Broadway superstar Kristin Chenoweth is recognizable worldwide for her small-but-mighty persona, versatile vocals and captivating performances on screen and stage, with Emmy and Tony wins to her name. She’s also widely recognized as an Oklahoman (especially by fellow Oklahomans), as she is quick to share stories about her upbringing during celebrity interviews.
“I left to pursue my dream, but I’m still an Okie, and I’m proud of it,” said Chenoweth in a Zoom interview for 405 Magazine.
Chenoweth – who is currently prepping for the Broadway debut of The Queen of Versailles – joined our video call wearing a pink robe and warm smile. Given the setup, the superstar encounter instantly felt comfortable. Conversation flowed easily.
Chenoweth noted several ways she fosters a connection with her home state: She visits family and friends in Oklahoma regularly. She’s an avid Sooner and Thunder fan. (Her dog is named Thunder.) And every summer, you’ll find her in Broken Arrow leading her very own Broadway Bootcamp.
“What is the saying? It’s ‘You can take the girl out of Oklahoma, but you can’t take the Oklahoma out of the girl.’ And that is never more applicable than with me,” she said. “I think it’s important as an artist and as a person to never forget my roots, because those are the ones that grounded me.”
Born and raised in Broken Arrow, Chenoweth attended Oklahoma City University, where she earned a master’s degree in opera performance. Chenoweth formed a charity partnership with the Broken Arrow Performing Arts Center Foundation, and in 2012 the center named the Kristin Chenoweth Theatre in her honor. She has been inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame for her generosity, talents and achievements.
With an obvious appreciation of the arts, Chenoweth said she’s continually amazed by Oklahoma’s cultural scene—the museums, the music, the performing arts and, especially, the people.
“Look at how much talent has come [out of Oklahoma]. We have a poet laureate. We have country music singers. We have amazing Cherokee Indians who write beautiful music out of their native tongue. We’ve got Broadway stars. We’ve got pop singers,” said Chenoweth. “When I first hit New York and people said, ‘Oh, she’s from Oklahoma.’ I said, ‘Yeah, you guys don’t know what we have. If you thought about it, you’d know.’ Reba [McEntire] and I talk about it all the time. There is something in our water, and it’s pretty cool.”
Bridge to Broadway
In 2015, the star launched Kristin Chenoweth’s Broadway Bootcamp to give Broadway hopefuls the opportunity to take classes, hold performances and learn from top mentors in the entertainment industry—including Chenoweth herself.
“The first thing I always tell them is, ‘If you can see yourself doing anything else and being happy, by all means, go do that thing. This life is hard. It takes a lot of sacrifice, a lot of work and training. But if you can’t see yourself doing anything else and being happy, then go for it,’” Chenoweth said.
Broadway Bootcamp offers an intense two-week training annually in late July. Many attendees are Jimmy Award winners, already recognized by the highest National High School Musical Theatre Awards. Broadway Bootcamp has also attracted an international following with students applying from the UK, Australia, Brazil, the Philippines, Germany and Ireland.
“Every summer I scream to Oklahoma, ‘We’re here!’ But you know what? That’s not why I do it. I do it for these kids. I bring in the best of the best from Broadway, they teach, and we put on a big performance at the end—and that’ll be my legacy at the Kristin Chenoweth Theatre in Broken Arrow,” she said.
Sometimes students find success after bootcamp, sometimes with Chenoweth building that bridge from Broken Arrow to Broadway. It’s no coincidence that former student Tatum Hopkins will be making her Broadway debut in The Queen of Versailles, Chenoweth’s latest musical production. Chenoweth stars in the show, and she knew Hopkins was perfect for the role of her niece. However, she needed the show’s composer Stephen Schwartz to agree. So, Chenoweth created an opportunity for that, inviting Hopkins to perform with her at a concert she knew Schwartz would be attending.
“She was auditioning, but she didn’t know it,” Chenoweth explained. “Right after the show, just as I had suspected, Stephen Schwartz came back and he said, ‘Now Kristin, you were wonderful —but who’s the kid?’ ‘Well, that’s my girl.’ And he goes, ‘She’s perfect for Jonquil.’ I said, ‘I know that.’ He goes, ‘You did this on purpose.’ ‘I did,’ I said… She still had to come in on an audition, and she won the role fair and square.”
