Ever since the Oprah Winfrey Show, I used to be weary of trailers. Cause I need. Oprah Winfrey will show you all the good stuff. You know, like back in the day when the Oprah Winfrey show, she'd be like. And here's a scene from the movie. And it'd be like the big death scene or something. I'd be like, la, la, la, la, la, la. Like, I'm like, I'm not gonna watch this trailer. So the teaser. I was like, ooh, the teaser. But then a trailer came out, and it was showing, like, a little taste of everything. Yeah. And I like, even though we know the plot, right? We're Wicked fans, we know the plot. I like to be surprised with the visuals, the costumes. Like, I don't wanna. I saw, like, a little baby elf up and running around. I was like, ooh, it's too much. So I was like, I gotta wait. Cause I wanna see. I wanna just see it, you know, when it comes out. You know what I mean?

[Quincy Brown]

So.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

And I had seen some pictures. You know, Cynthia's been, you know, posting things. And the director, Jon M. Chu. Yeah, John M. Chu has been posting things, of course. And so even just like the layouts, the backgrounds, all of the. Almost like a video game, like bringing all of it to life, you know, I was like, oh, I want to wait because I want to be deliciously surprised. I want to sit in the audience and be surprised. So I had to start. Stop doing, Stop watching trailers on Oprah. And so similarly, I was like, ooh, I can't watch the rest of this trailer. This trailer is like five minutes long. I can't watch all this. You know what I mean?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It's half the show.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah.

[Quincy Brown]

Okay, so wait, you are, I think to this day your Elphaba has held up as a gold standard portrayal of the character.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

For sure.

[Quincy Brown]

Were full time conversations ever a thing? As you were standing by?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

You know, it's funny because I read, I'm always in the comments, you know, every once in a while. And I watch some elphaba videos on YouTube. I'm in the comments. People like, she plays it. I'm like, that's not true.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, is that true?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Like, I see the lore is thick, right? I was never. There was never a conversation to me about being a full time Elphaba. Never. Never.

[Quincy Brown]

Were you trying to have those conversations?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

No, I was, I wasn't trying to have those conversations.

[Quincy Brown]

You didn't want to do it?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

It's not that I didn't want to do it, it's just that. How do I say this? Being a standby, it depends on what you want for your career, right? So being a standby is a really sweet spot because you're getting paid, but you don't have to do the show every day.

[Quincy Brown]

Right? So like Jenny Janoya calls it a cushy gig.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah. So I was like, I was like actively taking acting classes and working out. I was trying to get on a TV show or I was trying to do something else. So I was like, I'll come do Elphaba once, twice a week, or you know, three times a month, I'll come and do Elphaba. And in between that, I'm on my laptop, you know, like I was learning how to build websites. I was. That's when I started my blog. I was learning how to do podcasts. I was just learning other things. And I was letting Wicked fund my, you know, pay for my life and you know, you know what I mean? I paid off my student loans, like, yeah. So I don't know, my ego, I don't know. I never felt like at that time, I never felt hurt, like, oh, they never offered me the role. Cause I was like, I've done this, now it's time for me to. I need to orig. Oh, that's the thing. I was like, I need a Tony nomination, I need to go originate some stuff, you know what I'm saying? So that was my feeling now in hindsight, there were times that I felt that I did. I kind of, as I became a principal actress in other shows, I started to learn, oh, principals eat at this restaurant. This happened. I started to learn things that I didn't know. So I didn't know what I didn't know. So I was just like, let me make this money and get on somebody's TV show, you know what I mean? I shot the movie American Gangster during that time, which I had a small role in the movie. But it really helped me with casting, I think somewhat for some reason because it was on my resume, you know what I mean?

[Quincy Brown]

Well, we were saying earlier, you've done a really beautiful job I think at crafting a successful career on both the stage and screen and navigating both worlds.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Thank you. I think it can be hard to transition out of theater and go into the TV film. It really can.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Not everyone does it successfully. It's hard.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

And even switching back the times that I auditioned for musical theater or, or plays, I just have to activate myself a little differently, you know what I mean? And it's two different muscles. It's like I always say it's like playing golf. Like it's really fine tuned golf or like basketball, you know what I mean? And I think musical theater is more like basketball and TV is more like golf. It's like you trying to get this tiny little hole, I mean tiny little ball and then this hole like 50ft away. It's like, yeah, you know what I mean?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

So now that you are in more of a TV film era of your career, is coming back to the stage something that you're interested in? Or like, are there certain boxes that a project would have to check? Yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Wait, what'd you say? You were rubbing your hands together. What'd you say?

