It was a sweet moment when Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth — Broadway’s original Elphaba and Glinda, respectively — walked the red carpet together at the LA premiere of Wicked. But then I fell in love with Kristin even more when I saw that she had showed up earlier at the NY premiere, and posed for photos standing smack between new stars Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande at a separate NY screening. Do you get it?? They wouldn’t be there without her, LOL!! I’m not even being sarcastic when I say I love Kristin for it; she is the OG, after all, with classically trained pipes that have always been a) seemingly destined to voice Glinda, and b) kind of incomprehensible to come out of such a pint-sized frame. Anyway, I say get it, girl! But Kristin hasn’t only been stalking haunting following the yellow-bricked Wicked promo trail; she also has a new holiday partnership with HomeGoods. She helped the retailer launch their “Deck the Everything Day” on November 1, and just spoke to Us Weekly about her holiday (and other) rituals:
Not normally one to decorate before Thanksgiving, Chenoweth tells Us she made an exception this year. “I want a reason to smile. So, I will be getting out my tree November 1 and start decorating it and make myself feel better and I’m not going to feel bad about it,” she shares. “And I want to encourage [fans], don’t feel guilty. Get out there, go to HomeGoods, get all your crap and come home and decorate.”
Us: When was the last time you did laundry?
Chenoweth: A few days ago… [Laughs] Maybe a couple months ago!
Us: What time do you wake up in the morning?
Chenoweth: I don’t like to get up before 11, and I don’t like to speak before noon. I’m a night owl. I entertain at night.
Us: What’s your favorite song to sing in the shower?
Chenoweth: Bette Midler’s “The Rose.” [Singing] “Some say love, it is a river …” It’s not that challenging. It’s, like, five notes.
Us: What was the last show you streamed?
Chenoweth: Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story. I’ve binged the whole thing. I met Chloe [Sevigny] one time. She’s amazing. Javier Bardem is amazing, and the two boys [Cooper Koch and Nicholas Alexander Chavez] are amazing. I don’t even know who they are.
Us: What’s your go-to DoorDash order?
Chenoweth: Olive Garden. Stars are just like us in this instance! I had it two nights ago. I had the endless salad and the spaghetti.
Us: What’s one task that you keep putting off?
Chenoweth: Getting my nails done. I hate it. It’s so time-consuming. But look at these nubs. I got to go.
Preferring not to wake up before 11am? Oh, bless you Kristin! And #JusticeForNightOwls! Seriously, we night owls can get such a bad rap, but it’s just sliding the hours of operation until later. And of course Kristin adds an extra layer with the not-talking until 12pm. I’m sure she’s arrived at that rule after decades of working as a professional singer (and yes, I am now imagining Kristin in the shower belting out “The Rose.”). It reminds me of Bryan Cranston when he was playing LBJ in All The Way on Broadway; the show was so demanding vocally that he didn’t speak at all on Mondays, his one day off a week. Though I may not be an artist of the vocal arts like Kristin or Bryan, I’m still planning on adopting a practice of not speaking for at least an hour after getting up. But mainly because I’m a night owl operating in an early bird world and am perennially startled/disgruntled/bitter when the alarm goes off in the morning. It’s best for everyone if I refrain from verbalizing any thoughts in those deeply emotional first moments of alertness.
Photos credit: IMAGO/Barbara Hine/Avalon, Xavier Collin/Image Press Agency/Avalon, Jeffrey Mayer/Avalon, Patricia Schlein/Wenn/Avalon, Jennifer Graylock-Graylock.com/Avalon
she’s working late, cause she’s a singer!
Haha I sang that, too, when I read that part.
Love it
A true diva!
Night owl here too, I always preferred that even when I was little.
I’ve seen her perform on Broadway and in concert, her voice is amazing!
I would love to be able to live like that! The one summer i worked evenings 13-22 was the best!
In her case I’m guessing it’s related to her voice and taking care of it but I am also very much here for quiet time!
I’m fairly extraverted (diminishing as the years go by) but I talk to people for my work and sometimes that’s quite intense as I assess for senior roles among other things. Recently in the middle of a big campaign I had a catch-up day and was gutted when my cleaner rescheduled to come that day and my boyfriend said he’d come home that night instead of the next as I was really looking forward to a full day without speaking to ANYONE (except the cat).
I’ve always been a fan of Kristen and would love to see her perform live someday.
Her husband, also a musician, makes me wonder if they share a similar creative “not before 11am” mindset.
