Customer Reviews

A Little Bit Wicked

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I have to confess that I've just recently become a fan of Kristin Chenoweth. I knew she had won an Tony for Sally Brown in the revival of YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN and other than that, that was about it. Last summer some friends played a few songs of hers from her albums and I was blown away by her amazing voice and from that moment on became a fan. I bought her Christmas album and saw her amazing performance in St. Louis in January. We share a common faith and though I'm not from Oklahoma, I did live there and I'm involved in theatre myself (though in a completely different sphere than Chenoweth). When I heard she had a book coming out, I knew that it would be one I would be reading as soon as I could get it.

Even though it's being marketed as an autobiography, A LITTLE BIT WICKED isn't an autobiography. It is a memoir filled with autobiographical anecdotes. There are parts of her life that are completely skipped and though there is an overarching progression moving from her childhood to the present, the story skips around quite often and zig-zags all over the place. It's definitely told in Chenoweth's voice; the book was written in the same style, manner, and syntax as the way she talked when I saw her perform and in the interviews I've seen her in. However, a true autobiography has a person telling as much as their life story as they can possibly remember or are allowed to tell. A LITTLE BIT WICKED has a lot of great stories and fills in some background information people might not be familiar, but there's a lot that's been held back and isn't revealed. As Chenoweth points out in the afterwards to the book, she knows this and perhaps years in the future she'll write a true autobiography. Until then we have A LITTLE BIT WICKED and though it's not a full meal of a book, it's a tasty little divine snack that's quite satisfying.

The most covers many of the major events of Chenweth's public life: her Miss America attempts; the Tony win for YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN; WICKED; THE WEST WING; PUSHING DAISIES; the FHM pin-up shoot; her appearance on THE 700 CLUB. Interspersed between all of this is her story about growing up in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and her training at Oklahoma City University. She talks a lot about her faith and a little time about starting out in New York City with the seemingly random audition for ANIMAL CRACKERS that brought her to New York. There's also her recipe for "No-Calorie-Left-Behind Pie", her simple advice for young actors, a timeline of her life, and a list of questions she wants to ask God when she meets him. She also briefly discusses the four grand loves of her life, including Aaron Sorkin. True to Chenoweth's spirit, Sorkin even writes a small part of this book explaining how he fell in love with and later met Chenoweth.

For me, the most interesting part of the book was the story Chenoweth tells until she first came to New York. I really enjoyed the learning about where she came from, who her parents and siblings are, what she thought of school, her early training, etc. In all honesty, this part of her life is the most informative and detailed in the book.

I really enjoyed reading A LITTLE BIT WICKED. It's a book that every fan of Kristin Chenoweth will enjoy. It's also written in such a way that casual readers who don't know much about Chenoweth will probably like it as well.

Celebrity biographies are not usually my first pick of books, but since the West Wing is probably my favorite TV drama ever, and since Wicked is absolutely the best Broadway show I've ever seen -- I was curious.

Kristin is a good Southern girl who's managed to stay out of the trouble that many starlets get into. She's been outspoken about her Christian faith, which has hit her from both sides -- from the Christians who say her views on homosexuality are too liberal and from homosexuals who say that she aligns herself with their enemies.

So, I wanted to see for myself.

At first I thought that the book was a little too chatty and folsky, but that grew on me, and in the end I did feel as if I knew Chenoweth better. I was also a bit bothered by the fact that there was no real time-line or even a theme to the chapters, but then I realized that's exactly the way we get to know a friend.

We don't hear their whole story from age fifteen to the present day. We pick up bits of a person's life and experiences here and there. It's sort of like mining for gold: In the "Sift, sift, sift, sift" of everyday conversation suddenly a gold nugget about a past love or a life-changing mistake is uncovered and you see that person in a totally new way.

So if you like celebrity bios, you'll probably like this one. If you don't particular like celebrity bios, but like Kristin Chenoweth or are curious about musical training or Broadway, then you might like this one too.

The first thing that I want to say is that this is a very funny book. I seldom startle people around me by laughing till the tears flow, but this was an exception. An autobiography usually puts me to sleep, but not this one. Kristin Chenoweth throws it straight at you, and I loved it. She begins at the beginning (as she should), and we follow her early life in Oklahoma through school, as she develops her ability to sing and act. There are detours at trying to be Miss Oklahoma or Miss Something Else and, despite talent, always finishes as second runner-up. We see the break-through in her ability at Oklahoma City University, and her first break that follows in New York. It leads to Broadway, TV, and movies that continue on to the present time. But her story is not a dull recitation of accomplishment. Proceeding at the same warp speed as her speech, it relates tales of the flight attendant grouch, the strange effects of Chenolicious White Trash Cookies (complete with recipe), the weather-forecasting Hoo Hoo, and many more. There are serious moments, but the tone is happy, optimistic, and caring. This is a great antidote to gloomy news, and is well worth reading.