[Quincy Brown]

How do we get you back to Broadway? What's it gonna do?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I would definitely do Broadway again. I would definitely do Broadway again. I will say it's hard work.

[Quincy Brown]

It is hard work for not as much pay.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yes. And TV is very hard work as well. But it is a lot more pay tv. I don't even know which is harder. I think people would think that TV is easier, but the hours are so odd that it kind of wreaks havoc. Especially being a series regular, it kind of wreaks havoc on your circadian rhythms. Like, some days you're up at four in the morning for hair and makeup to start shooting at 7am and then you're inside a studio all day. By the time you come out, the sun has set. You left the house, the sun didn't rise, you finished, the sun went down, you didn't get any sunlight. Like, you feel, like, loopy and tired in a different way. But then with Broadway, you're just loopy and tired because of the sheer amount of energy that you're exerting every day.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Right. Because on set, you're performing for three minutes at a time. Yes. Five minutes at a time. Over and over.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

And it's up here. But then you gotta let it drop because then they're like, oh, we gotta do another angle. So it's 20 minutes between them setting up, turning. They go, oh, we gotta turn around. So you got 20 minutes. So your energy might go down. And then you're waiting. You're waiting. It's like trying, like, an apple. Like, you bite an apple and it kind of oxidizes, right?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yes.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

So, like, whereas Broadway, you get to just eat the apple. You eat that apple that full two hours. It's. But like, with tv, you, like, you bite the apple and you sit and you try not to let it oxidize. And then you eat some more, and it's like, let me just eat the apple. You eating the same apple? Yeah. I've never used that particular. The apple. The apple analogy.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

But you're like, put it in your back pocket. That's great.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah. You know, you're trying to. I always use fruit. I have this video on YouTube. It's called the Mango Method. Cause I always say. I used to always say I'm a mango. I walked in here, it's a lot of bananas and cherries up in here. But I'm a mango. If y'all want a mango, I'm a fly man. You want this mango. You know what I mean? I have a video about that. But, yeah, like, TV and film is harder in that way that you are. And the camera's there, so then you really have to drop back in. Twenty minutes later, they Got the camera set back up for the other angle, and they're ready to drop back in and get your face. And so you gotta really be there, cry, whatever it is. And so that's stressful. That's like stressful on the body in a different way. So I guess that's why I think to myself, myself also, they run a commercial against it. So that's why they pay you better, you know, to do that type of work. It's more stressful.

[Quincy Brown]

Do you find one to be more artistically fulfilling?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

There's something about rehearsing with a group of people. You know, in TV and film, you don't always. You just rehearsing little bits at a time. But like rehearsing singing, walking, marching, dancing with people. It's a. It is a human experience of togetherness. You know, there's a tribalness that I think it clicks into as a human that can be left out of the TV and film experience. You know, it's very individualistic. I mean, you might even be. If you're working with a really big star, you might be shooting a scene with said star, and they're not even in the room because they don't. They're like, oh, I can't. I'm done for today. But the coverage is your coverage. So you got.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

So you're shooting with the back of someone's head.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah, you know, or like shooting on my show, the Wonder Years. The kid, you know, he can only work like 12 hours. We working 18 or however many hours or whatever. I may be saying the wrong numbers.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

But he can only work a set amount of hours. So, yeah, there is a. Definitely a chunk of time that I would be talking to his stand in and the camera's over his shoulder and I'm like, baby, what you going? And he's like, because he has no lines, he is a stand in. Or the she. He had a female and a male stand in. Just a person that's the same size as that actor. You know what I mean? So, yeah, I think there's definitely something you can never take away. The feeling, the thrill of working with a group of people, you know, a group and us all, like. I guess there's the dangers of groupthink and then there's the joys of groupthink when everybody's working together. You know, I think there's that togetherness that I love about theater, but I would definitely do Broadway again. Just. It definitely would need to be the right. The right situation.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah. All right, well, to wrap up this interview, what would you say is the biggest lesson you took from your time with Wicked?

[Kristin Chenoweth]

One of the biggest lessons that I. That I got, that I didn't realize until later. It's a lesson I learned from Megan, and I watched Megan, from my interactions with her, my time with her, sharing a dressing room with her. Just to take life by the throat and get what you want out of life. I think that maybe similar to Celie in the Color Purple, that character. I also played Celie for a time when Fantasia was on Broadway. I went back to do to the Color Purple.

