LITTLE BIT WICKED, A - AUDIOBOOK [Audiobook] [Audio CD]

I have to confess that I've just recently become a fan of Kristin Chenoweth. I knew she had won an Tony for Sally Brown in the revival of YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN and other than that, that was about it. Last summer some friends played a few songs of hers from her albums and I was blown away by her amazing voice and from that moment on became a fan. I bought her Christmas album and saw her amazing performance in St. Louis in January. We share a common faith and though I'm not from Oklahoma, I did live there and I'm involved in theatre myself (though in a completely different sphere than Chenoweth). When I heard she had a book coming out, I knew that it would be one I would be reading as soon as I could get it.

Even though it's being marketed as an autobiography, A LITTLE BIT WICKED isn't an autobiography. It is a memoir filled with autobiographical anecdotes. There are parts of her life that are completely skipped and though there is an overarching progression moving from her childhood to the present, the story skips around quite often and zig-zags all over the place. It's definitely told in Chenoweth's voice; the book was written in the same style, manner, and syntax as the way she talked when I saw her perform and in the interviews I've seen her in. However, a true autobiography has a person telling as much as their life story as they can possibly remember or are allowed to tell. A LITTLE BIT WICKED has a lot of great stories and fills in some background information people might not be familiar, but there's a lot that's been held back and isn't revealed. As Chenoweth points out in the afterwards to the book, she knows this and perhaps years in the future she'll write a true autobiography. Until then we have A LITTLE BIT WICKED and though it's not a full meal of a book, it's a tasty little divine snack that's quite satisfying.

The most covers many of the major events of Chenweth's public life: her Miss America attempts; the Tony win for YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN; WICKED; THE WEST WING; PUSHING DAISIES; the FHM pin-up shoot; her appearance on THE 700 CLUB. Interspersed between all of this is her story about growing up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and her training at Oklahoma City University. She talks a lot about her faith and a little time about starting out in New York City with the seemingly random audition for ANIMAL CRACKERS that brought her to New York. There's also her recipe for "No-Calorie-Left-Behind Pie", her simple advice for young actors, a timeline of her life, and a list of questions she wants to ask God when she meets him. She also briefly discusses the four grand loves of her life, including Aaron Sorkin. True to Chenoweth's spirit, Sorkin even writes a small part of this book explaining how he fell in love with and later met Chenoweth.

For me, the most interesting part of the book was the story Chenoweth tells until she first came to New York. I really enjoyed the learning about where she came from, who her parents and siblings are, what she thought of school, her early training, etc. In all honesty, this part of her life is the most informative and detailed in the book.

I really enjoyed reading A LITTLE BIT WICKED. It's a book that every fan of Kristin Chenoweth will enjoy. It's also written in such a way that casual readers who don't know much about Chenoweth will probably like it as well.

Celebrity biographies are not usually my first pick of books, but since the West Wing is probably my favorite TV drama ever, and since Wicked is absolutely the best Broadway show I've ever seen -- I was curious.

Kristin is a good Southern girl who's managed to stay out of the trouble that many starlets get into. She's been outspoken about her Christian faith, which has hit her from both sides -- from the Christians who say her views on homosexuality are too liberal and from homosexuals who say that she aligns herself with their enemies.

So, I wanted to see for myself.

At first I thought that the book was a little too chatty and folsky, but that grew on me, and in the end I did feel as if I knew Chenoweth better. I was also a bit bothered by the fact that there was no real time-line or even a theme to the chapters, but then I realized that's exactly the way we get to know a friend.

We don't hear their whole story from age fifteen to the present day. We pick up bits of a person's life and experiences here and there. It's sort of like mining for gold: In the "Sift, sift, sift, sift" of everyday conversation suddenly a gold nugget about a past love or a life-changing mistake is uncovered and you see that person in a totally new way.

So if you like celebrity bios, you'll probably like this one. If you don't particular like celebrity bios, but like Kristin Chenoweth or are curious about musical training or Broadway, then you might like this one too.

The first thing that I want to say is that this is a very funny book. I seldom startle people around me by laughing till the tears flow, but this was an exception. An autobiography usually puts me to sleep, but not this one. Kristin Chenoweth throws it straight at you, and I loved it. She begins at the beginning (as she should), and we follow her early life in Oklahoma through school, as she develops her ability to sing and act. There are detours at trying to be Miss Oklahoma or Miss Something Else and, despite talent, always finishes as second runner-up. We see the break-through in her ability at Oklahoma City University, and her first break that follows in New York. It leads to Broadway, TV, and movies that continue on to the present time. But her story is not a dull recitation of accomplishment. Proceeding at the same warp speed as her speech, it relates tales of the flight attendant grouch, the strange effects of Chenolicious White Trash Cookies (complete with recipe), the weather-forecasting Hoo Hoo, and many more. There are serious moments, but the tone is happy, optimistic, and caring. This is a great antidote to gloomy news, and is well worth reading.

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