Though Rent was Menzel’s first professional job, audiences may know the Tony-winning actor from her spellbinding role as Elphaba in Wicked, Elsa in the soon-to-be trilogy Frozen and many others.
Ahead of taking off on her “Take Me Or Leave Me Tour” (she’ll be playing Massey Hall in Toronto on Aug. 13, 2024), I chatted with Menzel to discuss her most well-known “eras” and noticed a trend throughout her career — Menzel plays loud, proud women who must learn to love themselves for who they were meant to be.
“I believe that every character that comes into our lives as performers is there to teach us something about ourselves and something we need to learn in our own lives,” shares Menzel.
Menzel kicked off her career with one of her most confident characters, Maureen in Rent. For a year and a half, Menzel introduced Maureen to audiences by donning a small shirt and skin-tight pleather pants while harnessing theatregoers to “moo” with her. Maureen is an unapologetic attention-grabbing performer who uses her abilities to protest the causes she’s passionate about.
Menzel’s next role that transcended the deep theatre world was Elphaba in Wicked, which she debuted in 2003. Wicked has remained on Broadway since its opening and is currently making headlines as the two-part movie version is set to be released later this year and in 2025.
Though Menzel won’t be reprising the Wicked Witch of the West in the movie — mentioning “I’m just older and can’t play the role” — she shares how the experience of developing the character impacted her. “Elphaba had to learn how to harness her power and to love and appreciate herself. I had to do the same as a performer and as a woman to recognize that I had all this fire and ferocity and power — and that I didn’t need to be afraid of it,” Menzel shares.
It’s hard not to see the parallels between the green-skinned witch and blonde-plaited princess Elsa, in Frozen. However, Menzel no longer needed to fear water, unless frozen. Menzel played Elsa, a Disney princess with powers that needed to be harnessed. This was when Menzel went way beyond the stage and into the living rooms of parents everywhere.
Menzel is a sensational singer, Disney princess, children’s author, philanthropist, comedic actor and so much more — but as seen in many of Menzel interviews and as I experienced for myself, she seems down-to-earth. Menzel thoughtfully and eloquently answers questions with earnestness yet levity — the contrast of being a grounded superstar certainly defies gravity.
Menzel has had many great successes beyond her most defining roles, but below we cover some of those big hits while getting to know a bit more about the Broadway belter.
Q&A with Idina Menzel
Rent
Q: What resonates most from your Rent days?
A: That’s a very rich, full time in my life. That’s not a simple answer. It was my first professional job so it was a magical time. It was daunting. It was bittersweet and it was exciting. It was a dream come true. I had been a little girl growing up in Long Island wanting to be on Broadway and having that come to fruition.
What resonates the most is just the cast, the family that we made. On stage and backstage with one another, our commitment to doing the best job we possibly could to honour Jonathan Larson.
Q: What’s one thing about Jonathan Larson that doesn’t get enough attention?
A: I don’t know if it would be what doesn’t get enough attention. I don’t think people understand, or fully comprehend that when you’re a young, aspiring theatre composer you are waiting tables and trying to make ends meet and hoping to have your vision realized. When someone finally takes a leap of faith [couldn’t help myself] and gives you the funding to focus 100 per cent on your creative vision and you can stop having a second job waiting tables that is like— I guess I’m projecting my own experience, but the joy and glee that he had when he was able to do that— is something not to be taken lightly. When any artist can focus on their creativity and not have to worry about paying rent.
Wicked
Q: What is your biggest takeaway from debuting and playing Elphaba in Wicked?
A: I believe that every character that comes into our lives as performers is there in order to teach us something about ourselves and something we need to learn in our own lives as well as the characters’ lives. Elphaba had to learn how to harness her power and love and appreciate that about herself. I had to do the same as a performer, as a woman, to recognize that I had all this fire and ferocity and power and that I didn’t need to be afraid of it. But if I just embraced it, people would really see me for who I am and in the best light.
Q: With the Wicked movie coming this fall, what do you think differentiates stage-to-screen successes vs. flops?
A: You’re talking to someone who has her original musical coming to Broadway [I mentioned I think too many musicals these days are remakes from popular movies], which I’m very proud of. That’s all in the directors’ vision. There are some iconic movie musicals that have done it all right and then some that haven’t worked. It’s really hard to put your finger on it. It’s hard sometimes to transfer people singing their feelings in a scene onto a camera close-up in their faces.