Chenoweth Travels Yet Another Avenue

Kristin Chenoweth. Remember the name. If the quickly rising career arc of the Oklahoma-born musical theater singing star is any indication, she will be around for some time to come. In fact, NBC has already earmarked “Kristin,” a sitcom in which she plays a small-town Oklahoma girl pursuing Broadway stardom, to premiere this spring.

On Thursday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s Founders Hall, however, Chenoweth was exploring yet another creative avenue in a performance she described as her first cabaret show. But it will take considerably more experience with the unique intimacy of the small stage environment before she can match the success of her 1999 Tony-winning performance as Sally in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

Small, blond and buoyant, Chenoweth has a remarkable voice. Its speaking qualities are the perfect expression for every feisty-but-cute musical comedy character. Its vocal qualities, in their rougher moments, can come close to stridence, a tendency enhanced by the rapid vibrato she employs.

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But she also revealed a surprising musical and dramatic range. On one number, she moved easily from her little-girl voice to wide-open operatic belting. She handled rapid patter numbers with precise articulation. And in the highlight of the set, she sang “My Funny Valentine” with a beautifully contained tone and a clear understanding of the lyrical heart of the song.

In that brief number, Chenoweth revealed her real potential in this sort of setting. Given a program more finely attuned to her special skills, and with a better understanding of the person-to-person focus that cabaret requires, she could add this genre to her list of successes.

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Kristin Chenoweth, today at 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. at Founders Hall, Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. $45 and $49. (213) 365-3500 and (714) 740-7878. Also Friday at Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University, Malibu, 8 p.m. $30. (310) 456-4522.