Idina Menzel

At 52 years old, Idina Menzel has this physical status:

Career

Menzel auditioned for Rent in 1995, her first professional theatre job and her Broadway debut. The New York Theatre Workshop opened off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop in 1996, but the company's Nederlander Theatre in Broadway followed it due to its success. Menzel received a Tony Award for her role as Maureen Johnson in the original cast of the musical, losing to Ann Duquesnay for bringing in the 'da Noise,' Bring in the Funk.' On July 1, 1997, she saw her last performance in the musical. Despite her breakout success in Rent, Menzel did not get the immediate success she was hoping for, saying she eventually "fading into "obscurity" for the next eight years.

On Hollywood Records, Menzel released her first solo album titled Still Can't Be Still on Rent, following the success of Rent. In summer of '42 at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, Menzel also played Dorothy, and in the New York City Center Encores, Sheila played the role of Sheila. Amneris in Aida was in attendance at the premiere of Hair and appeared on Broadway as Amneris in Aida. In Andrew Lippa's 2000 Off-Broadway production of Women in the Manhattan Theatre Club's The Wild Party, Menzel received a Drama Desk Award nomination for her appearance as Kate. Rent and The Valiant Monologues are among her off-Broadway credits.

Menzel appeared on Broadway in Wicked, a musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman based on Gregory Maguire's 1995 book Wicked Witch of the West. Wicked opened previews on October 8, 2003, just shy of a San Francisco try-out. Menzel's performance as Elphaba, the misunderstander of Wicked Witch of the West, received critical acclaim for her 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Menzel's reputation earned her a devoted fanbase, particularly among teenage girls who sympathized with her misunderstandable appearance, as well as a gay following. She can be seen on the show's Original Broadway Cast (OBC) recording. She screamed through a trap door during the melting scene and cracked a lower rib during her penultimate appearance on January 8, 2005. This illness kept her from appearing in her final show on January 9. However, Menzel made a special appearance in a red track lawsuit after that appearance, performed her last song, and received a standing ovation. Menzel was replaced by Elphaba standby Shoshana Bean. Menzel was chosen by readers of Broadway in 2010 as one of the youngest actresses to play the character on Broadway.

Menzel appeared Off-Broadway in See What I Want A See, a Michael John LaChiusa-penned play in which she received Drama Desk Award and Drama League Award nominations for her performance in December 2005. When it opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre in London on September 27, 2006, she reprised her Tony Award-winning role as Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked. Glinda and Adam Garcia as Fiyero appeared alongside Helen Dallimore. She was the highest-paid female performer in the West End during her tenure at $30,000 a week. On December 30, 2006, Menzel finished her West End run. Kerry Ellis, an Elphaba standby, was the first to succeed her.

In the 21st-anniversary concert of the musical Chess at London's Royal Albert Hall, Menzel performed Florence, alongside Kerry Ellis, Adam Pascal, and Josh Groban. She headlined the Powerhouse Theatre's reading of Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik's musical Nero from July 11 to 13, including Poppea, Nero's mistress. Claudia Octavia, Jeffrey Carleson as Nero, and Michael Arden as Octavia's brother, Brittanicus, was joined by Glee costar Lea Michele.

If/Then, a new Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey Broadway musical If/Then, by February 28, 2013, Menzel had been slated to appear as Elizabeth. It was directed by Michael Greif (whom Menzel appeared on Rent before), and it had its world premiere at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., beginning with previews on November 5, 2013. Following the out-of-town tryout, the production was moved to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway and opened previews on March 4, 2014. On March 30, 2014, it was announced that it had opened on March 30, 2014. Menzel received her second Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical and appeared on Always Starting Over, but she lost to Jessie Mueller for Beautiful: The Carol King Musical. After 29 previews and 401 regular performances, If/Then closed on Broadway on March 22, 2015.

On the first seven stops of the show's national tour from October 2015 to January 2016, Menzel reprised Elizabeth (along with original Broadway cast members Lachanze, James Snyder, and Anthony Rapp). On the last day of the Costa Mesa, California engagement, she and LaChanze and Snyder were evicted, together with LaChanze and Snyder. Jackie Burns (who had appeared in the Broadway production as Menzel's standby) arrived in Dallas, Texas, on January 27, 2016.

