Newlywed Kristin Chenoweth shares her best marriage advice — and her thoughts on the new ‘Wicked’ movie

During her recent visit to Salt Lake City, Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth shared the story of her adoption and the power of knowing your family history. She also talked about her marriage to musician Josh Bryant, to the delight of the 2024 RootsTech conference audience.

“You recently got married,” moderator Kirby Heyborne said.

“I finally got married,” Chenoweth quipped.

The “Wicked” star shared how she and Bryant, a guitarist in the country-rock band Backroad Anthem, reconnected about a year and a half after the band played at her niece’s wedding.

She said that Bryant told her he wanted to “court” her — “I said, ‘Were you born in 1945?’” Chenoweth joked.

When Bryant proceeded to ask Chenoweth where she would be performing the following weekend — Boone, North Carolina — the Tony Award-winning singer didn’t think much of it.

“I don’t have time. I’m going to be single forever, I’m a bachelorette, I had been the runaway bride twice,” Chenoweth, 55, recalled thinking. “And he showed up in Boone and that’s all she wrote.”

Chenoweth and Bryant got married in September 2023. Now, six months into her marriage, Chenoweth opened up with reporters at RootsTech about the best marriage advice she’s received — and her thoughts about the upcoming “Wicked” movie.

Kristin Chenoweth shares the best marriage advice she’s received

After meeting at her niece’s wedding, Chenoweth and Bryant formed a friendship and communicated primarily through FaceTime and email due to their busy schedules. But when Bryant later wound up performing at another wedding in Chenoweth’s family — this time, her nephew’s — they decided to give dating a try. They dated for a few years before marrying on Sept. 2, 2023.

Chenoweth told reporters at RootsTech that, throughout their relationship, she’s enjoyed learning about her husband’s family history — including the fact that musical talent and a love of music is a common thread throughout the generations.

Chenoweth was adopted when she was five days old and raised by chemical engineers who didn’t necessarily understand the arts, though they offered her a world of support, she said. She was eventually inspired to meet her birth mother, in part, because she wanted a better understanding of where her own musical talents came from.

Since getting married, Chenoweth’s schedule has remained busy. She recently wrapped filming on a movie with Lindsay Lohan. She’s got a string of performances this spring and, as she revealed to reporters at RootsTech, she may or may not be in the upcoming “Wicked” movie, which hits theaters Nov. 27.

But she still finds the time to put into practice the best marriage advice she said she’s ever received.

“Keep dating your spouse,” she said adamantly. “Don’t marry them; date them.”

Kristin Chenoweth opens up about new ‘Wicked’ movie

Chenoweth lights up when talking about the new “Wicked” movie, which comes on the heels of the Broadway musical’s 20th anniversary. Chenoweth and Idina Menzel originated the roles of Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in 2003. The production went on to win three Tony Awards, and remains one of the most popular musicals on Broadway two decades later.

“When we opened, we got not the best reviews, and Idina was quite upset,” Chenoweth told reporters at RootsTech. “And I said to her, ‘Girl, at the end of Act 1, you are flying and defying gravity. … It ain’t gonna matter what the critics think. Let’s listen to the audience. And that audience leapt to their feet and we knew we had a hit. Did we know it was going to be a juggernaut? No.”

Per Broadway.com, “Wicked” remains one of the best-selling musicals on Broadway. Now, a new two-part movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo is about to bring the story to a new generation.

And it makes Chenoweth “really excited.”

“Ariana Grande is taking my role, and I’ve known her since she was 9,” Chenoweth said. “I was like, ‘Would there be a world that my little baby, Ariana, plays me?’ And this happened, and we both cried. And then Cynthia Erivo is one of the most spectacular artists of our time, this voice is otherworldly.”

The new “Wicked” adaptation will be told in two parts, with the second film releasing in November 2025. Some fans were surprised by the two-part format considering the musical has a 2 hour and 45 minute runtime, as the Deseret News reported. But that’s part of director Jon Chu’s (”Crazy Rich Asians”) efforts to put his own stamp on the story.

“(Chu) said, ‘I’ve got to go completely different from the original. I needed to because you guys (me and Idina) made our marks in that so strong, we had to do something different,’” Chenoweth said. I really admire the way he did it.”

As to whether Chu pays tribute to the original by having Chenoweth and Menzel appear in cameos, Chenoweth remains tight-lipped.

“I can’t confirm or deny whether we’re in it or not,” she said. “I just can say that it’s going to be spectacular.”