Truth be told, it was 10 years ago. Maybe the last time I will do anything "decent" on this pretty useless holiday. Of course, with this year and last year being germ-laden, we may never go out again.
Steady (or, more likely, unsteady) readers to this blog were witnesses to my recent lamentations about New Year's Eve and the horribleness of my more recent celebrations. The one in 2009 was the absolute worst as I dined with a bunch of complete strangers who were the conversational equivalents of torn underwear.
Well, if I can have the kind of enjoyment that I got at Disney Hall one year later, New Year's Eve in my life will have at least one highlight.. Chenoweth's four foot-eleven package of talent made that year-end festivity tower over anything I've done since the New Year's Eve I was kissing complete strangers at Shout in New York. In this age of hand sanitizers and variants, who wants to be doing that anyway?
I officially saw Kristin Chenoweth sing "I Say A Little Prayer" three different times in 2010. Twice when I saw the wonderful and now-sadly-shuttered "Promises, Promises" on Broadway and one more time at Disney Hall. I really had little exposure to her prior to this past year, except for occasionally hearing her do that "Popular" ditty from "Wicked." Now I'm a fan and a ticket buyer for anything else she attends either in Los Angeles or New York. Kristin, if you're playing Fargo, North Dakota, you're on your own.
Disney Hall is a cool and intimate venue. Huge on the outside, it is incredibly warm and cozy inside. Actually, downright hot. Both times I have been at this concert hall, the temperature rose to Turkish bath proportions. With an hour, you have completely sweated off the ribeye steak you had for dinner.
Perspiration aside, Kristin used the tight quarters to her advantage. She sang as if she was doing it in your own living room. A one-to-one touchstone that very few artists can master. It quickly became a very personal experience. Beyond the song stylings, Kristin connected with us by using the time in between tunes to talk about her In N' Out Burger cravings, her use of hand sanitizers, and other little anecdotes that immediately put the star on the level of her audience.
I was stoked because she borrowed for the evening a rather liberal portion of the "Promises, Promises" company. Her band was from their orchestra. The back-up singers were the Turkey Lurkey girls. One of her dancers was one of the office guys using CC Baxter's apartment. I began to wonder if that night's NY performance of "Promises" had been done by Sean Hayes and selected members of the local Salvation Army band.
The's night songbook was a collection of Broadway tunes, standards, and, given Chenoweth's Christian background, one song that was very Gospel-oriented. She prefaced the latter by advising the audience that, if you don't believe in Jesus, the song would be over in three minutes. Frankly, I give her props for sticking to her religious stance and also acknowledging that there might be some in the crowd who did not. For me, there were no issues and that number got one of the more rousing receptions of the night.
Of course, you rarely can go to any performance in Los Angeles without the now-standard moment of editorializing by whatever star you are seeing. Kristin Chenoweth at Disney Hall was no different.
"I'm not actually a very political person...but..."
Here it came. The now routine reminder that we need to support our President, which was Obama at that moment. This played well on New Year's Eve, but I wondered how and if Kristin does the same sermonizing when she does a show in Bumfuk, Kansas. Unlikely. Personally, I'm against any performer using their show to extend their political opinions whether I agree or not. It's a stage, not a pulpit. Many of us attend performances to escape the horrors of the world outside, not hear another viewpoint on it.
Chenoweth rambled on with her take on discrimination and harassment, most particularly with the gay community. No issues from me on this, but, now, my thoughts shifted to how complex a life she must have. Here she is. A very Christian woman working in a Broadway environment which is always predominantly homosexual. Yep, there must be a lot of layers to this lady.
While a virtual show stopper, the sermonizing was short enough that the evening's momentum was not lost. Midnight arrived and we all celebrated together. Kristin did one or two more numbers and off she went back to New York to do the very final performance of 'Promises, Promises."
New Year's Eve was back. At least for this one night.
And probably forever.
Dinner last night: Chicken Scarpariello.
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