Menzel was cast as Jodi in Roundabout Theatre Company's World Premiere production of Joshua Harmon's latest play Skintight, which took place later this year. Off Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre. It began on May 31, 2018, but only limited participation was allowed until August 26, 2018. Menzel received rave reviews for her debut as a non-musical actor in New York City, marking the play's first major New York Theater non-musical role. She appeared in Skintight for the first time on the West Coast a year later. The production ran at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, California, from September 3 to October 6, 2019.

When appearing in Skintight, Menzel explored the role of Mary Jane in a Jagged Little Pill workshop.

Menzel revealed on Twitter in late 2019 that she was working on "a mystery project" with Justin Tranter, Caroline Pennell, and Eve Ensler (later referred to as V). This project is wild: A Musical Becoming, and it will run at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA, from December 3, 2021, to January 21, 2022 (she was only scheduled to perform until December 23). Bea was subsequently revealed to appear in Bea, with contributions to the lyrics. Due to COVID, the show on December 17 was cancelled; it was later revealed that the following two days would be canceled; eventually, all the following productions were postponed, with the exception of December 16, which was her last appearance.

Menzel initially struggled to move beyond stage musicals, claiming that the industry didn't take her seriously as a pop or rock musician because of her Broadway roots. Menzel appeared at the 1998 Lilith Fair summer concert festival and continues to write and perform original music. She has toured extensively and regularly performs in a variety of venues around New York City. Still Can't Be Still, Her debut album on Hollywood Records was released in 1998. In October 1998, one single from the album, "Minuet," debuted at number 48 on the Radio & Records CHR/Pop Tracks chart, peaking at number 48. Following the album's debut, she embarked on a promotional tour, but after selling fewer than 10,000 copies in the United States and missing the Billboard 200, Menzel's label pulled the album out of print, and she was booted from the label. However, the album was re-released as she began to gain a following in Wicked with her Tony-winning appearance.

Here was her second album, and Zel Records' Here was released in 2004 independently by a woman named Here. In 2005, Menzel appeared on Desperate Housewives' soundtrack. She appeared on Ray Charles' album Genius and Friends, which was also released in 2005 on the track "I Will Be There." "A Hero Comes Home" was a Beowulf actress who appeared on Beowulf's end credits song in 2007. In addition, Menzel's strong singing voice prompted her to accompany Rhydian Roberts, the baritone British X Factor runner-up, on his debut album in 2007, focusing on the song "What If."

I Stand, her third solo album, was released on January 29, 2008. It features many new songs, including the lead single, "Brave," the title track, "I Stand," and a song called "Gorgeous" on EP. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 58, making it the first solo album by Menzel to reach the top of the charts. There are five versions of this album: the original, the special limited edition, the Barnes & Noble version, and the Borders Edition. Menzel wrote nine of the ten songs on her album, with the song "Forever" written entirely by herself.

Menzel launched her 2008–2009 I Stand Tour in favor of her new album's four sold-out legs on April 1, 2008. The performance at Rose Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City was shot for the PBS television series Soundstage. Special guests, superstar Josh Groban, and saxophonist Ravi Coltrane welcomed Menzel to the stage.

"Hope," a Menzel story titled "British Stand Up to Cancer" was published on November 11, 2008. She performed "I Stand" on the M&M's Chocolate float as part of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 27, 2008.

In front of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at a Broadway Celebration on July 19, 2010, Menzel performed "Defying Gravity" and "What I Did For Love" and "What I Did For Love" in front of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at The White House. On October 20, 2010, the concert premiered on PBS.

Menzel returned to the concert stage in April 2010 aboard her "Barefoot at the Symphony Tour," in which she was joined by major symphony orchestras. Her appearances included performances with the New York Philharmonic, the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the North Carolina Symphony, as well as symphonic arrangements by New York composer and producer Rob Mounsey. Menzel and the Royal Albert Hall in the United Kingdom performed a one-night-only concert with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Marvin Hamlisch. On November 17, 2011, Menzel's concert stop in Toronto was filmed at The Royal Conservatory of Music, her second PBS special. Marvin Hamlisch conducted and special guest Taye Diggs, Menzel's then-husband, was accompanied by the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony. Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony was released as a live CD and DVD set in March 2012, with Musical Director Rob Mounsey assisting.

In 2012, Menzel announced that she will continue live performances. At Ravinia Festival near Chicago, Illinois, she appeared on July 8, 2012, the first date she revealed was July 8, 2012. She made her Carnegie Hall debut solo on October 29, 2012. However, the event was postponed until January 13, 2013 due to Hurricane Sandy's impact in New York City.

