{"id":1229,"date":"2024-03-19T19:53:29","date_gmt":"2024-03-19T23:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/?p=1229"},"modified":"2024-03-19T19:53:29","modified_gmt":"2024-03-19T23:53:29","slug":"hear-idina-menzel-sing-live-in-her-new-musical","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/hear-idina-menzel-sing-live-in-her-new-musical\/","title":{"rendered":"Hear Idina Menzel Sing Live in Her New Musical"},"content":{"rendered":"

The musical theater star is originating a role in, and was deeply involved in the creation of ‘Redwood’ \u2014 which could potentially bring her back to Broadway.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cEver since Rent<\/em>, I have made it a priority to originate roles and shine a light on new work,\u201d Idina Menzel tells Billboard<\/em>. \u201cIt takes lots of patience and fortitude, but there is truly nothing as rewarding as seeing your kernel of an idea fully realized with a group of people you love and admire so deeply.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Broadway icon\u2019s latest project in that vein is the new musical Redwood<\/em>, currently playing at La Jolla Playhouse in California. For Menzel \u2014 who plays Jesse, a successful businesswoman, mother and wife who finds herself as a personal crossroads and finds unexpected answers in the forests of Northern California \u2014 the show is an especially personal creative endeavor. \u201cThe story of a woman at a turning point in her life paralleled with the resilience, wisdom and strength of the redwood tree was one that spoke to me deep in my soul,\u201d Menzel says. \u201cNature\u2019s power to heal and connect us as human beings is essential in this turbulent world we are living in.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Menzel, who released her latest album Drama Queen<\/em> in August of last year, isn\u2019t just the star of the production. She co-conceived Redwood<\/em> with director, writer and co-lyricist Tina Landau (recently of Broadway\u2019s inventive SpongeBob SquarePants<\/em> musical) over the course of many years, delving deeply into the development of Jesse as a character.<\/p>\n

Menzel and Landau also \u201cknew we wanted to find a new young composer who could bring a fresh take to musical theater\u201d for the show, bringing in Kate Diaz for a score that Menzel describes as having \u201ca beautiful, earthy and soulful quality as well as expansive and cinematic. When I perform Kate\u2019s music, I am able to use all the different colors in my voice. I\u2019m not just shooting for the rafters. I\u2019m expressing myself similarly to how I express myself in my own songwriting.\u201d (Diaz also co-wrote the lyrics with Landau).<\/p>\n

While the La Jolla run of Redwood<\/em> ends March 31, the show has its sights set on Broadway \u2014 which certainly seems more likely than not with Menzel and her creative collaborators on board. \u201cWe knew we wanted the production to be cutting edge and unconventional,\u201d Menzel says. \u201cWe have encouraged one another to dream big, break rules, and not compromise our creative ideas. There\u2019s a deep sense of creative freedom and trust in how we work.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here, Menzel exclusively shares with Billboard<\/em> a live recording of her performing \u201cGreat Escape,\u201d recorded during a performance of Redwood<\/em>.<\/p>\n