Primetime musical series are red-hot courtesy of Fox’s Glee, and ABC, whose sibling Disney Channel started the genre’s resurgence with High School Musical and Hannah Montana, is developing a couple of music-themed series for next fall. Leading the pack is a drama with musical elements from writer Bob Kushell (Samantha Who?) starring Tony winner Idina Menzel.

Hot off her recurring role on Glee last season, Idina Menzel is headlining her own musical hourlong project, a mother-daughter relationship drama in the vein of Gilmore Girls. It will star the Broadway actress as the single mother of a teenager who, to make ends meet, waits tables and performs at weddings and bar mitzvahs, odd jobs that Menzel herself worked early on while pursuing a Broadway career. Kushell, who had been looking to do a musical series for the past 10 years, is writing the script for ABC Studios and will executive produce with David Knoller (Big Love). Menzel and her manager Heather Reynolds will serve as producers. Menzel, who originated the roles of Maureen in Rent and Elphaba in Wicked on Broadway, earned Tony nominations for both and won for Wicked. She will make her New York Philharmonic debut on Feb. 5 and may also return to Glee, where she plays the mother of star Lea Michele, later this season. The ABC project was packaged by ICM; Menzel is managed by One Entertainment. This is one of 3 sales for Kushell this development season. He also has in the works a multi-camera comedy at NBC and an animated comedy at Fox.

- Deadline.com

Whispers of this new endeavor first appeared in Idina’s November 4, 2010 interview with the LA Times. Exciting!

Idina is/was featured in the November issue of Gotham Magazine. The magazine is really difficult to find, even in its focus of New York City, but we were able to track down a scan of her full-page interview. Click the gorgeous photo below to read it in the gallery!

The Dove Sing4All Brush With Greatness contest Idina is co-sponsoring has reached its halfway point, so a new video has been released. Watch it below! Oh, and details on entering the contest – winning group gets to Skype with Idina – are available at the streaming link.

“Dove Brush With Greatness Sing 4 All” – November 2010
Description: Idina partnered with Dove to promote their “My Favorite Things” singing contest.
Time: 0:59 | Size: 4.0 MB
© Dove
Format: .flv
[ DOWNLOAD ] | [ STREAM ]

Happy Black Friday to everyone in the US! Wondering what Black Friday is, or why it’s called that? It’s the biggest shopping day of the year in the US with ridiculous sales that begin at even more ridiculous times of the early morning following Thanksgiving. It’s named “Black Friday” since it’s Friday and the stores’ revenues are “in the black,” which means the day is profitable (as opposed to losing money or being “in the red). There’s your education for the day!

If you are out Black Friday shopping, you may want to stop at Kohl’s for an exclusive Wicked-licensed Elphaba Christmas ornament. It even plays “Defying Gravity,” and yes, it’s Idina’s voice! It’s currently sold out online, but some stores may still carry it, and they might restock online in the coming days leading up to Christmas. If you find one, snap it up!

Note: You may also have luck finding it at Meijer retailers, or online via Long Island Treasures. If you’re in Canada, check Carlton Cards! Thanks for the tips, Linda and Lauren!

Idina will be making her New York Philharmonic debut on February 5, 2011 with legendary composer and conductor Marvin Hamlisch!

Tickets, which start at $35, will go on sale for subscribers and donors on November 23, 2010, at 10:00 a.m., and for the general public on November 30. All tickets may be purchased online at nyphil.org or by calling (212) 875-5656, 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets may also be purchased at the Avery Fisher Hall Box Office or the Alice Tully Hall Box Office at Lincoln Center, Broadway at 65th Street. The Box Office opens at 10:00 a.m. Monday through Saturday, and at noon on Sunday. On performance evenings, the Box Office closes one-half hour after performance time; other evenings it closes at 6:00 p.m. To determine ticket availability, call the Philharmonic’s Customer Relations Department at (212) 875-5656.

An exclusive presale for ALL fans (not just fan club members) begins at 5:00 pm EST, November 23! Click here and enter promo code “idinafans” to purchase!

Hollywood’s most talented and irreverent stars will gather at the Hollywood Palladium to celebrate “Trevor LIVE”, the annual show benefiting The Trevor Project on Sunday, December 5, 2010. Recognizing the suicide prevention efforts of community leaders, the Trevor Life Award honoree is Kathy Griffin, and Trevor Hope Award honoree is Levi Strauss & Co., with guest performances by Sarah Silverman, Wayne Brady, Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel, Neil Patrick Harris and James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Telly Leung, The Dan Band, and Tracie Thoms. This one-of-a-kind show is under the guidance of Special Guest Producing Director Adam Shankman, with Special Guest Musical Director Ricky Minor, Special Guest Choreographer Mia Michaels, and Special Guest Script Writers Carol Liefer & Bruce Vilanch.

“Trevor LIVE closes an historic year for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community as the tragic losses of young people have caused a resounding national outcry calling for an end to the bullying aimed at LGBTQ young people,” said Charles Robbins, Executive Director of The Trevor Project. “This event honors vanguards Kathy Griffin and Levi Strauss & Co. who are helping to usher in positive cultural change in this country. Their contributions to the LGBTQ community have always been significant, but especially recently, when young people looking for role models needed them, Kathy Griffin and Levi Strauss & Co. made their voices heard.”

For more information on attending, please visit TheTrevorProject.org.

Since launching our official Twitter in July 2009, we have earned nearly 2,000 followers – wow! In celebration of this (and to push us over that awesome benchmark), we are announcing a Twitter contest which begins the moment you are reading this!

THE CONTEST

- Get your friends to follow @idina_here!

THE HOW-TO

- Ask your followers, friends, and family to follow @idina_here.
- They must tweet @idina_here with the message, “I’m following @idina_here because [your Twitter name] told me to!”
For example: “I’m following @idina_here because @idinamenzel told me to!”
- Whoever gets the most users following us wins an autographed 8×10 photo of Idina!

THE RULES

- You must have a Twitter account and follow @idina_here.
- Those who begin to follow @idina_here at your request must continue to do so until November 23 at 11:59 pm ET (though really, why would they want to unfollow?).
- You have until November 23, at 11:59 pm ET to encourage your friends to follow. Followers after this deadline will not be counted (but will be welcomed!).
- If they fail to include your Twitter name in their “I’m following…” Tweet, it will not be counted (because we won’t be able to!).
- Contest is open to everyone of all ages and in all countries.
- Winner will be determined by number of followers crediting a single user for following. If there is a tie, a random drawing will take place. Selection will be made November 24, 2010 and notified at that time. Winner must accept prize within 24 hours by responding to notification Tweet and providing the requested information. If winner does not respond, another will be chosen from the next-highest number of followers, and so on, until the prize is accepted. The winner will be announced on Twitter upon confirmed acceptance.

The first of their announced award recipients, Idina will be honored on April 11, 2011 by the New York Women in Communications, a non-profit organization which empowers women in all communications disciplines to reach their full potential by promoting their professional growth and inspiring them to achieve and share their successes in the rapidly changing world of communications.

For more information on attending the awards ceremony in New York, visit their website: NYWICI.org.