Imagine him peering past theatre footlights through clouds of cigar smoke, checking that every row is full and each face rapt.

Answer: At Cambridge University, where I was in an organization called Footlights, which is a bit like The Harvard Lampoon dedicated to satire and comedy.

Whether singing or delivering her often self-deprecating patter, Ms. Chenoweth always radiates a pleasure in performing that carries across the proverbial footlights.