Stage to PagePLAYBILL POLL: In What Role Should Tony Winner Kristin Chenoweth Return to Broadway? Readers RespondKristin Chenoweth, a Tony Award winner for her performance in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, recently announced on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" that she will be returning to Broadway. This statement made us think: What role would we like to see her play?
By
Playbill Staff
April 20, 2014
Kristin Chenoweth
Playbill.com polled our readers via Facebook and Twitter. Their responses follow:
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David L. McCurdy-Waterhouse: She should do On The Twentieth Century. Perfect role for her! Nathan Bottorff: On The Twentieth Century!!
Chenoweth previously stated that her next Broadway project would be a revival of On the Twentieth Century, the Tony Award-winning 1978 musical by composer Cy Coleman and lyricist-librettists Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It was previously reported that Tony Award nominee Peter Gallagher would join her in the production, under the direction of Scott Ellis. Chenoweth previously played movie star Lily Garland in a Roundabout Theatre Company reading of On the Twentieth Century.
Elliott Sirkin: Hello, Dolly! is perfect for her — she's even tiny, like Ruth Gordon in The Matchmaker. Whitney West: Hello, Dolly! I would love to see her in that role! Perfect match for her. Aaron Fink: HELLO, DOLLY all the way!! Although She's tiny, She commands power and she gets it, her voice and punch would be the best thing for Dolly Levi since Streisand. Carol Channing will forever be the original dolly, but I think its just right for a face lift! Many people may be doubtful of her, but I think that Kristin Chenoweth would be the greatest! @bwtaylor12: Hello, Dolly! @taliapfeffer: HELLO, DOLLY!!! Chenoweth stated on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live" that a role she is interested in playing is Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi, originated on Broadway by Carol Channing, who received the 1964 Tony Award for her performance. The last Broadway revival, which opened in October 1995 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, again starred Channing in the title role. The musical, which was preserved on film starring Barbra Streisand, features a score by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart.
Matt Ian: Audrey in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS! Lea Passione: Audrey in Little Shop of HorrorsLittle Shop of Horrors, which features music by Alan Menken and a book and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, opened Off-Broadway in 1982 with Ellen Greene, who reprised her performance on film, as Audrey. The musical bowed on Broadway at the Virginia Theatre (now the August Wilson and the home of the long-running musical Jersey Boys) in October 2003 with Tony nominee Kerry Butler as Audrey.
Zandra McCormack: Any role she would be Spectacular! but if I had to choose ....The Mom in Gypsy. The Tony Award-winning musical Gypsy, which features music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by Arthur Laurents, was last seen on Broadway at the St. James Theatre, where it opened in 2008 with Patti LuPone (who won a Tony Award for her performance) as Mama Rose. The musical was also seen on Broadway in 2003 (with Bernadette Peters), 1989 (with Tyne Daly), 1974 (with Angela Lansbury) and 1959 (with Ethel Merman, who originated the role of Rose and received a 1960 Tony Award nomination for her performance).
Bob Burford: Into the Woods as the Witch Into the Woods, which features a Tony-winning score by Stephen Sondheim and a Tony-winning book by James Lapine, starred three-time Tony winner Bernadette Peters as the Witch. The musical opened in November 1987 at the Martin Beck Theatre and was revived on Broadway in 2002 with Vanessa Williams, who received a Tony nomination for her portrayal of the Witch. Two-time Tony winner Donna Murphy played the role in the Public Theater's outdoor staging.
Tim Stuff: I would love to see her go really against type. How about Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd. The Tony Award-winning musical Sweeney Todd, featuring a score by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler — who both received 1979 Tony Awards for their work — opened at Broadway's Uris Theatre with Tony winner Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Lovett. The musical was revived in 1989 with Beth Fowler as Lovett and again in 2005 with Patti LuPone.
@StoLoki: On a Clear Day You Can See ForeverOn a Clear Day You Can See Forever, which features music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, opened on Broadway in October 1965 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. Barbara Harris starred in the dual roles of Melinda and Daisy Gamble and received a Tony nomination for her work. The show was re-envisioned and revived in 2011 at the St. James Theatre and starred Tony nominee Jessie Mueller as Melinda Wells (the character of Daisy Gamble was changed to a gay male named David Gamble, played by David Turner). Sarah Stiles played the comedic Muriel Bunson in the 2011 revival, which also starred Harry Connick, Jr. Chenoweth previously starred in a City Center Encores! staging of the musical.
Audrey Lang: Miss Mona in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas!! The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas features a score by Carol Hall and a book by Peter Masterson and Larry L. King. The original 1978 production featured Carlin Glynn as whorehouse madam Mona Stangley. The musical was revived in 1982 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre and again featured Glynn in the lead role.
