Kristin Chenoweth hails crowd at Wicked amid Broadway's reopening: 'There's no place like home'

Kristin Chenoweth emerged for the crowd Tuesday evening at New York City’s Gershwin Theatre to greet the audience at the musical Wicked, amid the re-opening of Broadway since the pandemic shutdown a year-and-a-half ago.

‘Hello New York! Okay, so I have to say it … there’s no place like home!’ the 53-year-old entertainer said on the evening the musical reopened, in addition to other high profile shows such as Chicago, Hamilton and The Lion King.

‘I wanted to be here to welcome New York and all of the theatergoers back to what is my favorite show,’ the Tony award-winning performer said, according to The New York Times. ‘The excitement is palpable backstage.’

Happy return: Kristin Chenoweth, 53, emerged for the crowd Tuesday evening at New York City’s Gershwin Theatre to greet the audience at the musical Wicked, amid the re-opening of Broadway since the pandemic shutdown a year-and-a-half ago

Alluding to the coronavirus pandemic, Chenoweth said, ‘If I may, this has been quite a year, and we’re still in it, right?’

The talented entertainer donned a black skirt with silver stitching in the cameo appearance for the high-profile event.

She had her blonde locks down and parted, and accessorized with diamond bracelets and rings for the onstage appearance. 

She noted that Broadway’s return was a mass collaboration between many people as well as the nonprofit org The Actors Fund.  

Beloved: The crowd stood up and applauded the Tony-winning performer 

The musical reopened in addition to other high profile shows such as Chicago, Hamilton and The Lion King 

‘The people in the back, our ushers, our front of the house, the actors,’ she said, ‘things like this don’t just happen; it takes a whole lot of people.’

She joked, ‘I also want to say that my personal favorite relationship is between the audience and the actors – which is probably why I’m in therapy.’

The Oklahoma-born beauty has significant ties to the musical – revised backstory for the classic, The Wizard of Oz – as she played the role of Glinda when it debuted in 2003 on Broadway.

The staple musical has been seen in 100 cities internationally by crowds in excess of 60 million, and began running shows last month in Dallas. 

Stylish: She had her blonde locks down and parted and accessorized with diamond bracelets and rings for the onstage appearance

Credit: Chenoweth noted that Broadway’s return was a mass collaboration between many people as well as the nonprofit org The Actors Fund 

The Oklahoma-born beauty has significant ties to the musical, as she played the role of Glinda when it debuted in 2003 on Broadway