In June 2013, Menzel toured Australia, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Brisbane, with two shows at the Sydney Opera House.

Menzel revealed on June 17, 2014, during a concert at New York City's Radio City Music Hall, that would feature original work and would be released later this year. "December Prayer" was one of the album's first hits at the festival. Holiday Wishes was released on October 14, 2014. The album has so far reached number ten on the Billboard 200, gaining her highest-charting album as a solo lead artist. The first time a woman had three separate albums (along with the cast's to Frozen and If/Then) reached the top 20 within ten months of the announcement date, Holiday Wishes became the first woman to have three different albums (along with the cast's to Frozen and If/Then). After Garth Brooks' 1992 album Beyond the Season, Holiday Wishes also became the second-ever Christmas album to chart before Halloween during the SoundScan Era. Menzel revealed on Facebook on November 26, 2014, making it her first global tour and first time performing shows in Europe and Asia.

At the 2014 Billboard Women in Music awards ceremony, Menzel was honoured with the Breakthrough Artist award.

A cappella at Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015, Menzel sang "The Star-Spangled Banner." Critics lauded Menzel's voice but questioned some of her stylistic choices, such as tempo and volume. Menzel regained her fame as a good vocalist after pundits mocked her live performance of "Let it Go" at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve this year, according to Markos Papadatos of The Digital Journal.

Menzel announced on August 5, 2016 that her eponymous fifth album would be released on September 23. "I poured my heart out and used my music as a way to sort of figure some stuff out," Menzel said about the book. It's a very personal album." The album debuted at # 29 on the US Billboard 200, marking her first original Pop studio album in eight years since I Stand. Menzel embarked on a World Tour in 2017 that included Asia, Europe, and North America, in honor of the album's success. On October 12, 2018, Menzel's concert appearance in Las Vegas was recorded for her second live album titled idina Live.

Menzel would join Josh Groban for his Bridges Tour on March 12, 2018. She appeared on Groban's Opening act before joining him later in his set of 2 duets of Lullaby and Falling Slowly. On the first leg of North America, Menzel appeared with Groban in a number of cities, including Atlanta, Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago, Boston, and Pittsburgh, as part of a sold-out appearance at New York's famed Madison Square Garden. The New York City performance (entitled Bridges Live From Madison Square Garden) was also produced and broadcast in Movie Theaters, as well as a Live CD & DVD release that later appeared on PBS.

On May 11, 2019, it was announced that she had signed to Scooter Braun and SB Projects for music production. On October 18, 2019, Menzel released Christmas: A Season of Love from School Boy and Decca Records, her second holiday album. Its debut on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums at # 2nd. Menzel embarked on a three-city concert tour on the east coast, including a sold-out return to Carnegie Hall in New York.

Menzel revealed on her Facebook page on October 11, 2022, that she would debut Idina Menzel, which is the new way to the stage. The special will feature concert footage from Madison Square Garden in New York. Mauzel in Rent is a nod to Menzel's first line.

Menzel played supporting roles in The Tollbooth and Water in 2004 after minor roles in Kissing Jessica Stein and Just a Kiss. In 2005, she reprised her role as Maureen Johnson in Rent's film version. For the role, she was nominated for several critics circle awards.

Menzel appeared in the musical romantic comedy film Enchanted as Nancy Tremaine, Patrick Dempsey's fiancée, Robert and Giselle's (Amy Adams) romantic rival. Despite being a musical, Menzel does not perform in the film; a duet songwriters Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz had planned for her role but it was ultimately not used. Menzel was given the role without auditioning, but Disney was disappointed that she was chosen solely based on her acting abilities. Menzel said that having her character sing made no sense story-wise due to Nancy's connection to the reality-based New York world rather than the film's more dramatic characters. Nancy portrayed herself as vulnerable rather than as "a typical mean girlfriend that everyone is going to hate." Enchanted was a critical and commercial success, but Kirk Honeycutt of the Los Angeles Times accused the film of wasting Menzel's talent, while Sacramento News & Review's Jim Lane said the actress was underused. However, Screen Rant's Mel Hall found Menzel's appearance convincing. Menzel will reprise her role in the 2022 revival of Disenchanted, in which her character will debut for the first time.

