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Kristin Chenoweth, 57, is back on Broadway after a 10-year hiatus, and she couldn’t help but notice that “so much has changed” while she was away! The biggest difference for the notorious workaholic? A new emphasis on self-care. “It’s been 10 years and so much has changed, Reese,” she told Reese Witherspoon, 49, in a conversation for Interview Magazine on Oct. 30. “I’m from the old school era where we do eight shows a week. You got a broken ankle? Take it up. You got a sore throat? Go on. Now it’s very different. There’s a lot to learn from the younger generation about self-care. I’m still getting used to that.” “People like you and I have to be careful about overworking and not getting burnt out,” she continued. “I’m not proud of it, but it’s all I know how to do.” Most recently, Chenoweth said she worked through a nasty case of RSV… while wearing PPE, of course. “I wore my mask and just kept going,” she said. The Wicked icon is making her Broadway comeback in The Queen of Versailles, a new musical based on the life of Jackie and David Siegel as told through Lauren Greenfield’s 2012 documentary film. Chenoweth’s longtime Wicked collaborator, composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, adapted the film with Chenoweth in mind. “When he said to me, ‘After Wicked, I’m going to write your next Broadway show.’ I thought, ‘Sure, yeah. We’ll see.'” she remembered. “Then right when COVID hit, Michael Arden and the writer Lindsey Ferrentino… called me and said, ‘This is your role. You better take it and run,’ and it was The Queen of Versailles.” “I said, ‘That documentary about the white billionaire family? Are we sure?'” she continued. “He played me one song and I went, ‘Yes.'” Playing the real-life billionaire rushing to build a mansion before the 2008 housing crisis alongside costar F. Murray Abraham has proven to be a welcome challenge for Chenoweth. “This piece is a real person. It’s not a fairy tale. She goes through some hard stuff, and she’s alive right now,” said Chenoweth of the role. “I’m not doing an imitation, I’m doing my version of her, which seemed like more of a challenge.” 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 With The Queen of Versailles now in previews at the St. James Theatre and set to run through March 2026, Chenoweth is feeling great about it. “I just turned 57 last week and I thought, ‘I’m so glad I made this decision,” she said. “I’m doing hot yoga and everything else I can. [Laughs] But I still want to be challenged, I still want to work hard, and I still love it.”