Like other Broadway Bootcampers, Hopkins remains involved with Chenoweth’s programs, now participating as an intern alongside other graduates. The Broadway Bootcamp community is a strong one.
“What we have built—and I can’t say ‘I,’ I’m saying ‘We, my team,’—it is so special,” Chenoweth said. “I know I have done a lot of cool things in my career, and that’s what everyone wants to talk about, but this is the coolest thing that I have done.”
In the Queen’s Company
Chenoweth’s newest project is a musical based on the award-winning 2012 documentary The Queen of Versailles and the life of Jackie Siegel, a billionairess who has spent more than a decade constructing a $100 million house in Orlando. The documentary follows David and Jackie Siegel and their eight children as they navigate life and build “the largest home in America” when, while filming, the Great Recession of 2008 hits. Suddenly, one family’s life of excess is turned upside down.
“I saw the documentary when it came out and, probably like a lot of people, I was aghast. I also thought Jackie was really charming in some weird, wacky way,” said Chenoweth, adding that the show picks up the story where the documentary leaves off.
Chenoweth is starring in The Queen of Versailles as Jackie Siegel, and her company Diva Worldwide Entertainment is producing it. The show has been a musical reunion for Chenoweth and Schwartz, who also collaborated on Wicked. Chenoweth also enlisted Tanninger Entertainment, a team of producers out of Oklahoma, for the show.
Chenoweth said there were many aspects of Jackie Siegel’s story that intrigued her and made her want to put it on stage.
“What was interesting to me is we live in a society where we sit behind a computer and we do our Instagram scrolling or our Facebook… We ‘like’ things, we make comments, and a lot of people can hide behind their name and be vicious,” Chenoweth said. “And who is she? She’s a billionaire. Why do I feel sorry for her? She’s white, she’s entitled… It’s very easy to judge someone behind a computer, watching through a lens of a camera. But it begs the question: How would I behave if I had $1 billion, $5 billion, $10 billion? It’s a cautionary tale for all of us.”
Through the creation of this musical, Chenoweth and Siegel have become friends. It turns out the two have several similarities: Both are well educated. Both have embraced life in the spotlight. Both enjoy champagne and caviar—as well as a good drive-thru. (Chenoweth remembers stopping by In-N-Out Burger after her Emmy win.) Both love their family deeply. And both value kindness and generosity.
“Two years ago, I went to see ‘Versailles.’ Jackie invited me to see what was actually finished,” said Chenoweth. “She showed up, and she looked beautiful, and I liked her dress that she had on. I asked, ‘Is that Balmain?’ because I’m a shopper myself. I don’t have a lot of things, but I like my clothes. And she goes, ‘It is.’ I go, ‘Oh, it’s so pretty on you.’ That night, in my size, the same dress was delivered to me at my hotel room. Now she’s fortunate enough to be able to pay for that and send it to me, but the card read, ‘I just wanted you to be happy’… So you kind of can’t get too mad at that.”
Star Power
Chenoweth has flourished as an entertainer and an Oklahoma ambassador, and she often uses her star power to lift others up.
“I’m so happy how far Oklahoma has come with diversity and inclusion, especially when our history has shown otherwise. I am so proud when I come back home and I see that happening,” she said.
Chenoweth wants all individuals to feel love and support. In a completely relatable fashion, she shared how she needs to seek help sometimes, too.
“I get asked all the time, ‘Are you really that happy? You seem to be so happy all the time.’ I am a happy person, generally, but I’m becoming more and more [aware that] as you grow and evolve, you deal with anxiety,” said Chenoweth. “I think that with my kids and with the work I do, I’m starting to realize that it’s okay to deal with that. And I want to put that message out there for men and women of Gen X, that it’s okay to take five minutes to yourself… It’s a very interesting time to be alive. So it’s okay to battle depression and anxiety—and still be a happy person. All of those three things can be true.”
These sentiments prompted a final question: How does she find peace?
Chenoweth said she prays. She reads the Bible. She goes to therapy. She practices yoga and connects with close friends. And she comes home – forever grounded by her roots.
