Kristin Chenoweth, the Tony-winning actress who originated the role of Glinda in Wicked back in 2003, has uncovered a surprising family connection to The Wizard of Oz.
The Shocking Revelation on Finding Your Roots
During a recent episode of PBS’s Finding Your Roots hosted by Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr., the 57-year-old performer learned that her late relative, Billy Eugene Ethridge, appeared in a local production of The Wizard of Oz.
Gates presented an old newspaper clipping detailing the Junior Players Guild’s staging at St. Matthew’s Cathedral Great Hall. Chenoweth read aloud: “The junior players guild production of The Wizard of Oz, opening at 8pm Friday at the Great Hall of St. Matthew’s Cathedral. The cast of the Wizard is as follows: Oz, Billy Eugene Ethridge.”
Visibly stunned, she reacted, “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? Is that not freaky? That’s nuts. Wow. Well, we were a lot alike!”
Ethridge’s Theater Background
The discovery extended further, revealing Ethridge’s deep involvement in musical theater. He performed in productions like The King and I and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, and participated in school choir and dance revues.
Chenoweth reflected, “You know, I think of Billy as a Rockabilly. He was an incredible guitarist and also pianist. But I don’t think of him as this musical theater kid – but he was!”
When Gates asked if this link made her believe in fate, she replied, “It does, right? Right there!” She added wistfully, “Oh, I wish he was alive so I could just be like, ‘Look at this!'”
Chenoweth’s Recent Broadway Triumph
Chenoweth recently starred in and produced Queen of Versailles, a musical adaptation of the 2012 documentary about billionaire Jackie Siegel’s ambitious 90,000-square-foot Florida mansion project.
The show premiered on Broadway at the St. James Theatre on November 9, 2025, after previews starting October 8. It closed earlier than planned on December 21, 2025, ahead of its original January 2026 date.
Directed by Michael Arden with music by Stephen Schwartz, the production featured Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham as Jackie’s late husband, “Timeshare King” David Siegel. This marked Chenoweth’s first Broadway musical in a decade, following her roles in On the Twentieth Century.
In a dressing room video from November, she shared, “I just want to say that I’m so proud of this new art that we’ve created. It’s getting harder and harder to do, so I think about all the shows in the past couple of seasons that have come and gone that, you know, not everybody got to see. I just love Broadway so much, and I love audiences and a live art form.”
She expressed gratitude to audiences who supported the run in Midtown Manhattan.
