Who knew that the future Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, used to live in Fort Smith?

The Broadway star and actress Kristin Chenoweth revealed in a recent podcast with What’s Up! that some of her earliest memories are of Arkansas, where she lived as a child up until second grade.

“I used to go to all over Arkansas for vacation, and I have relatives that live there in Alma, Arkansas,” she said. “Some of my greatest childhood and early childhood memories are in Arkansas.”

Chenoweth grew up in Broken Arrow, Okla., just southeast of Tulsa, where she started singing in church and studied opera before moving to New York City to pursue theater, among other things. Her husband, Josh Bryant of the band Backroad Anthem, has family in El Dorado, where she’s planning to spend the holidays this year.

The couple were united in marriage in September of 2023. Occasionally, they disagree on football.

“We’re a house divided because, you know, I have to still represent my Sooners, and Josh represents the Razorbacks,” she said, adding that she does wear her Razorback sweatshirt proudly. “I always root for the Razorbacks, you know, unless we play each other.”

The part-time Razorback fan who originated the role of Glinda in the hit Broadway musical, “Wicked” performs a sold out concert at 7 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Walton Arts Center.

“I’ve never sung in Fayetteville,” she said, but her husband “has a lot of stomping ground roots there, so we’re so excited to come.”

Since this is her first time performing in Fayetteville, Chenoweth said she wants to perform a mix of music from her many albums, including 2019’s “For The Girls,” on which she performs well known songs made popular by leading ladies such as Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand and Carole King.

Since her concert is so close to Christmas, Chenoweth said she plans to include some Christmas songs too.

“It’ll be a combination platter,” she said, complete with a six-piece band that includes her husband, back-up singers and more. “It’s a show, not just me and piano!”

In addition to her album, “For the Girls,” Chenoweth has also released “A Lovely Way to Spend Christmas,” (2008), “Some Lessons Learned” (2011), “Coming Home” (2014),” and “The Art of Elegance” (2016) in addition to her many roles on Broadway, TV and cinema.

On TV, she starred in NBC’s “The West Wing” and the comedy drama “Pushing Daisies” and has guest starred on “Glee” and “Sesame Street.” She won a Tony for Best Featured Actress for her role of Sally Brown in “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” and a Tony nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for “Wicked” on Brodway. Next year, she will return to Broadway for “The Queen of Versailles,” which reunites her with Stephen Schwartz who wrote the music and lyrics for “Wicked.”

She describes the upcoming musical based on the 2012 documentary of the same name as a little bit of comedy and a little bit of drama. Sounds a lot like “Wicked,” which just got it’s big screen debut.

Chenoweth is a big fan of the cinematic take on Elphaba’s and Glinda’s musical adventure.

“I really encourage everyone to go see it,” she said. “Movie musicals can be done sometimes very poorly. In this case, Jon M. Chu, the director is amazing. He took it to a Harry Potter-level, but made the story still shine so bright. It’s one of the best movies, honestly, I’ve ever seen. And I say that as a very harsh critic, you know, I sound real sweet, but I’m very much a critic, and I’m really, really proud of it. And there’s a lot of Easter eggs and surprises in it too!”

Chenoweth said that she’s looking forward to spending some time in Northwest Arkansas ahead of her busy holiday season. She said her husband speaks of Fayetteville with a lot of love, and that she knows lots of people who graduated from the university.

“We’re gonna do a campus tour, so they can show me everything,” she said. They’re also planning to hit up some local restaurants and boutiques. “I’m going to come in a day early so I can do all of that!”

FAQ

Kristin Chenoweth

WHAT — Broadway award winning actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth performs a mix of holiday songs and other favorites during a concert in Baum Walker Hall as part of the Land O’ Lakes concert series.

WHEN — 7 p.m. Dec. 3

WHERE — Walton Arts Center in Fayetteville

INFO — waltonartscenter.org

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Listen Here!

Listen to the What’s Up interview with Kristin Chenoweth and features writer Monica Hooper at nwaonline.com//Chenoweth121/.