It’s not everyday that the Houston Symphony has an attention-starved, bisexual, green-faced, adoptive wicked mom who prefers to fly by broomstick on the Jones Hall stage. These are just some of the characters that have made Idina Menzel a household name just about everywhere.

The men love her. The gays want to be her. And the ladies drool over her husband Taye Diggs (have you seen the abs?)

Menzel’s rise to the ranks of celeb began with her 1996 Broadway role as Maureen Johnson in the original Rent, the musical that updated the story of Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme and made numbers cool via the song “525,600.“ She received a Tony nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.

Ironically, it was Menzel yelling “fuck” emphatically after cackling the high note in the midst of her Wicked audition — “Defying Gravity” is not for the weak — that helped earn her a spot as Elphaba in that hit musical.

When it rains, it pours. Menzel won a Tony, three Broadway.com Audience Awards and a Drama Desk Award for the role. With her appearances in the TV hit Glee as Shelby Corcoran, now the former coach of rival show choir Vocal Adrenaline, the 40-year-old is at the top of her game.

We caught up with the busy actress, singer and songwriter when Menzel was in her car right outside the set of Glee. Over the phone while sitting in her car, Menzel gave us the insider scoop on her life and her  shows with the Houston Symphony this weekend (Menzel performs with the Symphony Friday, Saturday and Sunday night).

CultureMap: I can imagine that performing on a theater stage is quite different from the television set of Glee. Do you have a preference? What feels more comfortable for you? 

Idina Menzel: Technically there are a lot of differences, but there is one common denominator. As an artist and performer, whether you are on stage or on set, it’s imperative that I find the willingness to expose my vulnerabilities and connect with people.

That doesn’t change regardless of wherever I happen to be performing. So I feel it as a very similar experience even though the surroundings are quite different.

CM: In high school, did you have a favorite musical or a memorable musical experience?

IM: I went to high school in Long Island in a district that was very supportive of the arts. We did many school plays, musicals, concerts, you name it.

In 1988, we took a trip to the Soviet Union with the special honors choir. The choir was amazing. At that age, as a junior, the opportunity to see the world, meet students our own age doing the same thing in a different culture really opened my eyes.

I now know how fortunate I was to be a part of a school system that could support such a program, that had the means to raise the needed funds to send us abroad.

CM: Very important question. Who are you wearing in Houston? 

IM: That’s a really good question (laughs) and it’s bit of a long story. There was a mistake made when I went to London just last week and all my wardrobe is stuck in customs. I usually wear this gorgeous white dress.

At this point, your guess is as good as mine. As soon as I am finished with Glee today, off I go to figure that out.

I never wear shoes on stage. So that’s not an issue.

CM: No shoes? Comfort? Afraid to fall over?

IM: (Laughs) It’s more of a comfort thing. One day my ankles were hurting after lifting the stroller, suitcases, running through the airport and thought to myself, there is no way I am putting those 3-inch platform heels on. So I didn’t.

It was the best show I had performed. I felt grounded, more like myself. It’s more about have the freedom to just be me out there, and that means being comfortable.

CM: And the hair? I mean, look at you. It’s amazing. 

IM: My hair (laughs)? Gosh, I don’t have many tricks. I am lucky I had the time to shower two days in a row. I don’t feel very glamorous right now. My hormones are all screwed up from having a baby. My hair doesn’t know what it’s doing most of the time.

CM: So, you just celebrated the big 4-0 and Walker is now 2 years old. How do you balance between being a mom, a wife and a very active working performing artist. 

IM: Good question. I am learning everyday how to do it better; I struggle with finding balance everyday. As a mother, I feel empowered. I certainly can feel when I am spending too much in my career, when I need to spend more time with my husband and my child. That’s something all working women struggle with.

I feel comforted by the thought that everyday I leave the set, I do something for myself to ensure I am a better mother, a better wife. Also, performing is part of my life, it’s who I am. If I didn’t perform, I would not be the best version of myself, which translates in being a good mom.

CM: We hear you make a mean breakfast. French toast? Any other Idina Menzel signature dishes?

IM: Yes, I make really amazing French toast. I soak the bread really well in the eggs. And it’s all about the bread you use. I try not to use too much syrup, opt for agave nectar mostly. I make wicked omelets, pancakes and organic oatmeal with bananas.

Just don’t ask me to cook dinner.

CM: What are you passionate about lately?

IM: I started A Broader Way Foundation in an effort to support young people in the arts. Camp BroaderWay took 30 young inner city girls to a 10-day performing arts camp up in the Berkshire Mountains.

It wasn’t just music activities. They participated in camp fires, hikes, bunk skits, improvisation workshops and writing projects.

The students worked in a collaboration with composer Jeanine Tesori and using their ideas, they put together a beautiful original production which was performed in New York City.

I’d like the organization to grow so I can reach out more young people. I’d like more of them to have this experience and expand to Los Angeles, perhaps other cities.

CM: First time in Houston?

IM: Yes. My visit is culminating a year-and-a-half of shows. I am thrilled to stay in Houston for three nights, discover new things, see new places and meet Houston audiences. I just need to know where to go to eat.

CM: We’ll get our readers to give you restaurant suggestions.