Menzel appeared in the television series Glee as Shelby Corcoran, the coach of the rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline. When the series premiered, Glee fans (also known collectively as 'Gleeks') noticed a strong physical appearance in Menzel and Lea Michele, who portrays Rachel Berry's character. Menzel, the actress who was then married, expressed concern in the prospect that she might appear as Rachel's biological mother. In the episode "Hell-O," the character was introduced. Lea Michele and Idina Menzel perform together "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables and "Poker Face," a Lady Gaga song. In season 3 of "I Am Unicorn," Menzel's role as a tutor caused a lot of anxiety for Rachel, Quinn, Puck, and former flame Will Schuster brought them all to Glee.

In Disney's animated film Frozen, Menzel played Elsa, a young queen struggling with her magical ability to control ice and snow. After struggling to land the lead role in Disney's Tangled (2010), the studio rediscovered Menzel's Tangled audition while casting Frozen, which Tangled's casting director had illegally caught on her phone. Menzel's character was re-written into a misunderstood heroine for Disney's adaptation, based on songwriter Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez's creation of her anthem "Let It Go." Due to Menzel's vociferous vocal range, they wrote "Let it Go" with the intention of expressing Menzel. Frozen became the highest-grossing animated film at the time of its debut, earning $1.27 billion worldwide. Menzel's performance, particularly her version of "Let It Go," which received the Academy Award for Best Original Song, was lauded by film critics. With many followers posting covers and parodies on the internet, the song became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon. "Let It Go" was also a chart-to-rise radio show; peaking at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, Menzel became the first Tony Award-winning actor to receive a top-ten song on the chart. "Let it Go" became one of the best-selling songs of 2014, selling 10.9 million copies and out-performing Demi Lovato's pop version. Despite the fact that Disney Music Group president Ken Bunt says they had always intended to release Menzel's version as a single after Lovato's, Menzel's debut on pop radio was considered surprising due to its non-commercial sound. Menzel has since reprised her role as Elsa in most of her appearances, including video games such as the Disney Infinity series and Kingdom Hearts III, the 2015 featurette short film Ralph Breaks the Internet, and the 2019 sequel Frozen II.

In March 2014, Menzel performed "Let it Go" live at the Academy Awards, where the song had been nominated for (and eventually received) the Academy Award for Best Original Song. When introducing her to the stage, actress John Travolta mispronounced her name as "Adele Dazeem," triggering the omission of a viral Internet meme. Menzel was not upset by the mispronunciation. Adele Dazeem's name was reportedly printed on satirical playbills, touting her previous work in Nert (Rent), Wicked-ly (Wicked) and Farfignugen, a play on the word Fahrvergnügen, referring to Frozen). Travolta has apologised to Menzel for incorrectly reciting her name three days after the event. Menzel received the award for Best Original Song alongside Travolta, where she jokingly introduced him as "Glom Gazingo." Travolta said her name correctly when he appeared on stage, and she was finally pronounced correctly.

Menzel appeared as C.C. Bloom in the Lifetime television film version of the film Beaches, which premiered on January 21, 2017.

She was supposed to appear on Ellen DeGeneres-produced sitcom Happy Time, but this initiative appears to have been shelved as of October 15, 2019.

In the 2019 crime film Uncut Gems, Dinah Ratner starred alongside Adam Sandler in his wife Dinah Ratner.

In Kay Cannon's jukebox musical interpretation of the Cinderella fairy tale, Menzel co-starred alongside Camila Cabello, Billy Porter, and James Corden, portraying Cinderella's stepmother Vivian. Despite admiring actresses who appeared in the role before, Menzel strove to avoid "the archetypal type of villain" in favour of investigating the psychological aspects of the character's cruel behavior. "Dream Girl" is Menzel's first film script and recorded. On the first day, Cinderella received mixed feedback, but Menzel's work was lauded. Kristen Lopez of Cabello, IndieWire, praised her chemistry as "deliciously," while Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times described Menzel as "her usual splendid self" and "arguably the most nuanced and empathetic stepmother in 'Cinderella' history." Menzel gives the film's best appearance, according to Michael Calleri of the Niagara Gazette, who claims she has enough talent to "lift [her character's] banality." You Are So Not Invited to my Bat Mitzvah directed by Matthew Gentile and You Are So Not Invited, with co-star Adam Sandler and Sarah Sherman.

Menzel created and published Idina's Treehouse, a brand new YouTube web series for children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Menzel from her treehouse out in her Los Angeles home that was originally built for her son Walker Nathaniel Diggs appeared in the series. It features a complete collection of songs, stories, and appearances from Menzel's family and friends.

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