Interview with Actress Kristin Chenoweth
By: Roundabout Theatre Company Feb. 10, 2015
Education Dramaturg Ted Sod interviews Kristin Chenoweth about her role in On the 20th Century.
Ted Sod: Why did you choose to do the musical On the Twentieth Century and the role of Lily Garland?
Kristin Chenoweth: When I was a college student, my voice teacher always was saying, "Lily Garland is the part you'll play one day." I thought, yes, yes, yes, okay, not really connecting with it yet, and then in 2000, I met Betty Comdenand Adolph Green, because I did one of their songs fromTwo on the Aisle on my first record. It's a song called "If," and I invited them to my recording session, never thinking they'd come, and they did. Having them be there was so special to me. I just wanted to meet them. And Adolph said, "You know what part you're born to play?" And Betty said, "Lily Garland." And I just remember them saying, "You must do it. You just have to do it." And it stuck with me and then, four or five years ago, we did a reading at Roundabout. I fell in love with the role; it requires a lot from the actress who plays Lily. The comedy chops are major, the vocal chops are challenging and tough, and physically it's a killer. I've wanted to work it in my schedule for a while, and finally it happened. I just want to do it justice, you know? I want to put my stamp on it and make Betty, Adolph and Cy Coleman proud.
TS: I know you work diligently on your roles. What kind of pre-production work have you been doing; what's your process before rehearsal?
KC: I think everybody's process is different, and I know that some actors don't want to work on anything until they show up and have a "very real experience" without any preconceptions. And I think that's lovely, but my brain doesn't work that way. I need to go into rehearsal with a working knowledge of the music and script so that I can use rehearsal time to play, and maybe fail. I need to figure out my take beforehand. I want to be available to my costars and see what works for them, so we can find it together. I have been singing every day for several years. I've been doing a lot of concert work. My voice is actually in good shape. This score by Cy Coleman requires different muscles. I'm trying to get this music in my voice right now. I've been working on and off for a couple months, in my spare time, which has not been a lot. I'll pick up a song from the score and work on that one song for a week; and then the next week, I'll pick another song and live with that one.
I read the script a lot. I've been on a lot of flights, so I find plenty of time to read the script. I've listened to the tracks on the album a few times, but I've discovered that, for me, I can't do that anymore. I will, unabashedly, pick up on Madeline Kahn, all of her choices. I usually think about the song I'm working on, and I'll read that scene aloud to myself over and over. But I can't get too comfortable with it - because I still want that spontaneity -- as if I'm saying the lines for the first time.
TS: Was Madeline Kahn a favorite performer of yours?
KC: Definitely. We're very similar. I've been compared to her before, which I take as a humongous compliment because I think there was no one like her. She was an original, which is why people wrote for her. And I'm glad that I'm getting the opportunity to put my feet in her shoes. I want to do her proud, too.
TS: What are the challenges of a role like this?
KC: It's all going to be hard. I'm going to have to live like a nun, which I do anyway, so it's not going to be that big of a change. The key will be sleeping a lot, resting my voice, and staying in physical therapy. I have previous injuries, and I have to take care of my body so that I can get through the run. But I'm going to do it because I'm ready.
TS: One of the things I love is that Lily's real name is Mildred Plotka. It's almost as if she's self-invented, or perhaps Oscar helped invent her.
KC: I think she thinks that she's self-invented, when in actuality, Oscar helped her. She's not in a place to give him credit for one damn thing, though. It's the narcissist syndrome. Two people with huge egos discover each other - one is already a narcissist, and he helps a budding narcissist find herself. When two narcissists try to be together, it can be difficult. I think for me the trick will be making her pain real; making the audience understand that she's really been wronged by Oscar. And I believe she was. I believe that, in his heyday, Oscar did hurt her, even though he discovered her. Mildred Plotka never imagined she'd become Lily Garland - she never knew she was going to be a star. But she's accepted it gracefully and owns her role as a movie star. There's a part of me that wants to show the audience Mildred Plotka along the way. Because the truth is, you can take the girl out of Oklahoma, but you can't take Oklahoma out of the girl -- just like me. I mean, I'm Kristi Dawn Chenoweth. I will always be that, and I think there's part of Lily that will always be Mildred.
TS: Do you think this is a love story between Oscar and Lily?
KC: Absolutely. I think they do love each other. I think that they've never had anybody else who truly understands who they are, and that's what keeps them linked. That's why she can't really love anyone but Oscar. She says, "He might be a swine, but he's got something no one else has got." And that's talent -- she believes in his talent, and he believes in hers. I think they are each other's aphrodisiac.
Peter Gallagher & Kristin Chenoweth. Photo by Matt Hoyle.
TS: Do you see Oscar as Lily's Svengali?
KC: Yes, yes. She says, "Svengali in an alley hit hard times." I do see that he was her Svengali, but when she got hurt by him - then once she surpassed him -- she viewed him as a has-been. But I think she believes that he still has it and can still do it, but she would never, ever admit that he's her Svengali. The truth is, she's looking for his approval in everything she does.
TS: Are you looking forward to working with Peter Gallagher?
KC: I just adore that man. I think he's going to be the real surprise here.
TS: How do you like to collaborate with a director, choreographer, and musical director? Can you give us a sense of what you look for?
KC: I have to feel, number one, very safe. And 99 percent of the time, I have felt that. I'm willing to go out on a limb and see what works. Scott Ellis cast me in John Kander and Fred Ebb's Steel Pier- my first Broadway musical. I was a nobody. Scott, John, and Fred all seemed to think I might be able to offer something, and they allowed me to do that. Kevin Stites, the music director, and I have a working relationship from prior performances, so he knows my voice. He knows my flexibility. He knows when I'm tired. He knows when I'm good. And Warren Carlyle directed and choreographed me in Stairway to Paradise a few years back at Encores! I don't think I could be in better hands. I feel so lucky to be part of this team.
TS: Will you tell us about your training. Did you have any great teachers?
KC: I grew up singing in church, and I took piano lessons at Tulsa University. I did ballet. That was the original dream, to be a ballerina. But over time it became apparent that I really wanted to sing, and I focused more on that, and my parents were smart enough to say, "You need to go to college. Whatever it is you do, you need to go to college." It was really important to my dad, especially, that I got a degree. I visited a couple of schools, and I came upon OCU. They had a great music, drama, and dance program there. And they had a musical theatre program. Not very many schools had that yet.
At OCU, I met Florence Birdwell, who changed the course of my life. The first time we met, she took me to her studio after my audition and said, "You'll have the highest of highs here and the lowest of lows, but the important thing is, you'll be ready when you leave." I didn't really quite know what she meant. The first time I got up in front of a master class to sing, I thought I killed it. Everybody was clapping and she said, "I just can't wait to teach you how to sing." I was devastated. And of course, I now understand what she meant. She meant, not just technically, because I have natural ability, but from the soul. She taught me to look for what songs mean, what the lyric is, and all the things that I've come to understand about singing. Tons of people have voices, but to be a true singer and an artist, what does that take? I got my master's degree in opera and had a shift of career plans. I thought I was going to go to Philadelphia to do graduate work at the Academy of Vocal Arts. I was accepted into that program, but I went to New York with my friend Benny and got a part at the Paper Mill Playhouse in a show I'd never heard of about the Marx Brothers, whom I vaguely knew. I had a decision to make right then and there: Was I going to do opera, or was I going to do musical theatre and stay in New York? I guess you know the end of that story.
On the Twentieth Century will begin previews Friday, February 13, 2015 at the American Airline's Theatre. For more information and tickets, please visit our website.
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