Joel Luks – Culture Map Houston – October 13, 2011

Whatever type of music or theatre you’re into, chances are you’ve heard Idina Menzel‘s voice. She was part of the Broadway revolution that was Rent in 1996, was the first to immerse herself in green make-up and iconic Stephen Schwartz melodies in global hit Wicked, and more recently joined the talented and charming misfits of Glee on the small screen – and that’s not even scraping the surface of her film work and songwriting. Currently on an epic US tour, Idina is heading to London on the 6th of October to appear at the Royal Albert Hall in a special one-off concert. Lucy Thackray caught up with Idina to talk gigs, motherhood and ‘weird’ first jobs…

We are so looking forward to having you in London.

Not as much as I’m looking forward to it!

What can your fans expect from the show? I know you’ll have the Royal Philharmonic with Marvin Hamlisch conducting…

It’s basically me standing in front of a symphony and singing all the music that I love, in a city that I love very much. It’s a nice combination of thrilling orchestra meets very intimate performance, and I’m just really excited about coming over.

So is it similar to the material you’ve been doing on your US tour?

Oh yeah, I’ve been honing the material from my tour so that I can return to London and do a really good job. It’s songs from the shows that I’ve been in, which most people would expect, and some that they wouldn’t expect. There’s a selection that I’ve done on Glee, there are original things I did on my album, there are standards, Cole Porter – loads of stuff.

What do you love about being on stage alone, as yourself?

That’s a good question. You know, it’s that feeling of performing that I’ve had since I was a little kid, of being in front of a live audience. It’s hard to explain what it is; it’s just something I’ve wanted to do my whole life. There’s something really exhilarating about getting in front of a bunch of people and making yourself vulnerable to them, opening up your soul and using your voice to do it. And hopefully connecting to people, in this case in another country. That’s the gift that I get from putting myself in these situations. It’s the scariest, most terrifying thing but usually it’s very rewarding.

You have one of the most distinctive voices in musical theatre. Did you train in any specific technique to allow you to hit the sort of notes you hit in Wicked, or have you always had that belt?

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Most orchestras don’t have the distinction of rocking out to Lady Gaga tunes. But that’s exactly what the Cleveland Orchestra will do Saturday when Broadway powerhouse Idina Menzel makes her debut at Blossom.

Broadway star Idina Menzel will appear with the Cleveland Orchestra at the Blossom Festival opening and benefit for Center for Future Audiences on July 2.

The gala benefit concert will launch the orchestra’s Center for Future Audiences, which aims to bring more people — especially youth — to its music. Menzel’s star power crosses pop culture genres, from her iconic roles as Elphaba in Wicked and Maureen in Rent to her diva appearances as vocal coach Shelby Corcoran on the hit Fox show Glee.

Gleeks will be happy to hear that Menzel will sing two songs from Glee — Gaga’s Poker Face and Funny Girl. Her program will run the spectrum of her career, with some of her favorite Broadway tunes, including songs from roles she originated, pop songs and tunes from her third solo album, I Stand.

In a recent phone interview from Los Angeles, the raven-haired power balladeer talked about her efforts to balance her busy career with family life, including actor husband Taye Diggs and their son Walker, who will turn 2 in September. The little tyke had just run through the room with a big mylar ladybug balloon, and Menzel got him situated with his nanny outside.

”I’m going to go in the other room and talk to my friend on the phone and then we can play,” she told Walker.

The family had recently returned from a vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and Menzel had to hit the ground running as she jumps back into her orchestral tour. It’s a heavy summer schedule with performances most weekends, including a show in Cincinnati this weekend and then the one at Blossom.

”I don’t feel well-rested,” Menzel confided. ”I had a great vacation and then you come walk in the door and all the same feelings come over you. . . . Being able to hold onto that calm is literally impossible.”

Menzel has been doing orchestral appearances throughout the country intermittently in the last year, which allows her to stay home all week with her son, tuck him in on Friday nights, jump on a redeye and arrive at her destination about 7 a.m. Saturday. She sleeps until about 1 p.m., showers, attends rehearsal and sound check, eats dinner, performs, has ”a great adrenaline rush with the audience” and then catches an early flight back to L.A. the next morning.

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Sunday August 21, 2011

LENOX — For Broadway and TV actress Idina Menzel of “Rent,” “Wicked” and the Fox network’s “Glee,” the dream started in 1982 at the former Camp Olympus in the Catskills, near Monticello, N.Y.

Singing there in “Oliver!” helped steer her toward a career in music and theater.

This summer, at the Belvoir Terrace camp established here in 1954 on an estate built in 1890, she has created similar memories for 31 underprivileged girls from New York City.

During a break in rehearsals this past week, Menzel, 40, called the camp “a culmination of a dream. This is exceeding any expectations that I had. I loved being at summer camp as a kid and knew that I wanted to have a camp of my own one day.”

“As I grew older and had this career, and projects I was associated with have resonated with young audiences, that dream morphed into something that felt closer to a camp for people who wouldn’t necessarily have had the opportunity otherwise,” she added.

Camp BroaderWay, the 10-day project that followed Belvoir Terrace’s regular season, ends today with the girls, about to start seventh grade, now back home to perform a new theatrical work before invited family and friends at Columbia University’s Miller Theater.

Menzel and her husband, actor Taye Diggs of ABC’s “Private Practice,” partnered with the Women’s Leadership Institute and the Harlem Children’s Zone, along with corporate and individual sponsors, to raise funds for the free performing-arts session supported by the BroaderWay Foundation set up last year by the couple.

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