Kristin Chenoweth to Guest Judge ‘American Idol’

“Pushing Daisies,” ABC’s quirky comedy, are quite familiar with her voice and face. Chenoweth is a dancer/singer with credentials from Broadway, including a Tony award. The NY Daily News is reporting that she will be a replacement judge temporarily on “American Idol,” the Fox hit TV show.

Chenoweth joins Idol regular judges Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell and Kara DioGuardi for the auditions in Orlando to fill Paul Abdul’s sport which she has vacated recently.

On Broadway, Chenoweth was the original Glinda in the Broadway musical “Wicked” in which she earned a Tony nomination, and played Sally Brown which earned her a 1999 Tony Award in a revival on Broadway of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

On television she played opposite Matthew Broderick as the librarian Marian in “The Music Man,” an ABC production. She was also a regular on another ABC show “Pushing Daisies,” where she played Olive Snook, the waitress, in a diner where Ned the lead character bakes pies. Olive is in love with Ned (played by Lee Pace), but Ned is in love with Chuck (played by Anna Friel). Chenoweth received two Emmy nominations for her role in “Pushing Daisies.” While playing Olive, Chenoweth had the opportunity to sing “Eternal Flame,” by the Bangles and “Hopelessly Devoted to You” from the hit show Grease. Ellen Greene, who played the role of Chuck’s aunt, has a Broadway background as well and sang “Birdhouse in Your Soul” as a duet with Chenoweth as well as a solo performance, “Morning Has Broken.”

Chenoweth, as a TV and Broadway songstress and star, comes into her “American Idol” temporary stint with excellent credentials but probably is far too busy to settle in as a permanent judge.

By Julie Harmon On September 13, 2009

All photos made available via creative commons licensing courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

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