WITH US HERE ON THE LOCAL VIBE IN JUST A FEW SHORT COURSE UNIVERSITY WILL HOLD THEIR FINAL FACE TO FACE FORM OF THE SEASON. IT WILL FEATURE AWARD WINNING ACTRESS KRISTIN CHENOWETH IN CONVERSATION WITH OUR NEXT LIVE GUEST. SO THIS IS PRETTY EXCITING. JOINING US LIVE NOW IS BOB MONDELLO. HE’S A SENIOR ARTS CRITIC AT NPR, AND HE WILL ALSO BE INTERVIEWING KRISTEN FOR HER FACE TO FACE. REALLY GREAT TO HAVE YOU. GOOD MORNING, BOB. IT’S WONDERFUL TO BE HERE. THANK YOU. SO FIRST OFF, LET’S TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST WHEN YOU WILL BE SPEAKING WITH KRISTEN HERE IN WINSTON SALEM. WELL, OBVIOUSLY, I WANT TO KNOW HOW SHE DOES THE AMAZING STUFF SHE DOES ON STAGE. SHE’S AN INCREDIBLE PERFORMER. AND, YOU KNOW, I’VE SEEN HER LOTS OF TIME. WHAT I WHAT I WANT TO TALK TO HER ABOUT IS HOW ONE DOES WHAT SHE DOES. AND THEN I ALSO WANT TO SHE’S A SHE’S A SERIOUS THINKER. SHE’S A SHE’S GOT A MASTERS IN PERFORMANCE. SHE IS AN INTERESTING PERSONALITY IN THE ARTS. AND I WANT TO TALK TO HER A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT WE’RE DOING UP ON THAT STAGE. THE FACE TO FACE SERIES IS LARGELY PEOPLE LIKE MADELEINE ALBRIGHT. AND AND PRESIDENT BUSH WAS JUST THERE. WHAT IS CULTURE AND THE ARTS DOING ON THE SAME STAGE AS THOSE FOLKS? SO I WANT TO GO GO INTO THAT A LITTLE BIT AND, YOU KNOW, JUST GENERALLY PICK HER BRAIN ABOUT THE ART OF MAKING ART. AND BOB, YOU KNOW, WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN THAT HAS CHANGED THE MOST? YOU’VE BEEN COVERING THE ARTS SINCE THE 1980S ON NPR. I’M SURE YOU’VE SEEN A LOT EVOLVE OVER TIME, RIGHT? YEAH. WELL, WHEN I STARTED, I’M MOSTLY A FILM CRITIC THERE, AND I’M YOU KNOW, WHEN I STARTED, IT WAS WE WERE WATCHING FILMS THAT FILMS AND FILMSTRIPS AND EVERYTHING. IT’S ALL DIGITAL NOW, RIGHT? THE THE, THE WAY IT’S PROJECTED. YOU DON’T HAVE FILM BREAKS THE WAY YOU DID WHEN I WAS A KID OR WHEN I STARTED DOING THIS. AND FILMS HAVE GOTTEN SO MUCH GRANDER, YOU KNOW, BACK IN THE 1980S WHEN I STARTED OUT, THERE WERE A FEW BLOCKBUSTERS EVERY YEAR. NOW THERE’S A BLOCKBUSTER EVERY SECOND WEEK. MARVEL EXIST BACK THEN, OR AT LEAST THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE DIDN’T. SO THE KINDS OF FILMS I’M REVIEWING THESE DAYS ARE VERY DIFFERENT FROM THE FROM THE INDEPENDENT FILMS AND THE MID-LEVEL ROMANTIC COMEDIES THAT WERE THE MAINSTAYS OF THE 1980S. IT’S A IT’S A DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENT OUT THERE THAT MAKES SENSE. AND YOU MENTIONED YOU LOVE WHAT KRISTEN DOES. YOU KNOW, ON THE SCREEN. SHE’S AN EMMY AND TONY AWARD WINNING ACTRESS AND SINGER. SO OBVIOUSLY YOU PROBABLY TOUCH ON THAT, BUT SHE’S FAMOUS FOR A LOT OF ROLES. DO YOU HAVE ANY FAVORITES OR OH, HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE HER IN I MEAN, YOU KNOW, SHE’S JUST SHE’S AMAZING. YEAH, SHE IS. WELL, ACTUALLY, I THINK THE THING THAT EVERYONE WILL HAVE SEEN IS SCHMIGADOON. WHICH IS WHICH IS JUST BEEN IN RECENTLY. AND SHE’S ABOUT TO START IN CHICAGO. I THINK THEY’RE CALLING IT, WHICH WAS THOSE ARE APPLE TV. APPLE PLUS SHOWS UP ABOUT MUSICAL COMEDY, ABOUT THE PLACE HER IN A WORLD OF MUSICAL COMEDY. AND SHE PLAYS A VERY STERN AND INTERESTING CHARACTER AND SHE’S KIND OF FASCINATING IN IT BECAUSE IT’S A CHARACTER THAT YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO NOT LIKE VERY MUCH, BUT YOU CAN’T HELP LIKING HER. SO SHE’S JUST GREAT. WELL, IN THAT, YOU KNOW, BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION OF HER HAVING QUITE A BROAD APPEAL TO SO MANY AUDIENCE AUDIENCES. IN YOUR OPINION, WHY DO YOU THINK THAT IS? WELL, TALENT COUNTS A LOT. SHE’S SHE’S WRITTEN A COUPLE OF BOOKS. ONE OF THEM IS A MEMOIR IN WHICH SHE TALKS ABOUT GROWING UP AS A IN A TRADITIONAL CHRISTIAN HOUSEHOLD IN OKLAHOMA AND GROWING TO THE GREAT WHITE WAY. THE BROADWAY, WHICH IS POPULATED BY A, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PROGRESSIVE, WHO ARE IN A DIFFERENT MINDSET, PERHAPS IT’S NOT A NATURAL TRANSITION TO GO FROM OKLAHOMA TO NEW YORK, AND SHE’S ACHIEVED IT IN A GLORIOUS WAY, PARTLY BECAUSE SHE’S JUST REALLY ACCESSIBLE AND SHE’S SHE’S WONDERFUL AT COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE. WHEN YOU SEE HER IN A ROLE, I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE I’M I’M SORT OF RIGHT THERE IN THAT SHE’S CONFIDING IN ME. SHE DOES THIS NEAT LITTLE THING WITH HER VOICE WHERE SHE SHE SAYS SOMETHING UNDER HER BREATH, LIKE, I DON’T REALLY KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS. AND AND YOU JUST SORT OF, OH, WAIT, I’LL WRITE. SHE’S JUST AND YOU’RE SAYING SHE’S IN THE WORDS OF HER BIG SONG IN WICKED. SHE IS POPULAR, RIGHT? RIGHT. YOU SAID IT RIGHT THERE, BOB. NOW, BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE THIS MORNING, WILL YOU PLEASE GIVE US THE INSIDE SCOOP OF THE TINY DESK CONCERTS THAT YOUR PUTS ON? THEY’RE AMAZING. I KNOW THIS IS ONE OF THE BIG PERKS OF WORKING AT NPR. YOU, YOU. YOU’RE IN THERE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, THERE’S BONO OR, YOU KNOW, HARRY STYLES OR, YOU KNOW, IT’S JUST EVERY COUPLE OF DAYS SOMEBODY COMES IN AND DOES A CONCERT IN AND IT’S ALWAYS ACOUSTIC AND IT CAN BE ANYTHING. WE’VE HAD BROADWAY MUSICALS. IN FACT, THE CAST OF WICKED WAS JUST. AND THEN SOMETIMES IT’S A BRASS BAND AND SOMETIMES IT’S A RAPPER. AND IT’S IT’S JUST FASCINATING. AND I HAVE SEEN EVERYBODY FROM JACKSON BROWN, JUDGE JUDY COLLINS TO I MEAN, IT’S IT’S AMAZING. AND EVERYBODY SORT OF FLOCKS UP TO THAT LITTLE CORNER WHERE HAD THE TIME AND WE WATCH AND JUST, YOU KNOW, YOU CHEER BRIEFLY AND THEN A COUPLE OF WEEKS LATER, IT SHOWS UP ON THE WEB AND EVERYBODY GETS TO SEE IT. IT’S MAGIC. IT’S IT’S JUST AND, YOU KNOW, THERE’S NOTHING QUITE LIKE SEEING A PERFORMER, PARTICULARLY A BROADWAY PERFORMER, YOU KNOW, PROJECTING WHAT THEY WOULD BE PROJECTING TO A HOUSE OF THOUSANDS, TO A TO AN AUDIENCE OF ABOUT 50 PEOPLE THERE. IT’S MAGIC. OH, I BET OUR STAFF HERE IS QUITE JEALOUS OF YOU, BOB. WELL, GOOD. THAT’S WHY WE DO IT. IT WAS A PLEASURE TO HAVE YOU ON OUR SHOW. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR TIME AND FOR EVERYONE AT HOME. THE SEASON’S FINAL FACE TO FACE SPEAKER FORUM IS ON APRIL 12TH. MARK YOUR CALENDAR IS TAKING PLACE AT THE L J V M COLISEUM AT WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY. AS YOU CAN HEAR FROM BOB’S CONVERSATION AND ALSO SPEAKING ABOUT KRISTEN, IT WILL BE A SOLD OUT SHOW, I’M SURE. AND TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS, HEAD TO THE WEBSITE YOU SEE THERE ON YOUR SCREEN FACE TO