The first trailer for Wicked: For Good dropped last week, and the Tony Awards happened on Sunday, so it seems like a good time to check in with Kristin Chenoweth. The munchkin-sized Good Witch of the East Coast is gearing up to make a grand return to Broadway this fall for the first time in 10 years — how has she been away that long?! In the meantime, proud dog mom Kristin also has a fun new gig as “The Enrichment Witch” for Nom Nom dog food. (See how much you can accomplish when you get up after 11am!) From what I’ve seen of both projects, they are fun and funny and campy as all get out. So it’s not all that surprising to hear that something high on Kristin’s career bucket list is hosting SNL. She says she watches the show “religiously” (and I don’t think she uses that word lightly) and has sketch ideas to bring to the table. So what’s the hold up, Lorne?
“SNL,” Chenoweth tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview, referring to Saturday Night Live, when asked about what’s still left for her to do. “I’ve never been asked, but I watch it religiously, and I just think they’re so talented.”
Noting that she has “a lot of respect for sketch comedians,” the star — who is working with Nom Nom for the pet food company’s “Make Mealtime Magical” campaign — continues, “I love comedy, and that’s where I’m most comfortable. I even have ideas if I ever got asked to come on.”
Adds Chenoweth: “I used to think, ‘It’s never going to happen,’ but then Betty White got asked, and I thought, ‘Well, maybe I’ll get asked before I die.’” (White, who died at age 99 in 2021, became the oldest person to host SNL at the age of 88 in March 2010.)
Chenoweth is known for her triple-threat abilities in various projects across theater, television, film and music.
She made her foray in the entertainment industry through her Broadway debut in Steel Pier in 1997. Two years later, Chenoweth won a Tony Award for her role in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and in 2003, she originated the Tony-nominated role of Glinda in Wicked. Her other Broadway credits include The Apple Tree in 2006, Promises, Promises in 2010 and On the Twentieth Century in 2015, which earned her a third Tony Award nomination.
Her television roles include, but are not limited to, Glee, Trial & Error, Schmigadoon!, The West Wing, GCB and Pushing Daisies, the latter of which earned her an Emmy win. In terms of film roles, Chenoweth has starred in movies such as Bewitched, The Pink Panther, RV, Descendants, The Peanuts Movie and Our Little Secret.
As for music, Chenoweth has released various albums over the years, starting with 2001’s Let Yourself Go. She is also a New York Times bestselling author.
Alongside her aspirations to host SNL, Chenoweth tells PEOPLE she would also love to lead a horror film.
“Something with Blumhouse,” she explains, referring to the production company behind various thriller franchises, including Paranormal Activity, Insidious and The Purge.
“I’d love to play like a killer that no one expects. That’d be fun,” Chenoweth adds with a sly grin. “It would be something that people wouldn’t see coming. I love the horror genre, suspense, anything like that.”
Well, I too would like to see Kristin play against type and be the killer no one sees coming. Except now that she’s said it I fear she may have ruined the suspense — we will see her coming! Which is why I propose Kristin scratches that horror itch by bringing that energy to her SNL brainstorming session (seriously, Lorne, call her!). And with that, it is my great pleasure to remind you all of Halloween 2023, when Ms. Chenoweth showed up to rehearsals dressed and possessed as the M3GAN doll. Brilliant. She nailed the look, the physicality, and again, the camp of it all. Ball’s in your court, SNL. But they’ll have to time it just right with Kristin’s schedule demands around her upcoming Broadway return. The Queen of Versailles (not old French history, recent Florida history) begins previews in October, and reunites Kristin with Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz. Honestly, the show had me hooked with the poster image of Kristin: floofy dog in one hand, iced soda in the other.
photos credit: Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com/Avalon