Idina Menzel has made a specialty of playing women who are not easily daunted. The Tony Award-winning actress and singer, starring in the new musical If/Then, made her Broadway debut as the decidedly self-possessed Maureen Johnson in Rent. She later created the role of Elphaba, the green-skinned heroine […]
If/Then is a love letter to New York: the places, people and moments that change our lives and link us together. If/Then‘s “A Map of New York” series documents the pivotal locations of its stars and creators. This week: Idina Menzel. IDINA MENZEL’S MAP OF NEW YORK As […]
Everyone has an if/then moment that leaves them wondering what might have happened if life went another way, and the opening night performance of parallel-lives Broadway musical “If/Then” gave opening nighters reason to recall theirs. Take composer Tom Kitt, who reteams with collaborator Brian Yorkey on “If/Then” after […]
Beth — in a deeply felt, richly sung performance by Idina Menzel — is a bright urban planner, quickly rising to the top in New York’s city planning department while agonizing over her messy non-love life. Liz — also played, no less potently, by Menzel — is more […]
No matter what happens in Idina Menzel’s career, there will probably never be anything like what she went through last year when she was riding atop the pop culture wave. Professionally, “Frozen,” for which Menzel supplied the voice of Queen Elsa and sang the breakout song “Let It […]
Exiting the opening performance of “If/Then” at Paramount Theatre on Tuesday night, an adolescent girl was excitedly sharing with her companions her adoration of the musical’s star, Idina Menzel. She listed her favorite Menzel roles — the original witch Elphaba in the Broadway smash “Wicked,” for which she […]
It’s billed as a story about the place where chance and choice collide. “If/Then” is a new musical fresh off its run on Broadway. Star Idina Menzel and several other outstanding original cast members are in the current national tour of the show playing now through Sunday, Nov. […]
Idina Menzel takes defying gravity in stride. The raven-haired beauty first blazed into the celebrity firmament in 1996 as the outrageous Maureen in “Rent” on Broadway. Then her career got an extra layer of sparkle as the emerald girl, Elphaba, in “Wicked,” which opened in San Francisco in […]
5 STARS It all emerges out of one neighborhood in one of the most unique and powerful cities on earth, New York City. It is about community and relationships and unforgettable people. ‘If/Then’ is a musical story of human life. The staging is pure brilliance; it truly brings […]
When Idina Menzel first appeared onstage, her presence abruptly bringing the swelling overture to a stark silence, there was perhaps no greater applause during the nearly three-hour performance of “If/Then” than when she delivered the show’s opening line: “Hey, it’s me.” And that immediate enthusiasm is completely warranted, […]
Oscar and Tony award winner Idina Menzel is bringing her Broadway musical to Hollywood. In “If/Then,” Menzel plays a 40-year-old woman who moves back to New York City for a fresh start. The audience watches as her life splits into two parallel paths with both storylines playing out […]
The Broadway superstar on being a gay icon, diva and role model Idina Menzel may be on top of the world, but the American actress and singer insists that she’s no diva. “I’m pretty low maintenance,” says Menzel. Her rise to fame originated from her Tony-nominated role as […]
Everyone can relate to the premise of “If/Then,” the musical about ambivalence and roads not taken. The question for theater-goers is, what do you seek from this show? If you want to thrill to the stunning vocal power of Idina Menzel, then this is a must-see. If you […]
In the opening number of “If/Then,” the newly liberated heroine ponders “what if?” It is not the only song in Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s heady and sincere musical to entertain that quandary. The repercussions and ripples of “what ifs” shape the story of Elizabeth who, on the […]
The singer who helped to make Frozen such a huge hit around the world is coming to Birmingham. Idina Menzel turned the song Let It Go into a global phenomenon when she sang it as Elsa the Snow Queen in the Disney film. Now Birmingham audiences will be […]