Kristin Chenoweth

Show tunes just won’t die, and Kristin Chenoweth is partly to blame. Her cartoonishly expressive voice conjures the songbirds of Broadway’s bygone era, both on torchy jazz standards and on girdle-busting numbers from shows like Wicked, Candide, and You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown (for which she won a Tony). And Chenoweth doesn’t just sing; she’s a West Wing regular and reportedly is working on a film with Steve Martin. She might become her generation’s Bernadette Peters if she doesn’t watch out. This, her second album, veers from traditional jazz to explore a variety of spirituals.