Presented by Adelaide Cabaret Festival
Reviewed Saturday 8th June 2013
The sensational Kristin Chenoweth is star in every sense. Standing only 4′ 11″ (1.5m), she’s a pint sized powerhouse that fills the Festival Theatre stage with charisma, beauty and the most powerful set of lungs this side of Dolly Parton.
Although trained in opera, Chenoweth takes inspiration from her friend Parton, and demonstrates a stunning vocal range that takes her through numerous musical genre from pop and rock to show tunes and opera.
Perhaps best known as playing Glinda the Good in the Broadway stage production of Wicked, Chenoweth is also familiar to Australian audiences through her appearances on television shows such as Glee, Pushing Daisies and The West Wing. She has appeared in over 40 films and TV shows and is both a Tony and Emmy Award winner.
Joining Chenoweth on stage are the fun spirited singer/dancers Jennifer Diamond, Constantine Germanacos and Dance Captain Will Tyler, who allow the star backing vocals, duets, dance partners and plenty of comedy, not least being poking fun at the stage musical Avenue Q, which won a Tony Award ahead of Wicked.
Musical Director Mary-Mitchell Campbell leads the superb Adelaide Art Orchestra on piano, and joins in the repartee at times.
In a concert full of life, laughter and cheering fans, Chenoweth’s two outstanding moments come when she bows to expectation with two songs from Wicked – firstly singing the hit tune ‘Popular’ in multiple languages, followed by randomly selecting a teenage girl from the audience to accompany her in the duet ‘For Good’ – a song that happened to have been sung at the funeral of the girl’s friend.
Chenoweth’s big heart is displayed throughout the show, from her talk of charity work and her discussion about faith to her closing number about leaving your mark on the world.
Cheneweth is a star so bright, she’s supernova.
Reviewed by Rod Lewis
Venue: Festival Theatre, Adelaide Festival Centre
Season: 8-9 June
Duration: 2.5 hours
Tickets: $74.90 – $109-90
Bookings: Book at BASS
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