On Friday, January 10 I had the incredible opportunity to attend a First Look event for Idina Menzel’s new musical, REDWOOD! I posted a lot from the event on Instagram but I still want to document it here. The event took place at the Nederlander Theatre in NYC where everyone involved is hard at work putting the show together. The orchestra was packed with tables, computers and equipment & it was pretty incredible to see how many people are involved and how complex it is behind the scenes. Tina Landau, the writer, co-conceiver & co-lyricist, warned us that everything we were about to see was very much a work in progress.

We made our way to the mezzanine and got settled in row A. If you’re reading this, I’ll give you a little tip on sight lines! There is a railing in front of Row A that may partially block your view. I am 5’1″ and it was in my way unless I scooted forward in my seat. I was told they took that into account while staging and most of the action won’t be blocked.

Here’s a look at the stage! There are over 1,000 LED screens set up in a circle and extending to the mezz to immerse the audience in the production. Even the stage floor will be part of the action and respond to the actor’s movements during certain parts of the show.

We got a preview of the show’s groundbreaking visuals and I can’t say enough amazing things about it. We previewed the point in the show where Idina’s character, Jesse, is awed by the redwood forest. The audience will see the forest from Jesse’s perspective and the visuals will shift as Idina moves on stage. They warned us that they are only about 50% finished but I was floored. It’s hard to explain how absolutely stunning they were. In row A of the mezz, I felt immersed in the forest. If you’ve ridden Soarin’ at Disney, it reminded me of that. (I am very prone to motion sickness and there’s a note about that on the ticket page, but I felt OK though there is definitely the illusion of movement.) A particularly striking moment that stuck with me was how they simulated light streaming through the trees. The entire scene was incredibly beautiful. I can’t wait to experience it live in the theater with the actors on stage and the communal feeling of awe in the audience.

Zachary Noah Piser (Spencer) and De’Adre Aziza (Mel) popped on stage to introduce us to the other star of the show, the giant Redwood tree named Stella, then Melecio Estrella from Bandaloop took the stage to discuss the cast’s vertical choreography(!) and how they are ensuring everyone’s safety on stage. Most of the actors, including Idina, will actually climb Stella throughout the show. There are no stage tricks here, all of them had to learn how to actually climb. There is even a point in the show where Idina climbs, sings and performs tree choreography!

When you see the show, you may note that when the actors are ready to climb, they will go through a safety check. During their pre-Broadway run in La Jolla, the checks were seamlessly part of the songs, so I imagine it will be the same in NYC. After the overview, Khaila Wilcoxon (Becca) and Michael Park (Finn) performed a very cool climbing and vertical choreography demonstration.

Then, it was time for Idina and composer/co-lyricist Kate Diaz to take the stage! Idina performed a new song called “The Stars” where Jesse is asking the stars for help. I have anxiety and I could relate to the lyrics from that lens but I was too excited to remember more details. BroadwayDirect shared a very short clip on Instagram, though! Also, here’s the sheet music! Again we were warned that things are constantly changing and shifting, so we’ll see if this version appears on stage when previews begin on January 24. One other note about the music – there are a number of new songs since the show was in La Jolla, so expect a lot of changes if you saw it there.

Finally, they introduced the entire cast and Idina spoke for a few minutes. It’s such a big moment for her! Fifteen years ago she was inspired by the redwoods and reached out to Tina Landau to collaborate on a musical and now here they are, about to open the show on Broadway. It’s an incredible achievement and I can’t wait to be there.

Watch her speech here:

 
If you still don’t have tickets (or you want more!), you can buy specially priced tickets to Redwood here. Tickets are currently on sale through July 6.