Actress Kristin Chenoweth, who famously originated the role of Glinda in Broadway’s “Wicked,” recently learned that she had a surprising connection to a stage adaptation of “The Wizard of Oz.” This comes almost 23 years after she portrayed the beloved character and even appeared in the film version of “Wicked,” but in a different role.
Chenoweth appeared on “Finding Your Roots with Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,” in February 2026. During the episode, Gates showed the actress a newspaper clipping featuring one of her relatives, Billy Eugene Ethridge.
Kristin Chenoweth Realized She Had Much In Common With Her Relative
GettyAfter being presented with the clipping, according to PEOPLE, Chenoweth began to read from it, saying, “The junior players guild production of The Wizard of Oz, opening at 8 p.m. Friday at the Great Hall of St. Matthew’s Cathedral. The cast of the Wizard is as follows: Oz, Billy Eugene Ethridge.”
She then reacted, “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Is that not freaky? That’s nuts. The Wizard of Oz? Wow. Well, we were a lot alike!” Gates then revealed that Ethridge had appeared in productions of “The King and I” and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.”
Chenoweth responded to the revelation, “You know, I think of Billy as a Rockabilly. He was an incredible guitarist and also a pianist. But I don’t think of him as this musical theater kid. But he was!”
When asked if the familiar connection made her believe in fate, she responded, “It does, right? Right there!”
She Recently Returned to Broadway
Chenoweth has appeared in multiple Broadway productions, including “On the Twentieth Century,” which ended in 2015. More recently, she starred in “The Queen of Versailles” as Jackie Siegel. The play began previews in October 2025 and then officially opened on November 9, 2025.
However, the show ended early on December 21. Chenoweth addressed the audience on the final night of the show. Per PEOPLE, she said, “You are such a special audience because you were here on the final performance of The Queen of Versailles.
I just want to thank you for choosing to come to something that’s new. We choose a big swing, and we are so proud of where we landed, so proud.”
She also discussed her castmates, saying, “You know, the cast is always saying to me, ‘Oh, Kristin, you lift us up.’ I say, ‘No, you lift me up, so it’s a beautiful circle.’ And we love, love each other like family. This will be a very hard one to say goodbye to. But never goodbye. I always say, ‘To be continued.'”