I envy anyone that has a career outside of corporate culture. My co-worker is a night owl and would work late into the evening. But wouldn’t come into the office until 10 or 11am. Every day it was a fight with her manager she wasn’t at her desk by 9am. As I have gotten older my body clock can’t sleep past 7am. I used to sleep till noon on the weekends.
Kristen career is her voice box and is taking care of it like any tool for the longevity and success of her career.
Saw Wicked Sunday and I swear Ariana must have studied her every move, every inflection. Kristin has a new musical opening on Broadway next year, the Queen of Versailles. It’s very much a star vehicle for her, with F. Murray Abraham co-starring, and with music by Wicked’s Stephen Schwartz. It did its pre-Broadway tryout in Boston last summer at my sister’s theater. Kristin was very kind to the theater staff, frequently sending them treats. Especially doughnuts. Kristen loves doughnuts
Science writer here. There’s evidence that night owls are time-shifted because they were the part of the ancient tribes that did the night watch. They kept everyone safe while they slept. Thank you, night owls!
Ah good to know. I’m actually a descendent of a valiant night warrior and not a lazy slacker! I am such a night owl. Always have been.
Ooh – I love to know where I come from! It runs on my dad’s side of the family. He was a night owl and so was his mom and so am i.
How do you Olive Garden “endless salad” through Door Dash? Does the delivery driver just keep running back and forth between the Olive Garden and your home when you want more salad because you’re a star?
Stars! They really aren’t just like us!
Lol, I love that image! I think there’s an option to add refills, but you have to add each refill as if it was a separate item – not totally sure on this because I don’t use Door Dash.
I thought it was so funny and extra of her how she clarified “in this instance” lol
Im another night owl but I dont get up before 12 usually as im not in bed til 4am and I need that 8 hours sleep. The only time I will get up early in the morning is when Im on holiday especially Spain or Greece where I love watching the early sun & I want to do lots of different things throughout the day and the stillness before everyone gets up is calming. This is another reason I like nighttime, the quiet when everyone has gone to bed is something I savour, its wonderful. When I worked in an office I really struggled to go to bed before 11pm and get up before 7am.
My brother is also a night owl but i think years of 4 rotational shift patterns have killed his sense of what ‘normal’ rising & bedtimes are even though he still works on 2 shift patterns, early and late morning shifts.
I wish I didn’t have to get up before 11 as well! Jealous! (she says, having gotten up at 6:30 to go to work). My energy just doesn’t go up before around 11 either.
We do get bad raps! I’m not up all night doing nothing. I am productive in the wee hours. It flew in my house growing up because my father was a night owl too (He was a police officer who gladly worked the overnight shift). Then my mother-in-law met me and made mean comments for years about it. I snapped at her one time: “THIS IS JUST THE WAY I AM.”
Was lucky enough to get tickets and saw her preform in Wicked.. she was amazing. For such a tiny little person (4’11”) she has a huge presence and is so talented. She seems to always have a great sense of humor also. Hard to believe the lighting accident that almost took her life was 12 years ago now.
She is a total diva and I mean that in the best way. Watched her PBS Patsy Cline special cover. She is very extra.
My ideal sleep hours would be 2am to 10. Hélas my real life doesn’t work with that.
I’m with her, honey! I can’t get to sleep before midnight no matter how hard I try!! And I looooooooooove sleeping in.
I prefer sleeping 1am-9am or 2am-10am personally. I cannot go to bed before midnight and was miserable when I used to have a job where I worked 930-530 (not enough sleep during the week, too much on the weekends). Always been a night owl. My mom claims it is because I was born 1 something in the afternoon.
Makes sense when you consider how late Broadway shows run. She probably doesn’t get home until 1-2 am. She’s always given maximum diva energy to me, and I’m here for it. That’s exactly the kind of drama that stage performers should have.
@Kismet – Zig Ziglar used to ask ‘why is it called an alarm clock? who wants to wake up alarmed every day? we need to rethink this and call it an opportunity clock!! We set the opportunity clock. We wake up to opportunity every day.’ I’m paraphrasing, but barely. I’m lucky enough that I go to bed when I’m tired and wake up when I wake up. Sometimes I have long sleeps, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I’m in bed by 8:30, sometimes I’m up at 5. Sometimes I’m in bed by midnight, etc. Right now my life feels pretty aimless, in truth. I’ve lost my purpose, my mission. Maybe I need to start setting my opportunity clock again? Food for thought, anyway.