Broadway star finds it hard to believe that in all of her years performing she has only done a single show in Tucson 鈥 in 2019 with the as part of the .
After all, she confesses, it鈥檚 not like she is a complete stranger: She鈥檚 snuck into town a time or two for private vacations.
鈥淚 love Tucson a lot,鈥 she said, from the beauty of the Sonoran Desert to the warm dry air that鈥檚 good for her longtime battle with Meniere鈥檚 disease, an inner-ear disorder that causes vertigo, constant ringing in the ears and other annoyances. 鈥淔or my voice and ear issues and stuff, the weather just works for me. So I am really excited 鈥 to come back to Tucson.鈥
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Chenoweth will perform her encore to that 2019 concert Sunday, Jan. 30, at , 17 W. Congress St.
She is performing with backup singers and a full band that includes her fianc茅, country music guitarist .
She and Bryant, who have been together for five years, will do a duet of the Eagles hit 鈥淒esperado鈥 as a nod to Tucson native Linda Ronstadt, who scored a hit with the song in 1973. (Eagles founders Don Henley and Glenn Frey were part of Ronstadt鈥檚 band, and while their version of the song, which they wrote, was released the same year, it did not become a hit until after Ronstadt鈥檚 version.)
Ronstadt is one of the female artists whose songs Chenoweth covered in her seventh studio album 鈥淔or the Girls,鈥 which she premiered on Broadway in November 2019.
鈥淚 had just done it on Broadway and was ready to tour with the show when everything shut down鈥 in March 2020, she said.
鈥淚 never really got to do it so I just started integrating it back into my shows,鈥 she said, including her big 鈥淐hristmas at the Met鈥 show last December.
鈥淔or the Girls鈥 pays tribute to some of Chenoweth鈥檚 favorite female entertainers including Dolly Parton, Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, Carole King and Helen Reddy.
鈥淚 have a fun version of 鈥業 Am Woman鈥 and 鈥榊ou Don鈥檛 Own Me,鈥欌 she said.
She also covers Marvin Hamlisch鈥檚 鈥淭he Way We Were鈥 from the 1974 Streisand/Robert Redford film of the same name, but since the pandemic, the song has taken on profound new meaning for the singer.
鈥淣ow when I go back and sing some of this music, it changes the meaning for me a little bit,鈥 she said after singing the famous opening stanza 鈥 鈥淢emories/Light the corners of my mind/Misty watercolor memories/Of the way we were.鈥
鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 write it if I wanted to,鈥 she said. 鈥淯ltimately it鈥檚 the laughter that makes us be together and remember how we were.鈥
And there will be laughter in her show, Chenoweth said. She has written a couple of silly songs for comic relief and plans to keep the evening upbeat and 鈥渇ull of hope because that鈥檚 what we need,鈥 she said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I need right now so I鈥檓 imagining that鈥檚 what everyone wants,鈥 Chenoweth said.
Her Fox Tucson show is one of a handful she will do since returning to live performances last summer. Her first post-shutdown live show was a sold-out outdoor concert with Utah Symphony in Park City, Utah.
鈥淚 walked out there, and I heard the downbeat on the music, and I didn鈥檛 expect the audience to stand,鈥 she said, recalling how every one of the nearly 5,000 people in the amphitheater was standing. 鈥淚t was beautiful.鈥
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
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