Kristin Chenoweth has mentioned for quite some time that she would love to star in a revival of the Coleman/Comden/Green musical On the Twentieth Century. If you know anything about Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Kristin Chenoweth, that sentence should excite you. The musical is an operetta and a farce about show business people set entirely on a train. It's over the top to say the least. The role Chenoweth surely has her eyes on is Lily, the big-time film star originally played by Madeline Kahn. The strange thing is that, this morning, Kristin Chenoweth may have accidentally (or intentionally) confirmed that a revival of On the Twentieth Century is coming to Broadway. She was interviewed on The View and said it was her next project on Broadway. It's not normal for an actress to announce a new production on a day time talk show, but it's not unheard of to open up about a new production on live TV.
What's so strange about that? Kristin Chenoweth is starring in a mid-season show on ABC called Good Christian Belles. With a full TV production schedule ready to kick off in a few months, when would she have the time to work on this revival? If the show is a hit, it will surely have its second season premiere in Fall 2012 rather than mid-season for a second year.
It gets stranger. A lot of revivals have been announced as coming to Broadway this season. Godspell comes in next month for previews, followed by The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, On a Clear Day, and Evita. That's not counting any of the many Jesus Christ Superstars that could descend on the Great White Way any day now or the threat of Andrew Lloyd Weber's The Wizard of Oz (with projections and all new songs) that pops up every so often. There has been no talk of On the Twentieth Century coming back to New York that I've heard of.
Is this Kristin Chenoweth once again trying to get the ball rolling on this revival? If you ask her about her dream project, it's this show. If you ask her about her next move, she either mentions this or the Dolly Parton biopic that's been talked about for a while. There have to be other people who want to see this revival happen with Kristin. I don't think she would keep mentioning it if she didn't know something concrete enough to keep pushing it. It could very well be a matter of when.
For right now, I think it's not actually happening. It's just for play play and that makes me sad. What cheers me right back up is the Tony Awards performance from the original cast of On the Twentieth Century, not counting Madeline Kahn who had to leave the production early in its run.
Do you want to see this show come back? What about Kristin? Shouldn't she be trying to break into films to flesh out her EGOT run? Sound off with your thoughts.