Idina brings gravity-defying songbook to town

Menzel drawing on diverse styles for concert tour that lands at SDSU this weekend

You know her songs.

You know her shows.

And of course you know her singular name.

(Sit down, Mr. Travolta.)

What you might not know about Idina Menzel (besides the fact that Adele Dazeem, as John Travolta called her at the 2014 Oscars, is an anagram for “a dazed melee”) is that this wickedly talented musical-theater queen still has the heart of a rock ’n’ roller.

That aspect of Menzel first came through loud and clear nearly 20 years ago, when she made her breakthrough Broadway debut in the 1996 megahit “Rent” as the streetwise performance artist Maureen Johnson.

And it’s a side of herself she now seems to be tapping into once again for her latest concert tour, which brings Menzel to San Diego State University on Saturday.

In previous dates on the tour, Menzel’s set has included a take on Radiohead’s “Creep” — not exactly standard musical-theater fare, even by Broadway’s increasingly adventurous standards.

In her last solo show here, for the “Symphony at Salk” benefit in 2011, Menzel also performed a version of the Police tune “Roxanne,” a song that remains on her set list.

That previous show closed with the song perhaps most identified with Menzel (at least up to that point): Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz’s soaring “Defying Gravity,” from “Wicked,” the 2003 musical that propelled Menzel onto Broadway’s A-list and won her a Tony Award.

Now, though, she has been opening her shows with that number — because it seems another song has taken its place as her climactic crowd-pleaser.

(And if you start to fret toward the end of the show that she might not sing that song at all, let it go.)

Of course, even with all those new fans to please from “Frozen” (the Disney movie that made “Let It Go” a massive hit), Menzel is still also pitching her concerts to followers of her Broadway and solo work. (Although they might not hear a whole lot from her latest recording, a Christmas album.)

Among the selections she has been performing lately are several from “Wicked” and “Rent,” plus a medley of Ethel Merman numbers.

And there’s also material from “If/Then,” the 2014 musical that marked Menzel’s first time back on Broadway since “Wicked.”

Speaking of which: If you miss her this time around, Menzel will be at the San Diego Civic Theatre in January, in the national touring production of “If/Then.” It’ll be a rare chance to see the original star of a Broadway production on the road with the show.

That dedication to the piece seems to symbolize Menzel’s clear passion for the projects she works on (including her charity A Broader Way, which focuses on assisting young girls from urban areas).

As she told the Union-Tribune before a 2009 concert here: “I think great, authentic, truthful work finds its way to the top. You’ve gotta kind of keep believing in what you’re doing. The cream always rises.”

Five Faces of Idina (so far)
• “Rent” (1996): Menzel originated the part of the bisexual performance artist Maureen in the late Jonathan Larson’s groundbreaking musical, directed by UC San Diego grad (and onetime La Jolla Playhouse artistic chief) Michael Greif.
• “Wicked” (2003): The original Elphaba, the green-faced diva and misunderstood witch in this still-running musical juggernaut, remains the one by which all others are judged.
• “Glee” (2010-13): Menzel’s stint as the show-choir coach Shelby Corcoran in this hit Fox TV series helped boost her career beyond Broadway.
• “Frozen” (2013): As the voice of Queen Elsa in the Disney animated film, Menzel’s performance of “Let It Go” helped make the single a worldwide hit. (Its writers, Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, are at La Jolla Playhouse right now with the new musical “Up Here.”
• “If/Then” (2014): Menzel played one woman on two parallel life tracks in her return to Broadway; the musical reunited her with “Rent” director Greif. (And it — and Menzel — come to San Diego in January.)

The Idina files
Full name: Idina Kim Menzel
Born: May 30, 1971
Birthplace: New York
Graduated: New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts
Key honors: Tony Award, lead actress in a musical (“Wicked,” 2003); Tony nominations for “Rent” (1996) and “If/Then” (2014); Breakthrough Artist Award from Billboard Women in Music (2014).
Personal: Recently divorced from “Rent” co-star Taye Diggs; one son.