Little Bit Wicked by Kristin Chenoweth

BIBLIOGRAPHIC DETAILS
-PRINT: © April 14, 2009; 978-1416580553; ‎ Touchstone; 240 pages; unabridged (Hardcover Info from Amazon.com)
-DIGITAL: © March 5, 2009; 9781572245372; Touchstone; 256 pages; unabridged (Digital version info from Amazon.com)
- *AUDIO: © April 15, 2009; Oasis Audio; 6 hours and 51 minutes; unabridged (Audio info from Audible.)

-FILM: No

SERIES: No.

CHARACTERS:
N/A

SUMMARY/ EVALUATION:
-SELECTED: Don purchased this years ago from Audible. Since it was in our “library” I thought I should listen to it to make it worth the purchase. Besides, I like Kristin. We saw her perform at the Segerstrom Concert Hall several years back.
-ABOUT: Kristin’s life, growing up, and performing.

-OVERALL IMPRESSION: Kristin is anxious for us to understand that people like herself who are successful and exude cheer have lives that are every bit as challenging as anyone else’s (probably more). She is funny, warm, sweet and cute.

AUTHOR:
Kristin Chenoweth. From Wikipedia:
“Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (/ˈtʃɛnoʊwɛθ/; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)[1] is an American actress and singer, with credits in musical theatre, film, and television. In 1999, she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown on Broadway. In 2003, Chenoweth received a second Tony Award nomination for originating the role of Glinda in the musical Wicked. Her television roles include Annabeth Schott in NBC's The West Wing and Olive Snook on the ABC comedy drama Pushing Daisies, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009. She also starred in the ABC TV series GCB in 2012, played Lavinia in Trial & Error in 2018, and played the characters Mildred Layton and Miss Codwell in the Apple TV musical comedy Schmigadoon! in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Chenoweth sang gospel music as a child in Oklahoma and studied opera before deciding to pursue a career in musical theatre. In 1997, she made her Broadway debut in Steel Pier, winning a Theatre World Award, before appearing in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and Wicked. Her other Broadway roles were in The Apple Tree in 2006, Promises, Promises in 2010 and On the Twentieth Century in 2015, for which she received another Tony Award nomination. She has also appeared in five City Center Encores!, Off-Broadway and regional theatre productions.

Chenoweth had her own sitcom, Kristin, in 2001, and has guest-starred on many shows, including Sesame Street and Glee, for which she was nominated for Emmy Awards in 2010 and 2011. In films, she has played mostly character roles, such as in Bewitched (2005), The Pink Panther (2006) and RV (2006). She has played roles in made-for-TV movies, such as Descendants (2015); done voice work in animated films such as Rio 2 (2014) and The Peanuts Movie (2015) along with the animated TV series Sit Down, Shut Up and BoJack Horseman; hosted several award shows; and released several albums of songs, including A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas (2008), Some Lessons Learned (2011), Coming Home (2014), The Art of Elegance (2016) and For the Girls (2019). Chenoweth also wrote a 2009 memoir, A Little Bit Wicked. Career
During and subsequent to her PhD research, Beilock explored differences between novice and expert athletic performances. Later in her career, Beilock's research focused on why people perform poorly in stressful academic situations, such as taking a high-stakes mathematics exam. Beilock found that worries during those situations rob individuals of the working memory or cognitive horsepower they would normally have to focus. Because people with more working memory rely on their brainpower more, they can be affected to a greater extent in stressful academic situations. Beilock's work demonstrated that stressful situations during tests might diminish meaningful differences between students that, under less-stressful situations, might exhibit greater differences in performance.[7]”

NARRATOR: Kristin Chenoweth (see above)

*Of course Kristin does a perfect job narrating her autobiography!

GENRE: Non-fiction; Autobiography; Humor

LOCATIONS: Arrow, Oklahoma; New York; Hollywood, California

TIME FRAME: Contemporary

SUBJECTS: Faith; Adoption; Theater Acting; Lifestyle; Television Acting; Relationships; Opera; Musical Theater

DEDICATION: “To Mom and Dad for giving me faith, self-esteem, and unconditional love.”

SAMPLE QUOTATION: Excerpt From “Overture”:

“Los Angeles, California February 8, 2008
I face myself in the full-length mirror, stability in one hand, sex in the other.
The White Armani gown is the dress every little girl dreams of. A lot of big girls, too. A line of blushing attendants, all picture-pretty, clutch bouquets of roses and baby’s breath, each on the arm of a dashing tuxedoed counterpart. My best always-a-bridesmaid buddy Denny Downs is looking at me with wide, moist eyes, telling me how perfect it all is . . . but suddenly I’m not sure.
A moment ago, I was ready to commit myself to the faithful friend who’s supported and stood by me for years. Then Jimmy showed up, and everything became a question. Now, here I am at the eleventh hour, wondering what might happen, who will it be, if I allow my passion to be swayed by this dangerous bad boy. Crystalized moments like this one arise in every woman’s life. Moments of truth in which she makes the choices that guide her destiny. Moments that ultimately write the story of her.
Sugar or spice? I agonize. Naughty or nice?
Sensible angels whisper in my ear, but the runaway bride in me is getting restless. I am a type A “leap and a net will appear” risk-taker, and if I trust that God made me this way for a reason, then I have to believe that the risk will be worth it in the long run. Experience has taught me that we all stumble and fall: faith assures me that He’ll be there to catch me when I do. My heart speaks, and I listen.
I chose Jimmy.
Jimmy Choo, that is. A fabulous pair of four-inch platform slingbacks. Setting aside the safe-and-sane character shoes I was planning to wear onstage tonight. I cast my lot with the bad boy. Oh, I know what you’re thinking, and yeah, it’s not exactly Sophies Choice. But this is Oscar night. I’m about to step onstage in front of thousands of people—friends, colleagues, peers, people I hope and dream of working with—plus my parents and everyone else watching the libe broadcast on television.”

RATING: 5 stars.

STARTED-FINISHED 11/28/2023-12/2/2023 ( )

Kristin C. is soooo great...talented, funny, pretty and, most important, down to earth. This book was a great read, very funny and informative about her life. I can't wait to see the sequel! ( )

This was better than I expected. ( )

I loved this book! Kristin Chenoweth is hilarious! After reading it, I want to be her friend. She gives a great look into her life growing up, her acting career and the anecdotes that go with both. ( )

This is not the kind of book I normally read, but it's light and fun and I'm enjoying it! ( )