At the end of her show on Friday, Kristin Chenoweth gave some advice to the packed Mayo Performing Arts Center.
“Enjoy the moment when you have it. Because life is hard. So you’ve got to enjoy the good times,” said the 47-year-old singer and actress.
It would have sounded trite — if Chenoweth and the audience hadn’t just spent two hours thoroughly enjoying every moment.
This was the kind of season opener that sent patrons onto the streets of Morristown asking each other: Do you believe what we just saw?
Chenoweth, winner of a Tony Award for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and an Emmy for the comedy series Pushing Daisies, brought spectators to their feet at least three times during a concert that delivered laughter, tears and joy in a 4-foot-11-inch sequined package.
How does someone do that?
Sensational talent, for starters. Chenoweth’s impressive vocal range enabled her to seamlessly shift from teeny bopper cotton candy (Taylor the Latte Boy) to creamy-deamy-luscious (Moon River) to belt-it-out of the park (I Could Have Danced All Night). Inspired by a similarly sized icon from the Land of Oz, she even made Over the Rainbow sound like her own.
Confidence. From the moment Chenoweth took the Mayo stage, the only question was whether it was big enough to contain her. Yellowstone might be too small, as it turns out.
Yet many acts possess talent and confidence. The difference between fine and sublime is…
Personality. The ability to connect with an audience. Strike the right tone. Make everyone feel like a long-lost friend. It’s not a recital, it’s a performance. It’s entertainment. The great ones never forget that.
Straightaway, Chenoweth shared observations about Morristown that went beyond the perfunctory “it’s great to be here.” She made comparisons to her hometown, Broken Arrow, OK.
Pretty soon, we learned about industrial strength bug zappers, and Broadway in the Bible Belt.
With raucous delight, she reprised a mildly off-color number from A Chorus Line, which her college production softened from T & A to B & B. You can fill in the blanks.
We got acquainted with Chenoweth’s adoptive parents. Moon River was their song, her mother told her: “We’re two drifters … who go to Walmart and can’t remember why we went!”
Things got emotional when Chenoweth dedicated Fathers and Daughters, a country ballad, to her dad.
She gave the heart strings a couple more tugs with Borrowed Angels — a Diane Warren song about the victims of 9/11, sung on the anniversary of that dark day — and Bring Him Home from Les Misérables.
That one, dedicated to Chenoweth’s relatives in the military, got a standing ovation.
THIS ONE’S FOR YOU, DONALD
The star also flashed a Wicked sense of humor.
Sending Popular, her signature song from the Broadway hit Wicked, to Donald Trump, Chenoweth tossed her flowing mane across her face while singing “how to fix that hair.”
At another point, Chenoweth high-fived a fan in the front row… then promptly went through the motions of rubbing her hands and body with Purell.
Video: Kristin Chenoweth in Disney’s ‘Descendants’
More comic relief came from three male dancers, from Chenoweth’s Broadway stint in On the Twentieth Century. They strutted onstage for some impromptu banter and hoofing during her jaunty rendition of Patsy Cline’s Walkin’ After Midnight.
Paying tribute to another country queen, Dolly Parton, Chenoweth rocked with singer/ pianist Mary-Mitchell Campbell on Little Sparrow and added a soulful encore of I Will Always Love You.
Also memorable: Chenoweth plucked a towering Israeli named Isaac from the crowd–we must take it on faith that he wasn’t planted there– for a surprisingly smooth duet on For Good, from Wicked.
“That’s the power of music,” Chenoweth said, as the audience rose again.
Before launching into the spritual Upon This Rock with youths from the theater’s performing arts company, she issued a spoiler alert:
“For those who don’t believe in Jesus, this is a performance.”
Pausing a beat, she gazed out at Isaac and drawled: “Shalom!” The building rocked.
Chenoweth, the namesake for a theater in Broken Arrow, encouraged the Mayo Center’s young choristers to follow their inner voices and make their marks in life. Then they all sang I Was Here:
I wanna do something that matters
Say something different
Something that sets the whole world on its ear
I wanna do something better
With the time I was given
I wanna try to touch a few hearts in this life
Leave nothing less than something that says
I was here
Kristin Chenoweth was here, all right. Let’s hope she comes back soon.
