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Born into a Jewish family, when her parents divorced at 15 Idina began performing at bar mitzvah’s and weddings as a singer before enrolling at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where she studied performing arts.
In 1995, Menzel scored her first professional job as she joined the cast of the Broadway musical “Rent” as Maureen Johnson, a role which earned her a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Ending her successful run in 1997, Menzel released her debut solo album “Still I Can’t Be Still” through Hollywood Records in 1998.
Over the next couple of years, Menzel played small roles in theatre productions “Hair”, “The Wild Party” and “The Vagina Monologues” before landing the prolific role of Elphaba in the award winning musical “Wicked” in 2003. It was this role that really showcased Menzel’s incredible talent and powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and in her two year stint, she received the Tony award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical.
In 2004 Menzel released her second album “Here” before returning back to her role in “Rent” for the film adaptation the following year. Releasing her third album “I Stand” in 2008 allowed Menzel to take time out to support the release as she spent most of the year and 2009 touring the album, playing sold out shows across the country with Josh Groban and saxophonist Ravi Coltrone joining her on stage at The Lincoln Centre in New York City.
During 2010 Menzel embarked on the “Barefoot at the Symphony Tour” which allowed her to perform with symphony orchestras taking the tour nationwide and branching out to England and Australia. Later that year she had the opportunity to perform at the White House for President Obama and his wife singing the songs “Defying Gravity” and “What I Did for Love”.
It was her role as Elsa in the Disney’s chart-topping “Frozen” in 2013 and its enchanting lead single “Let It Go” which captivated audiences across the globe. The track won an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 2014 Oscar’s where Menzel also performed it live. Later that year she released her fourth album “Holiday Wishes” which peaked at number six in the US Billboard Charts.
With a voice which captured the essence of Disney in modernity and a heart of gold, Menzel continues spreading joy to the masses both through her music and philanthropy work.
Whilst her name may not ring any bells for many people, to the musical-loving world she is a Goddess. With leading roles in a number of hit Broadway musicals, Idina Menzel has cemented her place in musical theatre history and rightly so.
Playing Elphaba in Wicked is no simple task and Idina Menzel was the first to fill the shoes of the Wicked Witch of the West when the musical opened on Broadway in 2003. It was her performance in this role that won her the prestigious Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.
As a UK fan of Idina Menzel, one lives in hope of an announcement of a UK show. So when it was announced that she would be playing one night at the Royal Albert Hall back in October 2011, I knew that it was an opportunity that I could not miss. The most special moments of the night came when Idina sang those songs that she is most famous for. "Defying Gravity" and "For Good" were simply stunning. Carving a career as a singer/songwriter over the years since leaving Wicked, the original material that Idina performed on the night was just as beautiful.
She truly is musical theatre royalty and I encourage anyone to witness Idina Menzel's talent live to fully appreciate the gift that she has blessed Broadway with over recent years. One can only hope that she will slap on the green paint and reprise the role that made her the powerhouse she is today, the Wicked Witch of the West.