Her 19-date North American tour, which began May 9 in Seattle, Wash., is the first concert tour of her career. After appearing at the Hippodrome, the tour will continue on to Washington, D.C., Toronto, Chicago, Ill., Minneapolis, Minn., Atlanta, Ga., and will wrap up in Chenoweth’s hometown of Broken Arrow, Okla. on June 24.

“I’ve sung all over the place, but I’ve never committed to a tour because of my schedule,” Chenoweth told The Associated Press. “So now I’m finally doing it.”

The concert appearance will feature Chenoweth performing songs from her latest country-pop album Some Lessons Learned, as well as her most beloved songs from stage and screen including “Popular” from Wicked and songs from her appearances on TV’s Glee.

“If I don’t do ‘Popular,’ I will probably go out on a stretcher. I know that,” she told the AP, laughing. “I’ve accepted it, and you know what? I’m thankful for it. I’m glad that I have songs that I’m known for.”

Chenoweth has had an extraordinarily diverse career and found success across many entertainment mediums. After earning a master’s degree in Opera Performance from Oklahoma City University, she headed to New York for the bright lights of Broadway. She quickly found success, where she won a Tony Award for her role as Sally Brown in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown in 1999. She later originated the role of Glinda in the smash musical Wicked, which earned her a Tony nomination and catapulted her to national prominence. She last appeared on Broadway as Fran Kubelik in Promises, Promises, alongside Sean Hayes, in 2010.

No stranger to television audiences, Chenoweth won an Emmy Award for her performance as Olive Snook in the dramedy Pushing Daisies in 2009. She is also known for her roles as Annabeth Schott in The West Wing and April Rhodes in Glee, for which she earned two Emmy nominations, in 2010 and 2011 respectively.

Chenoweth’s film credits include Bewitched, The Pink Panther, Running With Scissors, Stranger Than Fiction, Four Christmases, RV, and upcoming films Ed Zwick’s Family Weekend and Hit & Run.

Chenoweth recently charmed television audiences with her starring role in ABC TV’s dramedy GCB. Based on the Kin Gatlin novel Good Christian Bitches, the show follows the lives, loves, and exploits of a group of affluent Texas women. The show was not without controversy, as Christian critics derided the original series name. The title was eventually changed from Good Christian Bitches to Good Christian Belles and, finally, GCB.

Reviews for the show were mixed, but critics praised Chenoweth’s performance as the devoutly sassy and conniving Carlene Cockburn. GCB found a small but loyal fan base. Despite its cult-following, the show struggled to find its footing with Sunday night audiences and ABC announced GCB’s cancellation on May 11. An online petition, SaveGCB.com, has been launched by fans hoping to convince ABC to bring the series back next season.

“Our entire ensemble of actors on GCB are saddened,” Chenoweth tweeted in response to the cancellation.

Many may be surprised to find out that Chenoweth is both a long time outspoken supporter of LGBT community and a devout Christian. While many may perceive that to be contradictory, Chenoweth insists it’s possible to be both.

“If it was a sin to be short, what would I do? Well I’d be right on the hell bus. I don’t believe God makes mistakes, and that includes a person’s sexuality,” she recently told Piers Morgan in an interview with CNN.

Chenoweth expounded on that later when she told ABC News: ‘Why is being gay bad?’ “I didn’t understand it. So I asked my grandma, who is the best Christian I ever knew. I’d say ‘What about my friend Denny, he’s gay, is he going to hell?’ She told me, ‘I read the Bible like I eat fish. I take the meat that serves me well and I don’t choke on the bone.”

Kristin Chenoweth In Concert
Saturday, June 9 • 8pm • $55-350
Hippodrome Theatre
12 N. Eutaw St. • 410-547-SEAT
France-MerrickPAC.com
Ticketmaster.com