Kristin Chenoweth brings her greatest hits — and the Columbus Symphony — to RiverCenter next Friday

The original Glinda plays one night in the Bill Heard Theatre on Nov. 6, backed by musicians from the orchestra that calls the room home.

Every so often a touring show lands in Columbus and borrows something that belongs to the town. Next Friday it's the orchestra. Kristin Chenoweth plays RiverCenter for the Performing Arts on Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m., a one-night-only stop in the Bill Heard Theatre, and RiverCenter's own listing says she'll be accompanied for this performance by musicians from the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

That detail is what makes this more than another date on a run. The Bill Heard Theatre is the symphony's home hall, so for one evening the room's resident players are backing a Broadway star on their own stage. RiverCenter bills her the way most people in the seats will think of her: the original Glinda from *Wicked*.

The evening is her Greatest Hits concert, which, as local coverage of the announcement put it, spans Broadway favorites, pop hits and fan-requested classics from across her career. The same report notes the show is part of RiverCenter's 25th Anniversary Season — a fitting booking for a building that has spent a quarter-century being the place uptown Columbus goes for its big nights out.

For one evening the room's resident players back a Broadway star on their own stage.

As far as our records go, this is Chenoweth's first Columbus show. That alone tends to fill a room, and the Bill Heard Theatre is a big one. RiverCenter describes the main hall as seating about 2,000 across three levels — orchestra on the first floor, mezzanine on the second, balcony on the third — and it officially opened in April 2002.

If you haven't been inside in a while, the building itself is worth arriving early for. RiverCenter, at 900 Broadway, is a 245,000-square-foot property of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and its design mixes brick and ironwork salvaged from older buildings with a modern glass-and-steel front. The entrance is all tall glass "curtain" wall and soaring staircase, and it's at its best when the lobby is full of people dressed for a night out, which is exactly what next Friday should look like.

What to know before you go: buy through RiverCenter itself. The venue sells online at rivercenter.org and by phone at 706-256-3612, and its ticket information page is the place to check policies before the night. Resale sites already list this date, and their prices run all over the map, so the box office is the safest way to pay face value. Seats are spread over three levels, so check RiverCenter's seating chart before you choose. The mezzanine and balcony put you above the orchestra, which is no bad thing on a night when the band is half the story.

It's a Friday show with a 7:30 start, which leaves time for dinner on Broadway first. Give yourself a few extra minutes for parking and the lobby crowd. A one-night-only booking with a hometown orchestra on stage is likely to draw a full house.

For a city that doesn't often get Broadway names on a Friday night, this is a rare one: a famous voice, a room built for it, and the Columbus Symphony's players in the pit with her. Get your tickets now and plan for dinner first.

Sources: Kristin Chenoweth — RiverCenter for the Performing Arts (rivercenter.org); Broadway icon Kristin Chenoweth to perform at Columbus, Georgia's RiverCenter — The Columbusite (thecolumbusite.net); About Us — RiverCenter (rivercenter.org); Seating Chart — RiverCenter (rivercenter.org); Ticket Information — RiverCenter (rivercenter.org)