The Premiere Idina Menzel Resource
One of the attendees of the recent Twitter press conference Idina gave in New York has uploaded video of the complete interview to YouTube! Here is Part One:
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Thanks to GleeFan.com for taping and uploading!
An awesome new interview was published in today’s edition of the Los Angeles Times. Read on to find out about Idina’s tour and what her future may hold.
As a wedding singer in the 1980s, Idina Menzel came up with a crowd-pleasing formula: trot out a broad range of familiar songs, keep the party moving and the banter light.
But the actress, who has since won a Tony Award for “Wicked” on Broadway and starred in stage and movie versions of “Rent” and on Fox’s hit comedy “Glee,” had to rein in her now-famous big voice. She was supposed to be background music in those days, after all, not the main attraction.
Menzel smiled recently when she thought about that time, and not just because she fibbed about her age to land jobs around her native Long Island, N.Y. (She was 15 when she started, but told her band mates she was 18). The experience was great, if cheesy, she said, of the time when she moved from the music of the Police to Motown to Cole Porter and to the bossa nova. She wanted to be a rock star then, but out of necessity she became more of an entertainment jack-of-all-trades. As it turns out, that’s worked in her favor.
In a national tour she launched earlier this year, Menzel’s playing cabaret-style concerts with full orchestras, singing Broadway show tunes, original songs she wrote for her most recent CD, “I Stand,” and pop standards. There’s also ad-libbed patter between songs but, Menzel promises, “no shtick — I think I’ll have a lifelong aversion to that from all those weddings and bar mitzvahs.”
Read another short interview with Idina about Wicked and Kristin Chenoweth in the LA Times here.
And yet another with the Orange County Register here.
ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Oct. 27 /PRNewswire/ — Dove Hair Care and award-winning actress and singer Idina Menzel invite America’s best glee clubs, choirs and groups of 3 to 10 musically-inclined friends to compete for their own brush with greatness. The “Dove Hair Care Brush with Greatness Sing4All” video contest will give one team a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform the iconic Rodgers & Hammerstein song “My Favorite Things” live onstage at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on December 28, 2010.
“As a performer on Broadway, TV and in film, the hot set lights and constant styling have certainly damaged my hair, but Dove takes care of the damage so I can keep focused on one of my favorite things – singing,” said Menzel. “I am excited to help choirs, glee clubs and singing groups around the country win a chance for their own brush with greatness and an opportunity to showcase their incredible musical talent.”
HOW IT WORKS:
Beginning today through November 21, groups of 3 to 10 people are invited to submit a video performance featuring the complete lyrics to “My Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music.” Viewers are encouraged to vote on their favorite video performance at DoveSing4All.com to help determine the four finalist teams.
On December 3, the four final teams will be announced, and each will receive a gift package from Dove Hair Care and a personal coaching session (via video conference) with Broadway icon Idina Menzel. From December 3rd – 20th viewers will vote for their favorite of the final four videos at DoveSing4All.com to determine the Grand Prize Winners. The Grand Prize winning team will be announced on December 22 and will have the ultimate experience of performing “My Favorite Things” as the opening act at the Radio City Christmas Spectacular on December 28 in New York City.
“We are thrilled to offer America’s singing groups an amazing opportunity to celebrate one of their favorite things and showcase their talents on such a prestigious stage,” said David Rubin, Dove Hair Care Marketing Director. “The contest reflects our philosophy of encouraging women to focus on doing their own favorite things because Dove takes care of their hair damage.”
Entries must include at least 3 and no more than 10 on-camera participants – 13 years of age or over. The complete, original lyrics to “My Favorite Things” along with the Official Contest Rules are available on DoveSing4All.com
“Dove Brush With Greatness Sing 4 All” – October 27, 2010
Description: Idina partnered with Dove to promote their “My Favorite Things” singing contest.
Time: 1:00 | Size: 19.7 MB
© Dove
Format: .flv
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“The Tube” – October 26, 2010
Description: Idina discusses the Dove Sing4All contest.
Time: 0:23 | Size: 4.6 MB
© Entertainment Tonight
Format: .m4v
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Sesame Street’s official YouTube channel revealed exclusively today Idina & Taye’s segment from the upcoming November 1 broadcast. Check it out below – super cute!
“Snuffle Sneeze” – November 1, 2010
Description: Idina & Taye help kids learn about the word “allergic” in the Word on the Street segment.
Time: 1:25 | Size: 19.7 MB
© CTV | site exclusive
Format: .mp4
[ DOWNLOAD ] | [ YOUTUBE ] | screencaps
After going through a ton of entries, the winner of our 5th anniversary Here giveaway contest is Natalie A. Congratulations!
Thank you to everyone who participated. We had over a hundred entries, awesome! I know there were a few tough questions in the contest, so here are the answers. I’ve also linked them to where on the site they can be found for those who were stumped.
Part I: Trivia
– Where was the first concert held in which Idina performed “Here?”
The Zipper Theatre, New York City
– What was Here‘s release date?
February 10, 2004
– Who was the photographer of the Here album cover?
Fabrice Trombert [It’s the name of the album!]
Part II: Scavenger Hunt
– The first image ever added to the photo gallery
- The most viewed image in the photo gallery
- Your favorite picture of Idina (just for funsies, no right or wrong answer!)
Part III: Finish That Quote
– “Make love to the chair.”
(Late Late Show w/ Craig Ferguson, 3/2/06)
– “I am so proud to be in a musical that celebrates women.”
(2004 Tony Awards acceptance speech)
- “We will not tolerate hate any longer.”
(We Give A Damn campaign ad)
– “We do it in the shower. Everybody does it, you know. I just do it for a living.”
(Manny the Movie Guy’s Enchanted interview)
- “Don’t take the L.I.E., it’s bumpada bumpada traffic.”
(Late Late Show w/ Craig Ferguson, 3/2/06)
– “[My husband’s] not with me on the tour, so I have to cuddle with myself.”
(Late Late Show w/ Craig Ferguson, 8/4/08)
– “When I sing, do people die?”
(This Morning, October 13, 2008)
– “Hi, I’m Idina. I’m Taye Diggs’ wife and I’m my own self.”
(Live w/ Regis & Kelly, March 10, 2006)
– “It’s okay to be who you are, and it’s okay to be figuring it out.”
(AOL Sessions interview)
– “A kielbasa’s a sausage, isn’t it?! Well, I can play that too! Hullo!”
(Wedding Singer Days stories)
Also, BroadwayWorld has [finally] released video footage from Idina’s “Tweet Up” last week! Watch it below.
Twitter Conference – October 13, 2010
Description: Idina meets w/ NYC tweeters/bloggers to promote her symphony tour.
Time: 10:34 | Size: 92.7 MB
© BroadwayWorld
Format: .m4v
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