"I've got a piece that I'm actually going to produce and work on myself," Chenoweth told Playbill On-Line earlier this week. "It's called Boots, and it's about an ex-Vegas showgirl who moves back to Texas to teach a college drill team. [They are] kinda like losers. It's really sweet and funny."
Lamar Damon wrote the piece for the silver screen, but Chenoweth plans to have it turned into a musical vehicle for her. "It's been owned by several studios," said the Tony-winning actress, "but then 'Bring It On' happened and all these movies that were sort of like it. I just read it and fell in love with it and said I'd really like to make this as a musical. It would be another opportunity to do something original."
Though she will be both producer and star, the actress added with a laugh, "I will not write and direct it!" She hopes to have it on Broadway within two years. Chenoweth also said that she is very interested in the next Mel Brooks screen-to-stage musical Young Frankenstein, taking on the role created on screen by the late Madeline Kahn.
Chenoweth, who received a Tony nomination for her work as Glinda in Stephen Schwartz's Wicked, made her New York theatrical debut opposite Bill Irwin in a production of Molière's Scapin and followed that with a role in Kander and Ebb's Steel Pier. Roles in Off-Broadway's A New Brain and the City Center Encores! productions of Strike Up the Band and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ensued. She won her Tony for her performance as Sally Brown in the Broadway bow of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Chenoweth will make her solo Carnegie Hall concert debut Sept. 10.
An upcoming "Diva Talk" column will feature a complete interview with the much-in-demand performer. For more information about the actress, visit www.kristinchenoweth.com.