Kristin Chenoweth loves her ‘wackadoo’
Character makes a real impression in second season of NBC’s “Trial & Error”
Disorder in the court is back on the docket on NBC’s “Trial & Error,” which returned for a second season last week (Thursdays, 9 EDT/PDT) with a new chapter, “Lady, Killer,” and murder suspect and social maven Lavinia Peck-Foster (Kristin Chenoweth).
Lavinia, accused of bludgeoning her husband with a vintage clock, fills the big shoes – figuratively speaking, of course – of last year’s oddball defendant, Larry Henderson (John Lithgow), who got out of prison – and the bizarre South Carolina town of East Peck – after an owl was revealed as the culprit in the critically acclaimed but low-rated comedy whodunit.
Actress and singer Chenoweth, 50, chatted with USA TODAY about entering the absurd world of East Peck, where earnest defense lawyer Josh Segal (Nicholas D’Agosto) must battle pregnant prosecutor Carol Anne Keane (Jayma Mays) and his crack (or cracked) legal team.
Question: What brought you to East Peck?
Kristin Chenoweth: John Lithgow called me. He said, “Kristin, there’s this show and this part and you’ve got to do it. … Only people from a certain planet can do this kind of work. You’re on our planet. So, you’ve got to do it.” It’s a little bit like Mel Brooks territory and, of course, that makes me feel right at home.
Q: Can you describe Lavinia? Chenoweth: She’s a wackadoo. She’s a combination (of ) Madeline Kahn and Carol Burnett and Hannibal Lecter and Lisa Vanderpump.
Q: Lavinia is hardly restrained, burping, swearing and hurling plates when she’s upset.
Chenoweth: It’s like a gift was given to me. None of that was in the script, the fainting and the throwing of the plates. I said, “Please, just let her.” To me she was stunted when her father took his life, which she saw. She stopped growing emotionally. So, Lavinia – God knows how old she is. Is she 30? Is she 110? – I think she’s stunted. That’s where you get the temper tantrums.
Q: Will Lavinia sing? Chenoweth: Yes. There is a theme song that means a lot to her that you will hear over and over. Let’s just say it’s sung just how Lavinia would sing it, not Kristin. I love it. I think I might actually record it and make it very hip and young with a guitar once (the epi-
sode) airs. I love the words (to the song): “Bird in a Gilded Cage.”
Q: Clocks are the prop of choice in Season 2. Pies had a starring role in the fantasy world of ABC’s loved and lamented “Pushing Daisies.” Which do you prefer?
Chenoweth: Definitely pies. You can hide things in pies easier than you can in clocks.
Q: The physical element of the Lavinia role seems demanding.
Chenoweth: I don’t think people realize the load that physical comedy is. I did feel it at the end of the run. I’m actually take some self-care time now (for) my neck. … I hurt it really bad on the set of “The Good Wife” (in 2012), and I never let it heal right..
Q: After “Trial,” what’s next? Chenoweth: I go back to concert work in a couple of weeks, and I’m excited be- cause I want to see where I’m at, how I handle it. I am developing the Tammy Faye Bakker story, and it’s taking up a lot of my time and energy. I’d like to see it on Broadway in a year. … (Daisies creator) Bryan Fuller is writing a movie with me in mind. So, it’s never ending, and I’m so thankful, because I love what I do.