It is a credit to Ms. Chenoweth's sweetness that her memoir avoids devolving into a self-congratulatory parade for her own achievements. For make no mistake; this lady of music, theatre and television wasn't sitting at the back of the bus when the supreme being -- insert your preferred deity here -- was handing out talent. As if it wasn't already enough to possess a lovely voice, a keen mind, and an innocent's spirit, she must also be able to claim an actor's aptitude and a charmer's wit? If I was a woman, I'd be green with envy.
And yet the lives of the blessed aren't always as effortless as we might expect. In A Little Bit Wicked, Ms. Chenoweth charts her uneven rise to moderate stardom: her personal struggles, her problematic relationships, and her moments of indecision. In this, she exposes her humanity to those of us who only ever see the finished product, the actor in a role, the creature in the magazine. It's a lesson about celebrity most of us could stand to learn, that those we see in our media come to us polished, packaged. It's what makes them seem larger than life, more than human. But we can't forget that they are still like us, worthy of admiration, not devotion.
This is a charming ride through a world few of us will ever experience. The spiritualism is a bit much and, despite being a total West Wing lover,Ms. Chenoweth's on-again/off-again flirtation with Aaron Sorkin grows tiresome, but this is a charming read that animates a real person behind all the performer's masks. Real enough to sink ones teeth into. (3/5 Stars)
No comments:
Post a Comment