Kristin Chenoweth entered the stage and grabbed her large beverage cup from a nearby Super America ('SA' as it's popularly called here). It wasn't anything spectacular, but that combined with her hilarious attempt to get to Target via the skyway only to be distracted by the 60% off sale at Macy's helped to forge an immediate connection with her adoring audience (that would be us).
She opened with "Que Sera Sera" and she let her big voice do all the work, backed by members of the fabulous Minnesota Orchestra. Chenoweth introduced songs with stories of when she first heard it, or performed it, or perhaps some awkward family moment; often referring to her Oklahoma roots. She sang, she twirled, she flirted with the cellist, but most of all she sang. Classic Broadway and film tunes like "I Could Have Danced All Night" (My Fair Lady), "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" (The Wizard of Oz), "Moon River" (Breakfast at Tiffany's), "The Man That Got Away" (A Star is Born), "Bring Him Home" (Les Miserables), which was very emotional. Of course, she also performed "Popular" from her role as Glenda the Good Witch from Wicked. I felt a similarity to Judy Garland in so many ways, from the petite size to the big voice and the interaction with the audience; I never saw Judy Garland live, but my father had her live album "Judy Garland: Live at Carnegie Hall" and he played it all the time (or so it seemed to my annoyed teenage self). I must admit, begrudgingly, that I miss that album, and really loved it. Chenoweth also sang songs with which I was not as familiar, including "Taylor the Latte Boy". It seemed like the second half of the show went by all too quickly, even though it was way past my bedtime. As the evening wound down, she brought out eight students from one of the University of Minnesota's singing groups to join her in two songs. As Kristin was praising them for following their dream of pursuing music, seven of the eight singers had to disappoint and shock her by revealing their majors were neuroscience, history, urban studies, among others; only one music major, getting her Master's in Opera. They hugged. I apologize for not recalling the names of the songs, but they did a great job, and everyone on stage seemed to enjoy the experience, including Chenoweth. These two songs ended the show and the singers and musicians received a standing ovation. She came back on stage and her very last song was "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin. I had been thinking during the whole evening that Kristin didn't really need a microphone, she was barely using it (or at least not smothering it like other singers), and the acoustics are so good in the hall, and for "Smile", she put the microphone to the side and sang with only piano accompaniment. It was gorgeous. I was really sad for the evening to end, but so glad I was there. Next time, though, I'll aim for better seats.
