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Book Review: a Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages by Kristin Chenoweth with Joni Rodgers

True to her perky nature and propensity for spontaneity, actress Kristin Chenoweth writes
her autobiography in a most unconventional manner as she randomly extracts bits and
pieces from her life and quilts them into a compelling story which fashions a type of “This
Is Your Life” prose. Starting the book with what has been the highest point in her life
thus far, Chenoweth jumps right into the glamour and glitz that comes with being a
celebrity as she narrates her experience at the Academy Awards in 2008 when she
performed an extravagant dance number in a designer gown and bejeweled stilettos
while singing the Oscar nominated tune “That’s How You Know” from the Disney film
Enchanted.

Chenoweth, who has received critical acclaim for her roles as Glinda in the Broadway
musical Wicked and as Annabeth Schott in the popular TV series The West Wing,
describes herself as a girl entrenched in her faith while growing up in rural Oklahoma.
Endowed with a booming voice compounded by the ambition to affect people’s lives in a
positive direction, Chenoweth’s only choice to achieve self-fulfillment was to become an
entertainer, and she makes that evident in her autobiography.

Chenoweth moves from her star-studded lifestyle as a celebrity to being a family-driven
Christian returning home to Oklahoma for her grandfather’s funeral. It is at this point
when Chenoweth provides a series of freehand verses outlining the events that transpired
through her childhood, adolescence, and post-college years which changed her course
and steered her towards becoming a Tony Award-winning Broadway actress and dubbed
the bubbly pixie of Hollywood.

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Chenoweth’s narration depicts her life as that of any other girl in America. Under 5 feet
tall, struggling with Ménière’s disease, and given up for adoption by her mother at birth,
Chenoweth’s life is less than picture perfect as she addresses the darker facets that
adorned her world and could have put her at a grave disadvantage. She credits her
unwavering optimism and persistence as the tools which enabled her to become a world
renown entertainer along with the added benefit of having a nurturing family and loving
friends.

Traveling through her trials, tribulation, and triumphs, Chenoweth’s thoughts are recorded
in paraphrases that exhibit a stream of consciousness approach to her tale. Her
mannerism is casual and her style of writing has a colloquial penmanship filled with puns
and witty remarks. She lets audiences into her private life consisting of the family that
adopted her, June and Jerry Chenoweth along with their son Mark. Other significant
figures in Chenoweth’s immediate realm include her schnauzer Maddie, numerous aunts,
uncles, cousins, nephews, and nieces, her close friends, and a team of agents, publicists,
managers, and lawyers who form the network that keeps Kristin Chenoweth active as an
actress and live performer.

For aspiring actors, Chenoweth’s book is insightful offering details about the inner
workings of the entertainment business and the major players in the industry who work
behind the scenes. Like a sun-worshipper basking in the golden rays of the sunlight,
Chenoweth soaks up all the information around her and shows how she continually hones
her craft and makes selective choices about the opportunities presented to her. She
seems to love everyone whom she encounters, and for those people who don’t have a
single redeeming quality, she manages to supply understanding and applies a logical
explanation for their ill-natured behavior.

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Chenoweth shares her own perspective on life and about people, which kindles the
inspiration to adapt to her way of thinking. She accepts the craziness that comes with
being a popular world figure wearing a Miss America smile across her face and having
the fearless spirit of sky diver. With all her assets, she is quick to admit that she does
not always follow the path of wholesome goodness and cites, “But there’s the beauty of
life beyond the bubble. It’s possible for someone to see your wicked bits and still love
you.”

Chenoweth’s writing is risqué without tipping the scales into being obscene. She makes
people aware of those aspects in her character which make her come off like a growling
gremlin and deeply contrasts her usual gentle prancing and pixie-swigged aesthetics.
She has a way with words that spears straight to the heart of the matter and weaves
memorable witticisms. She is a lively narrator who knows what to say, and how to say it
effectively.