Sixteen Oklahoma City University musical theatre students have been invited to join alumna Kristin Chenoweth on closing night of her latest show, “My Love Letter to Broadway” at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre in New York City on Nov. 13. Chenoweth’s one-woman Broadway production runs from Nov. 2 to 13 and features some of the songs she has made famous such as “Popular” from the Broadway production of “Wicked” as well as other favorites like “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “Smile”.
Chenoweth is joined on stage each night by special guests and for her closing performance, she asked to be accompanied by students from her alma mater.
“We have so many talented students, we could have sent any number of them,” said Mark Parker, dean of OKCU’s Bass School of Music. “The choice was difficult, we started with senior music theatre majors. We are so fortunate to have the depth and breadth from which to choose at Oklahoma City University.”
The students were invited via email to meet with Dean Parker in his conference room, with no indication of what was in store. “Dean Parker shut the door, and said, ‘I know you all have been guessing and wondering what is going on. I’m going to cut right to the chase. We are flying you all to NYC to perform on Broadway with Kristin Chenoweth in her one-woman show ‘Love Letter to Broadway,’” said senior Spencer Gualdoni.
The students will be accompanying Chenoweth on two songs: “I Was Here”, which is an original song, and “Upon This Rock” which is a nod to her roots in Oklahoma.
Fourteen seniors and two juniors leave for the bright lights of Broadway to join Chenoweth on stage this weekend. “This is truly a dream come true of ours. We hope and pray we can be on Broadway someday, and this dream is coming true,” said Gualdoni.
For more information on Oklahoma City University, visit www.okcu.edu or call 405-208-5050.