I must confess that I was surprised to see that Kristin Chenoweth had already released an "autobiography": surely, her stage, film, TV, and recording career is far from over. Still, I have enjoyed her recordings and musical performances and thought "A Little Bit Wicked" might provide a nice read. It most certainly did.

The book begins on a positive and humorous note and maintains that mood for most of the work. The first half of the book details Ms. Chenoweth's training and education in dance, singing, and theater (and the pageant circuit). It is full of insightful, honest, and sometimes touching anecdotes that I am sure any student pursuing a course of study in the performing arts will find insightful and revealing. The author makes it clear from her experiences that the entertainment field is not an easy path.

The second half of the work covers Ms. Chenoweth's successes on stage ("Wicked", "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown") and TV ("West Wing", "Pushing Daisies") and the challenges encountered there. Apparently, success is not always an easy path either. Throughout Ms. Chenoweth remains true to her convictions, friends, and faith. The friendly writing style and self-deprecating humor make for an enjoyable and fast read. I assume at some point down the road a bit, there will be another, hopefully weightier, volume covering the rest of her career. I'll read that one too.

Kristin Chenoweth is a doll. Except for You Tube excerpts and Pushing Daisies (which was a huge disappointment when it was canceled) I didn't know her well until this book. It reads like she is standing there telling her story. Although she has a standard life of ups and downs she maintains her positive and humorous outlook with just the right amount of humbleness.

The book does tend to jump around a bit chronologically but is easy enough to follow. Although I enjoyed this book, my wife loved it!

I'm not into celebrity books. I'm not even a fan of memoirs, but this book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down!

This book reads as if you're sitting in her living room drinking tea and eating some scrumptious dessert. Ms. Chenoweth effortlessly combines her faith with her experiences and her confidence in who she is. You won't find any apologies or fake modesty, just an honest and witty portrayal of the way she sees life. It's delightful!

A stylistic note: I greatly appreciated the tone of this book. It is simply clean and friendly and funny. There are no explicit "tell-all" scenes, no bashing of other people, no negative vibes. With a single exception there aren't even any curse words or vain uses of God's names. A wonderful testament, a respectful perspective. Well done!

Kristin Chenoweth, Kristi :-) ... Broadway Dynamo, television and movie actress has written an autobiography that is light and breezy and often times, touching. She hits many interesting aspects of her life: being adopted, being a short girl, participating in pageants and giving up a promising opera (yes OPERA!) career for Broadway and Hollywood.

She discusses the challenges of being a gay-friendly, devout Christian in a business that can't seem to comprehend such a person.

Very enjoyable read especially for anyone with a love of the stage!

Is Kristin Chenoweth "A Little Bit Wicked?" Oh, I suppose it depends on how you define the word. I would say definitely not!

She has been a serious performer, and has even posed for suggestive photographs, so if you consider those things wicked, it would be only a little. Her attitude in the book is full of generosity toward those she has worked with. She tells a lot about how performers help each other. It's certainly not a life for many of us, but it seems to be the choice she was meant to make.

Chenoweth has a Master's degree, and tons of talent. She has appeared in concerts, on television, on Broadway, and in movies--a very substantial career.

She writes that this book is a "tell-a-little" slice of life. She says perhaps when she is a grand dame of the stage, maybe she'll do a "tell-all" autobiography. It would be well worth reading. And so is this book.

Kristin Chenoweth's autobiography, A Little Bit Wicked, is a fun, funny, sometimes self-deprecating look at this hugely talented vocalist/actress' career thus far. The Tony winner (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) and star of Wicked (as Glinda, the 'good' witch), among many other Broadway shows tells of her life with candor and honesty, with many a backstage tale about her route to the top of Broadway's echelon and her experiences on network television - from her little known sitcom, Kristin, to The West Wing and Pushing Up Daisies.

This is an enjoyable, fun read. If you're a fan of this talented lady or just a fan of Broadway and musicals, you will find A Little Bit Wicked to be a lot of fun. Highly recommended.

NOTE TO PUBLISHER/EDITOR! -- Typo on page 176 (today instead of toady) which really affects the meaning of the sentence...

Kristin Chenoweth was a Broadway star who originated the role of Galinda the Good Witch in the musical Wicked and starred in many TV series. Her hilarious autobiography traces her journey from an Oklahoma beauty queen to a Broadway leading lady, surveying the many milestones of her career and providing an entertaining, involving survey perfect for any general lending library.