In a recent interview with Continental Magazine, PROMISES, PROMISES star Kristin Chenoweth discussed her career and her current work on Broadway.
When asked how she felt about her role as Glinda in WICKED, Chenoweth said, "Nothing makes me prouder than to have been a part of that show. I'll have truck driver men come up to me and tell me they loved Wicked. It reaches everybody on some level because it's about outcasts. Every person has had a point in their life when they felt like an outcast. When I was younger I was a shrimp, and having this interesting speaking voice, I was a geek! Sure, I was a cheerleader, but I was little and no one took me seriously - until I sang. And then I was taken seriously."
Chenoweth also discussed her choice in taking the role in PROMISES, PROMISES. "I was actually in it once before, at the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, when I was 20. I was Fran, and I had a very limited understanding of what this girl was going through. Now I know. This is a woman who's spent a lot of time with the wrong man, hoping it's going to be different. And I don't care who you are, just about every woman has a story like that. It doesn't matter how old you are. That's something that stands the test of time."
To read the full interview from Continental Magazine, click here.
Kristin Chenoweth (Fran Kubelik). Broadway credits include You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Awards); Wicked (Tony nomination); Steel Pier (Theatre World Award); and Epic Proportions. Other NY Theater includes Love, Loss, and What I Wore, The Apple Tree, Scapin, A New Brain, Dames at Sea, The Fantasticks, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever and Strike Up the Band. Film work includes You Again (2010), Bewitched, The Pink Panther, RV, Running With Scissors, Stranger Than Fiction, Deck the Halls and Four Christmases. TV includes the upcoming Lifetime movie "The Twelve Men of Christmas," "Glee," "Ugly Betty," "The West Wing," "The Music Man," "Annie," "Frasier," "Sesame Street," "Kristin," and two seasons as Olive Snook on the ABC dramedy "Pushing Daisies" for which she won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy. Her extensive concert career includes performances at the National Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Hollywood Bowl, London's "Divas at Donmar" series, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Washington National Opera and the Metropolitan Opera House. This winter she will be part of Il Divo's limited-run holiday tour. Albums: Let Yourself Go, As I Am, A Lovely Way To Spend Christmas. Her book, A Little Bit Wicked debuted at #12 on the NYT Hardcover Non-Fiction Best Seller list.
Broadway Across America (John Gore, Thomas B. McGrath, Beth Williams), Craig Zadan, Neil Meron, Candy Spelling and The Weinstein Company will present the first-ever Broadway revival of PROMISES, PROMISES this spring at the Broadway Theater (1681 Broadway). Previews will begin on Sunday, March 28th, 2010 with an opening night slated for Sunday, April 25th, 2010. The musical is written by legends Neil Simon (book), Burt Bacharach (music), and Hal David (lyrics). Emmy Award winner Sean Hayes will make his Broadway debut starring in the role of Chuck Baxter opposite Tony and Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth, returning to Broadway as Fran Kubelik. Tony and Emmy Award winner Rob Ashford will also make his Broadway directorial debut and choreograph. More casting and creative team members will be announced in the near future.
Based on the 1960 Academy Award-winning Billy Wilder film The Apartment that starred Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine, PROMISES, PROMISES tells the story of the Consolidated Life Insurance Company and Chuck Baxter, one of its charming young employees. In an effort to advance at the company, Chuck lends executives his apartment for their extramarital romantic trysts. But things become slightly complicated when Fran Kubelik, the object of Chuck's affection, becomes the mistress of one of his executives. With Simon's funny and touching book and Bacharach and David's hit-packed score ("I'll Never Fall In Love Again," "Promises, Promises," and "Knowing When to Leave"), PROMISES, PROMISES is a unique and popular part of the musical theatre canon that will now return to the stage for the first time in over forty years, for a new generation of theatergoers.
The original production of PROMISES, PROMISES debuted on Broadway in 1968 at the Shubert Theatre and ran for 1,268 performances through January 1, 1972. The production was nominated for eight Tony awards, winning for Best Actor in a Musical (Jerry Orbach) and Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Marian Mercer). The original cast recording was honored with a Grammy Award in 1969.
