UCSB Arts & Lectures presents the Santa Barbara debut of vocal powerhouse Kristin Chenoweth in an intimate concert of standards and classics from Broadway to Hollywood, 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, at the Granada Theatre.
A versatile star of Broadway, television and beyond, Chenoweth commands the stage with her brilliant voice, panache and downhome charm. She won a Tony Award for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown and was nominated for her original role as Glinda in Wicked.
She won an Emmy Award for her role on Pushing Daisies and was nominated for an Emmy (twice) and a People’s Choice Award for her performance on Glee.
Chenoweth’s forthcoming album For the Girls pays homage to her biggest influences, reimagining versions of classics made famous by Barbra Streisand (“The Way We Were”), Dinah Washington (“What a Diff’rence A Day Made”), Doris Day (“When I Fall In Love”), Patsy Cline (“Crazy”), Judy Garland (“The Man That Got Away”), Carole King (“Will You Love Me Tomorrow”), and Linda Ronstadt (“Desperado”).
Several collaborations will appear on the record, with Ariana Grande, Dolly Parton, Jennifer Hudson and Reba McEntire lending their voices to different songs. To give a taste of what to expect, Chenoweth debuted her collaboration of “I Will Always Love You,” featuring Parton.
In her Arts & Lectures concert, the sparkling Chenoweth shows off her ability to shift between showtunes, gospel, country, and pop.
In 2015, Chenoweth received a coveted star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, she wrote an uplifting, candid, comedic chronicle of her life so far, A Little Bit Wicked, which debuted on the New York Times Hardcover Non-Fiction Best Seller List.
Upcoming, Chenoweth will star alongside Scott Wolf in the holiday film The Christmas Song, slated to debut on Hallmark Channel in November, and the film Holidate, which will premiere on Netflix in 2020.
Chenoweth has performed to sold-out audiences worldwide, including at Carnegie Hall and Royal Albert Hall. She released The Art of Elegance, her album of American Songbook classics via Concord Records. The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Current Jazz and Traditional Jazz charts and No. 1 on Amazon’s Vocal Pop chart.
Chenoweth also returned to the stage in her limited engagement My Love Letter to Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, receiving rave reviews. In 2014, she released a CD and DVD of her own live concert performance, Kristin Chenoweth: Coming Home.
In December 2018, Chenoweth performed with The Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra in their annual Christmas concert. The concert will air on PBS and BYUtv this December.
In 2015, she earned a Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for her lead role in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s On the Twentieth Century. She also earned nominations for a Tony Award and a Drama League Award.
Chenoweth is slated to star as Madeline in the musical comedy Death Becomes Her, an in-the-works adaptation of the 1992 film directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Chenoweth recently starred in the second season of NBC’s hit comedy series Trial & Error, receiving critical acclaim for her performance as Heiress Lavinia Peck-Foster. She was seen in the Starz original series American Gods, where she reunited with executive producer Bryan Fuller in the role of Easter.
Chenoweth is a supporter of charities that dedicate their time and efforts to helping those in need. She formed a charity partnership with the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center (BAPAC) Foundation in her home state of Oklahoma. Her accomplishments were honored by her hometown with BAPAC naming The Kristin Chenoweth Theatre in 2012.
Partnering with the BAPAC in a labor of love, Chenoweth launched an annual Broadway Bootcamp in 2015, providing young Broadway hopefuls with the opportunity to take classes, hold performances and learn from top mentors in the entertainment industry including Chenoweth herself.
In her lifelong mission to cultivate arts education across the globe, Chenoweth has also created Places! The Kristin Chenoweth Tour Experience, an educational program for young singers that puts them right next to her performing on stage.
Each concert in Chenoweth’s ongoing tour will feature local participants from higher education conservatories, universities and colleges for the immersive educational experience.
Chenoweth is a graduate of Oklahoma City University with a master’s degree in opera performance. She is an inductee into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, as well as the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame.
Tickets are $50-$150 for the general public; $25 for UCSB students (current student ID required). A Granada facility fee will be added to each ticket price. For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures, 805-893-3535 or buy online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
Tickets also available through The Granada Theatre, 805-899-2222 or granadasb.org.
Kristin Chenoweth is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures. Presented in association with the UCSB Department of Theater and Dance. Event sponsors: Luci and Richard Janssen, Sara Miller McCune, and Mandy and Daniel Hochman. Media sponsors: KEYT, Santa Barbara Independent and Voice Magazine.
UCSB Arts & Lectures acknowledges its Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation and Lou Buglioli, and Corporate Season Sponsor SAGE Publishing for their support of the 2019-20 season.
— Caitlin O’Hara for UCSB Arts & Lectures.