By TAYLOR VAUGHN/Staff
“An Evening with Kristin Chenoweth” is the first performance of the “Queens of Broadway” series. Starting at 7:30pm on Oct. 24, Chenoweth and the East Texas Symphony Orchestra kicked off a two-act showcase of a variety of songs, from musical theatre to country.
Chenoweth had arrived in Tyler the night before and mentioned going to The Porch ETX, Good Vibes Boutique, and eating Sister2Sister Cookies, and expressed enjoyment in all three. The singer also expressed interest in visiting Braum’s, a popular ice-cream and burger joint in the East Texas area.
The actress also showed support for the University of Texas at Tyler, drawing attention to her orange water bottle covered in the school’s memorabilia. At the beginning of the second act, she came out wearing an oversized orange and white UT Tyler T-shirt. Chenoweth shortly took off the shirt, revealing a silver fringe dress underneath, and tossed the shirt into the audience.
The Experience
Throughout the night, Chenoweth fostered an air of familiarity with the audience members, inviting them to sing along with her in songs such as “Que Sera Sera” and “Popular.” She even brought up two students from the audience, Jamie Luna, a musical theatre major at Tyler Junior College, and Cristiana, another musical theatre major, to sing “For Good” from the hit Broadway musical “Wicked“. This was not planned beforehand, and all students who benefited from the ticket donors were eligible for the sudden opportunity.
During the actual performance, the actress gave small spoken interludes between each song, talking about her parents, her husband, Dolly Parton, whom she called her mentor, and Julie Andrews, the woman who sparked Chenoweth’s interest in singing and theatre. During these interludes, Chenoweth said that “music is a healer” and that “some people do drugs, I do music.” She also said she wishes for “peace, across the world and in our country”.
Instrumentals were provided by the East Texas Symphony Orchestra, who underscored the singing beautifully, providing rich, smooth sounds that complemented the singer’s bright, soaring vocals nicely. The orchestra was conducted by Mary-Mitchell Campbell, who played the piano and duetted ‘Pie Jesu’ with Chenoweth. In the second act, Marissa Rosen, an actress who has performed on Broadway, and Melinda Doolittle, who finished as the third-place finalist for season six of American Idol, both accompanied Chenoweth on the stage as her backing vocalists for a majority of the songs.
The evening was accented with multiple homages to recently deceased singer/songwriter Dolly Parton, with Chenoweth performing ‘Jolene’ in the first act while her husband played the guitar in his brief appearance. To conclude the night, Chenoweth ended by giving a moving performance of ‘I Will Always Love You’, the final chorus of the song sung without the aid of her microphone, and all you could hear was the sound of her voice as the room fell silent in rapt attention.
The student tickets were donated to the school by the Elizabeth “Bitsy” Wright Estate, which is maintained by Derrith Bondurant. All students who benefited from the tickets have been asked to stop by FAC 2211, also known as the Main Music Office, to write a brief, handwritten thank-you note to the estate.
The Tracklist
Act 1: Que Sera Sera, The Song Remembers When, Moon River, Jolene, I Could Have Danced All Night, Popular, Pie Jesu, For Good, Somewhere Over the Rainbow.
Act 2: I’m a Woman, Every Sha La la, You Don’t Own Me, Always on My Mind/Losing My Mind, What Would Dolly Do, Angels Among Us, (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman, Bring Him Home, I Was Here, I Will Always Love You
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