One of North Texas’ favorite Oklahoma natives may be pint-sized, but Kristin Chenoweth brings a powerful presence to any room.
She’s come a long way since her days singing as a seven-year-old in the First Baptist Church of Broken Arrow choir to her Tony-winning role in “Wicked,” but she’s done a heck of a lot more than sing for her supper, so to speak.
The mini-powerhouse has just recently released her kid-friendly book ,“What Will I do With My Love Today,” which includes her rescue pooch Thunder named after the NBA basketball team, and gotten engaged to Backroad Anthem guitarist Josh Bryant.
But life didn’t start out all that great for Kristin. It was more like a version of “Annie.” No, she wasn’t a child in a cruel orphanage. Instead, her single mom put her up for adoption and, what do you know, the tyke scored a major win. Within a handful of days she was adopted by Junie and Jerry Chenoweth.
Jerry claimed, “Man, did we win the lottery.” And Kristin told Today’s Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, “No, I won the lottery.”
Kristin went on to say that Junie explained, “The lady that had you in her belly could not take care of you the way she wanted to, and she loved you so much.”
Her adoptive mom simply explained it this way to the youngster, “She gave you life, but we get to give you a life.”
As for her birth mother, Kristin not only met her but told Katie Couric that she was an “incredible person.”
Anyone who has had the opportunity to see Kristin on the stage or up close and in person will tell you that she has a positive energy force that is contagious.
Perhaps that’s why the Jewish Family Service of Greater Dallas has arranged for a “fireside chat” with Kristin at its “Woman to Woman Luncheon” on Wednesday, May 25, at the Renaissance Dallas Addison Hotel.
For the past 70 years, Jewish Family Services of Greater Dallas has “provided effective, accessible, and comprehensive mental health and social services that promote lifelong self-sufficiency and well-being for the Greater Dallas community.”
If the past couple of years of masking and social distancing anxieties has been a challenge for your inner engine, consider a lunch with Kristin. She is truly the personification of the old saying, great gifts come in small packages. But watch out. If you score a meet-and-greet with her, you’ll swear that you’re her new BFF.