[Quincy Brown]

Oh, wow.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

And I was Celie. Nettie cover. I never went on for Nettie on Broadway. I only went on for Celie. But Celie, she kind of, like, things just happened to her. She's like, everything is just happening around her. This person comes. This person comes. I think I kind of let life happen to me in a way that Broadway musical theater was just happening to me. It would be like, you want to audition for this? You want to. I'd be like, okay, okay, okay.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

And there were pockets where I was a little more specifically what I wanted for my life. And I watched Megan, like, really take charge of her life and what she wanted for her life. And so that wasn't necessarily a lesson from the show Wicked, but it was from being there and being in her presence. Megan, I remember when she was on the show Smash, I think.

[Quincy Brown]

Yeah.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

And it was like, megan's on a show. What. You know what I mean?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And singing on a show, singing, like.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

It was the perfect timing for it, you know, like, for an actress who sings, the perfect opportunity, you know, so that was a big thing, was just like, live the life you want, do what you want to do, and be specific in particular about how you use your time. So I appreciate that. I learned that during my time at Wicked and also just seeing how the machine of Broadway runs. Broadway is a machine. It is a commercial endeavor, especially a show like Wicked. Yeah, it's a commercial endeavor. As wonderful as it is, it is a commercial endeavor. So it's not just about your feelings. It's about the show and keeping the show running. And, like, I just got to witness the ins and outs of different actors, you know, people, injuries, just different things that were happening. People in, people out. And the show is still going. The show must go on.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Right.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

You know?

[Quincy Brown]

Right.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Especially your job is one of the. Is to be a problem solver in moments like that.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah. As a standby. I consider myself a professional insurance policy. Like, I am the insurance Policy. So because of that, I think, you know, what happened with me as a standby, I never got too many bad habits because I was like, such and such might be able to go party and drink and smoke and not show up for work, but I have to. I have to be ready, you know what I mean? So I never got into habits that would, like, destroy my. My voice or, you know what I mean? Because I was like, I gotta be ready. I gotta be on it, you know?

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Right.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

So that would be one of the other things I learned. I wanted to say one other thing. I feel very fortunate to be on the Wonder Years, to be on in the Dark, on Delilah. All the television shows that I've been on.

[Quincy Brown]

In the Dark is one of my favorite shows.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Oh, yeah? You like it?

[Quincy Brown]

I love.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Yeah. Like, I feel very fortunate to have been able to do Wiki and perform this role that has so much meaning and passion. I think that Elphaba is a very passionate character. Her love for animals, her desire for everyone to have what's right, and then her power, like, to be able to harness her power, I think that's something that I take from the show. And every role, television, theater, Secret Life of Bees, anything, anything that I've done since then, I've always just taken my own special power and harnessed it in the same way that Elphaba does in that character. And so I take that with me with everything I do. So I hope people will continue to watch me and follow my career and be excited about the things that I do next as well.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, well, we certainly will be.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Thank you, guys. You guys are great.

[Quincy Brown]

Thank you so much for joining us, Akon. This is so much fun.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I would love to do a. When the movie comes out, y'all gotta have me back on so I can be like, y'all.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Come on. Ooh. Yes, definitely.

[Quincy Brown]

Let's do it.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

It's in the books.

[Quincy Brown]

Watch party.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Okay. Put it on the books. Okay. Okay. I cannot wait. Bye.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Bye.

[Quincy Brown]

You've been listening to Sentimental Men.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

We'd like to say a big thank you to our editor, Anthony Appetangelo, and.

[Quincy Brown]

A special thanks to Michaela Reynolds and Julia DiMarzo, our photographer, logo designer.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And of course, thanks to everyone at the Broadway Podcast network.

[Quincy Brown]

You can find Sentimental men on Instagram, TikTok and X @sentmenpod, or you can.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Email [e-mail] till next time.

[Quincy Brown]

I'm Quincy.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

And I'm Kevin. No, all that I will say is that our good gay Fiero, Judy Constantine Razuli was one of the like hosts.

[Quincy Brown]

He's a staple of Broadway Bears.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

No, a staple of Broadway Bears. And thank God.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

I don't know about you, but I.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Personally feel like the world could use a lot more kindness right now. Hi, it's Robert Peter Paul, your friendly neighborhood BPN host of the Art of Kindness, a podcast that spotlights people in the arts who make the world, well, you guessed it, kinder. From icons like Carol Burnett to Tony winners like Stephanie J. Block to Olympians like Lori Hernandez, we've featured so many wonderful guests from all corners of the biz to give you intimate conversations and kindness tips. I'm thrilled to say we're returning for a fourth season season.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Woop woop.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

This World Kindness Week with guests like.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Ian Armitage, Judith Light, Betty Hu, Corbin Blue, and more.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

So please join our kindness community over at VPN fma. And I do hope you're doing as a okay as you can.

[Kristin Chenoweth]

Let's build a kinder world. Aww.

[Lin Manuel Miranda]

Audio hug.