Judy Garland, like most great conversations start, is top of mind. 

“As I came to understand and learn more about her, a sidebar that I appreciated was the fact that she was so petite, she was also 4’11”. Not a lot of people know that right? She was tiny. And, I always thought of her as a little girl with a big voice and knowing that the studio’s snubbed her at first and wanted her to look a certain way and act a certain way. She was a unique talent. She gave in a little bit, but she always returned to who she was. To me, that is why her music stood out.”   

Kristin Chenoweth is describing Garland’s iconic influence on her own career. 

The same could be said for Chenoweth herself. Now 51, the Broken Arrow, Okla.-born songstress has a resume that reads longer than a CVS receipt. She’s a Tony and Emmy Award winning actress who’s mark on stage, film, television, recorded music and the literary world is immeasurable. She’s petite with a voice that defies gravity. 

Her seventh studio album, For The Girls(via Concord Records) is a stunning tribute to the females that inspired her. Featuring such covers as Garland’s “The Man That Got Away,” Dinah Washington’s “What a Diff’rence A Day Made” Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” and nine other poignant tunes, Chenoweth describes it as an homage to the women and chose songs that have stood the test of time. 

Chenoweth’s voice on the other end of the line is the same delightful, youthful-sounding one that gives such awe to audiences when she sings. She sounds humble and all together refreshed as if this is the first interview of the day. No doubt she’s been talking for hours upon hours, answering the same questions over and over. 

Maybe it’s her Midwestern upbringing that allows her to be so polite and patient. Her instant rapport is felt on the other line, the same magic Broadway audiences have encountered from her since 1999’s Sally in You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown, for which she garnered the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress. Or maybe it’s the cult favorite character in her Emmy-winning role as Olive Snook in Pushing Daisies that folks remember. Lots of people associate her with the Good Witch herself, Glinda from Wicked.  

Chenoweth’s love for music and the songs on For The Girlsis equally refreshing. It’s evident when she’s talking about Linda Ronstadt. The 12^thsong on the album, “Desperado” was written by the Eagles’ Glenn Frey and Don Henley. Ronstadt covered the track in 1973. Chenoweth and her key collaborator, producer Steve Tyrell, backed “Desperado” with full orchestration to make it more Chenoweth’s style. 

“I think that she would appreciate that because she also had a voice that did a lot of things,” Chenoweth said. “Remember she did Pirates of Penzance, she had rock albums, country albums, Spanish albums, so that’s another major influence on me as a musician, as an admirer.”

Chenoweth hasn’t spoken to Ronstadt about the song.

“I just would love to talk with her and just say ‘wow.’ I can’t believe it, you know, what all she’s done,” Chenoweth said. “I can honestly tell her thank you. For a kid in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, listening to someone do it all is very inspiring.”

Trimming down For The Girlsto just 12 songs proved challenging, she said. She chose the songs to form an arc, as to tell a story from beginning, middle to end. She said among the songs that were tough to leave out included Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” 

She laughed, saying these will be included in ‘part two.” She couldn’t believe she didn’t include more 80s songs. One such band from her past (that did require a Google search from this writer) included a multi-platinum recording artist from Poland. 

“Do you remember the band Basia?” Chenoweth asked. “She had a great album in the 80s, I wore her out! There’s a lot of songs. And, I don’t know why the 80s…they are ignored! I got the 70s, I got every era on there. I don’t have the 80s and that’s when I grew up.” 

Chenoweth is a graduate of Oklahoma City University with a Master’s degree in Opera Performance. She is an inductee into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame, as well as the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Because of her training she attributes the longevity of her career, as well as the ease in performing at the annual Christmas concert with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Her mentor and teacher at OCU, gave her tough lessons, but prepared her to sing “in front of 25 people or 25,000 people.” The event will be televised on BYUtv and PBS this December. 

She grew up watching the Choir every Christmas and found the experience to be an example of music’s universal language. 

“This is a massive, massive church,” she said. “There’s not any seat that has something in the way. To look out and see nothing but people and not having to move around or duck, that was a big one. And, to be there with the orchestra and the choir…it’s a rite of passage.”

She said one of the most moving moments comes with the brass orchestra’s performance of “Hark The Herald Angel’s Sing.” 

“I dare anyone not to cry,” she said. 

Off stage, Chenoweth offers simple, but sage advice to younger girls and women looking to find their own voice. Not necessarily in music, but in life. She credits her mom, friends and many women artists for teaching her along the way to not be afraid to take a chance. 

“There’s a very small percentage of life that you are sure of yourself,” Chenoweth, who authored a memoir in 2009 called A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages, said. “The more time goes on, the more you can believe.”

For the many girls that grew up singing “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and believing “there’s no place like home,” Chenoweth, too, loved The Wizard of Oz. Though many think her favorite character besides Dorothy Gale would be the Glinda The Good Witch, Chenoweth defies expectations with her other favorite character. Her smile can be felt on the other line when she says, “Toto of course!”