A New Star Sallies Forth
Actress Kristin Chenoweth admits frankly that her trick voice brings to mind shades of "a Barbie Doll, Betty Boop, and sometimes a chipmunk."
Still, that uncanny voice has served Chenoweth well. The 29-year-old Tulsa, Oklahoma native, is a Metropolitan Opera Award winner (she is a coloratura soprano); and last June she walked off with a Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Clarence Derwent Awards for her star turn as Sally, the petulant child (it was a study in bone-chilling willfulness), in the musical "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown." Her prepubescent, nuance-free vocal drone-that's not what she sounds like in person-only enhanced her spin. Chenoweth is now the lead in a new comedy, "Epic Proportions," that bowed on Broadway, at the Helen Hayes Theatre, Sept. 30.
"I use my voice differently in this show. My character's rhythms are more mature and her pitch is not as high as Sally's. But I know I sound youthful. I will probably always sound child-like."
The petite, blonde, and perky Chenoweth with whom we meet in her dressing room before a preview rehearsal has aged-onstage anyway. Her new alter ego is Louise, the relentlessly virginal and terminal perfectionist who oversees 3,400 extras on a desert movie set of a Biblical saga, circa 1930. Louise's job description: "Assistant Director in charge of Atmosphere Personnel."
"Epic Proportions" is both a nostalgic and satiric look at old time Hollywood movie-making, awash in excess, ego, over-the top personalities, and jolly incompetence. The story, such as it is, centers on a love triangle between two brothers-would-be actors-and Louise.
Chenoweth stresses that there are real challenges in performing Louise, a gig that can easily be dismissed as deceptively simple. No doubt this is frothy fare. "The danger is going for the laughs," notes Chenoweth. "If you're too aware of the funny lines and push them the audience won't laugh. The goal is to play the moment-play it seriously-and if it's funny the audience will laugh."
The major challenge, of course, is the fact that Chenoweth is onstage almost consistently for two hours. "Pacing is an issue. Unlike other characters I've played who have their big numbers and leave, here I'm the center of the story. All the actions revolve around me."
Besides the comedy, Chenoweth points out, "There's a full range of emotion that Louise experiences-from tender moments to romance to homesickness. Louise falls in love with a hunk, then finds true love, and along the way dabbles in some bad acting."
Chenoweth, a former Oklahoma beauty queen, who toyed with the idea of being a ballerina, and a country western Nashville star, has worked steadily as an actress since arriving in New York City four years ago. Her credits include "Steel Pier" (for which she won a Theatre World Award), "A New Brain," at Lincoln Center, and "Scapin," at the Roundabout, opposite Bill Irwin. Chenoweth is now afforded star treatment: when she first appears in "Epic Proportions," she receives a warm round of applause.
Chenoweth defines herself as an "actress who happens to sing and dance." She insists that singing and speaking emerge from the same technique; and more important, the particular skills required in comedy-"the rhythms, the timing"-are fundamentally musical.
Her esthetic mentors are Dolly Parton and Sally Field. The latter because "She is a petite woman with a unique speaking voice who has done a variety of roles. She was cast as Gidget, but was determined to do [the 1976 TV movie] "Sybil' [a disturbing look at a multiple personality]. And she did it. There's something gutsy about her that I like." Dolly Parton, she stresses, also has a plucky quality, coupled with her "easy going appeal, a comic sense, and musical talents."
Both women-and this is central to Chenoweth-have "real lives outside their profession. Neither is obsessed with her work. I love what I do as well. But I never want my work to become an obsession. There are other things in life that are important to me-spending time with my boyfriend, my niece, my nephew, playing the piano, and attending church."
Chenoweth is a religious woman-she was raised as a Southern Baptist-and believes that "Everyone has a path that God has set out for him. There is a reason for everything. Even when terrible things happen there is always something that can be learned from them." She pauses, "Yes, sometimes, we don't understand why something has occurred. There seem to be no lessons. No meanings. Still, I believe there is a reason, even if it remains a mystery."
A Star Is Born
The daughter of a chemical engineer, Chenoweth began singing in the church choir, and her musical talents were evident early on. She went on to major in voice, earning both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in operatic performance from Oklahoma City University. Indeed, she had every intention of launching an operatic career, although looking back she suggests that it might have been a wrong career choice.
Reflecting on her Metropolitan Opera audition, she recalls, "My voice teacher kept working with me on my speaking voice so that when I got up at the Met to announce what song I'd sing I would have a deep, low voice," she intones a dark throaty sound. "That's the mentality in the opera world. They expect a certain speaking voice to go with the singing.
"What makes me unique is the distinction between my singing and speaking voice. When I sing it's such a surprise." She adds, "I now accept the fact that my speaking voice is me. And that if I speak out of my range, I will damage my voice."
As it turned out, the opera world was not in Chenoweth's future, despite her triumphant Met audition or the fact that she was on her way to the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, where she had been offered a full scholarship. Shortly before she was about to enter the conservatory, her life unexpectedly changed course.
"I was helping an actor friend move into the New York area," she remarks. "He was getting ready to audition for "Animal Crackers' at the Paper Mill Playhouse. And I decided to audition too, just for the fun of it. I was a non-union member at the time and [outside of summer stock and school productions] totally inexperienced in musical theatre. So naturally I wasn't seen until the very end, after everyone else had auditioned."
Callback led to callback and true to form-at least in Chenoweth's life-she landed the supporting lead. It was a pivotal moment. Decisions with potentially lasting consequences had to be made. "I had to ask myself, "What did I really want to do with my life? In my heart, I knew this [musical theatre] is what I wanted. And even if I went back to opera at some point, I wouldn't want to do it full-time. Musicals would always draw me back."
The turning point for Chenoweth was, clearly enough, her Sally stint, garnering rave reviews from virtually all the critics, including John Simon. "I still miss Sally," notes Chenoweth. "She gave me the chance to get out my aggressions." Still, thanks to Sally, the offers are pouring in.
Among other projects, Chenoweth will be shooting a TV pilot for Paramount-"Pilots are always a crap shoot"-and appearing in an ABC remake of "Annie." Also on the drawing board: starring in a Broadway-bound revival of "Thoroughly Modern Millie."
Currently, her thoughts are on "Epic Proportions" and her expectations that audiences are hungry for plays like it. She does not feel that broad-stroked comedy is a tad off-putting to many contemporary Broadway audiences. "They can't get enough sitcoms. I'm not saying this is a period piece sitcom. But it is light and I think audiences want that. Last year was the season of the dramatic play that dealt with real life issues."
Perhaps "Epic Proportions" is the needed antidote? q