Kristin Chenoweth Eyes Broadway Return in On the Twentieth Century

Kristin Chenoweth may be headed back to Broadway as imperious actress Lily Garland in a Broadway revival of the 1978 musical On the Twentieth Century. The actress and Hugh Jackman co-starred in a reading of the show earlier this year, and Chenoweth mentioned it as her next stage project on the September 13 episode of The View.

On the Twentieth Century features a Tony-winning score by Cy Coleman, Betty Comden and Adolph Green and a Tony-winning book by Comden and Green. Set on a cross-country train trip, the show centers on the volatile relationship between diva-esque Lily Garland (to be played by Chenoweth) and director Oscar Jaffe (played in the reading by Jackman). The roles were created on Broadway by Tony nominee Madeline Kahn and Tony winner John Cullum, with Kevin Kline in a Tony-winning debut performance as Lily’s young lover Bruce Granit. Hal Prince’s original production ran for 449 performances. A 2005 Actors Fund benefit performance starred Marin Mazzie and Douglas Sills.

Chenoweth, who was voted 2010 Star of the Year by Broadway.com readers, most recently appeared on Broadway in Promises, Promises. A Tony winner for You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, she was nominated for a Tony for creating the role of Glinda in Wicked. On television, she won an Emmy for Pushing Daisies, had featured roles in Glee and The West Wing and stars in the forthcoming series Good Christian Belles.

Jackman earned a Best Actor Tony for his splashy Broadway debut as Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz and co-starred with Daniel Craig in the play A Steady Rain. He has been eyeing a Broadway run of his 2011 solo concert and will play Jean Valjean in the forthcoming movie adaptation of Les Miserables, co-starring with Russell Crowe as Javert.