Book Review: A Little Bit Wicked by Kristin Chenoweth

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun, chatty look at Kristin's life
Cons: A little light on details
The Bottom Line:
Kristin's many fans
Will delight in this bio
Light but worth reading




A Little Bit Wicked is a Whole Lot Enjoyable

I first fell in love with Kristin Chenoweth when she won her Tony award for Sally Brown in the revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.  Watching her perform "My New Philosophy" during the awards that year was an absolute pleasure.  As a fan boy, I knew I would read her autobiography, A Little Bit Wicked, as soon as I heard about it.  And I had the added joy of getting an autographed copy (without turning into too much of a babbling idiot).  The book was as much a joy to read as one of Kristin's performances is to watch.

Told in parallel, more modern events transitioning to stories from early in her life and career, we get a sense of the woman who has one Tony and multiple nominations to her credit.  Through stories of her early years, we see the family that gave her a solid base on which to build.  We see the early luck and the early struggles that put her in the right place and the right time for her star to shine.

While she never gets into the private details, we do learn a bit more about her relationship with Aaron Sorkin (aka Mr. Writer), the controversies stirred up by her second CD promotional tour including visits to the 700 Club and being fired from Women of Faith, and her decisions to pose for FMH.  And yes, we get a few stories from her time in Wicked, her first TV show (huge hit Kristin, canceled after six episodes, not West Wing), and Charlie Brown.

The book has a warm, friendly tone to it.  It didn't take much for me to picture Kristin sitting in a room telling me these stories personally.  And her sense of humor comes through loud and clear.  In fact, I had to stop reading once I was laughing so hard.  Beside that one, I got several laughs and chuckles out of the story.  And the book moved me to tears a few times as well.

Kristin has no problems taking time out from telling her story to share her thoughts on issues brought up by her life.  While she never waxes long on these tangents, we do get her philosophy on adoption, peace vs. hate, and God to name a few.  But these items never slow down the book.

In fact, there's no slowing this book down.  I read it in large gulps.  The writing flows smoothly, however I did notice more typos than were truly necessary for a book.  (And if I noticed them, they have to be bad, right?)  That's a minor complaint over all.

The book seems a tad light on details.  For instance, there is hardly any talk of her movie career outside of a couple brief mentions.  And I'm always looking for more stories on the behind the scenes life of shows I loved.  She shared some stories, but I would have gladly read more.  At 230 pages, seems like there could have been room for them without boring us.

On the other hand, she does change names when dishing the little dirt she does.  And if you are looking for the real dirt on her relationship with Aaron Sorkin, you'll have to look elsewhere.  While she easily acknowledges the highs and lows, she doesn't tell us what exactly leads to them.  The half chapter written by Aaron is equally free of negative details.  Honestly, I can respect that much more than I can airing dirty laundry in public.

A Little Bit Wicked is written solely for Kristin Chenoweth's many fans.  And they will absolutely love it.