Idina Menzel, the Tony-winning star of \u201cWicked\u201d and vocal powerhouse behind Elsa in Disney\u2019s animated \u201cFrozen,\u201d will star in \u201cRedwood,\u201d a world premiere musical that will close La Jolla Playhouse\u2019s 2023-24 season in February of next year.<\/p>\n
\u201cRedwood\u201d will feature a book, lyrics and direction by Tina Landau and score and lyrics by Kate Diaz.<\/p>\n
The musical will tell the story of Jesse, a successful businesswoman, mother and wife who is hiding a broken heart. Finding herself at a turning point, she leaves everything behind and drives to the West Coast, where she ends up in California\u2019s redwood forest and finds community and healing. Christopher Ashley, the Playhouse\u2019s artistic director, said in a statement that the musical \u201coverflows with invention, inspiration and empathy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Menzel has been a star since making her Broadway debut in 1996 as performance artist Maureen in \u201cRent.\u201d Then in 2003 she become a superstar as the high-flying green-skinned witch Elphaba in \u201cWicked.\u201d Besides her Broadway work, Menzel has worked on television and in film and she is a songwriter.<\/p>\n
Diaz is a prolific Los Angeles composer, songwriter and producer who writes music for film, television, trailers and commercials. Landau is a writer and director who conceived and directed the 2018 Broadway musical \u201cSpongeBob SquarePants.\u201d She also co-wrote with composer Adam Guettel the off Broadway musical \u201cFloyd Collins,\u201d which had a production at San Diego\u2019s Old Globe in 1999. La Jolla Playhouse also premiered Landau\u2019s fairy tale-inspired play \u201cBeauty\u201d in 2003.<\/p>\n
In an email interview Thursday, Menzel talked about \u201cRedwood\u201d and her collaborations with Landau and Diaz.<\/p>\n
Q: <\/b>You\u2019re probably courted to do new musicals all the time. Why did this one speak to you?<\/p>\n
A:<\/b> Tina and I have been dreaming up a version of this show for many years now. It is original, unique, and embodies everything that is important to me in musical theater. It\u2019s an opportunity to play a character I don\u2019t think we\u2019ve seen before but we all know very well and it\u2019s a different kind of story told in a unique way.<\/p>\n
Q:<\/b> You and Kate co-wrote the title song for the 2022 HBO documentary \u201cA Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting.\u201d How do you like collaborating with her?<\/p>\n
A: <\/b>Kate is our composer. Her music is epic and cinematic as well as intimate well- crafted songwriting. Soaring melodies or little prayers. All of it feels instinctual to me and yet I\u2019m challenged and finding new ways to use my voice and access the soul of this character.<\/p>\n
Q:<\/b> You\u2019ve also worked in the past with Tina Landau. Is this a role that she wrote for you? And how long has this project been in development?<\/p>\n
A:<\/b> I\u2019ve wanted to work with Tina for as long as I can remember. She\u2019s always understood me and I\u2019m comfortable taking risks around her. I trust she will always be honest and challenge me while always having my back. That\u2019s what great directors do. Tina and I share a love and fascination for the redwoods. There is a humility and reverence that comes when standing at the foot of these ancient giants. Through the years, our idea of what the piece should be has evolved as we have evolved. It\u2019s very personal for us. We intend on making this an immersive, immediate experience. A story where the audience will experience Jesse\u2019s intimate personal journey as well as the grand scale of the redwoods. It\u2019s about connection with nature and each other.<\/p>\n
Q:<\/b> What attracted you to the role of Jesse in \u201cRedwood\u201d? Is there something about her flight to California\u2019s redwood forest to rediscover herself a journey that intrigues you?<\/p>\n
A:<\/b> I\u2019m always drawn to characters who are fighters. Jesse is someone who has experienced a heartbreaking loss who finds new life and purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cRedwood\u201d will conclude a Playhouse season that begins in June and includes Anna Deavere Smith\u2019s tennis-themed play \u201cLove All\u201d; Jenn Freeman, Sonya Tayeh and Holland Andrews\u2019 dance-infused piece about neurodiversity \u201cIs It Thursday Yet?\u201d; Joe Iconis and Gregory S. Moss\u2019 \u201cThe Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical\u201d: Lisa Sanaye Dring\u2019s wrestling-themed play \u201cSumo\u201d; and \u201cBabbitt,\u201d Joe DiPietro\u2019s adaptation of the Sinclair Lewis novel, featuring film and Broadway star Matthew Broderick. For more on the season, visit lajollaplayhouse.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The star of \u2018Wicked\u2019 and \u2018Frozen\u2019 spoke with the Union-Tribune about this musical, her collaborators Tina Landau and Kate Diaz and her love for California\u2019s redwood forest Idina Menzel, the Tony-winning star of \u201cWicked\u201d and vocal powerhouse behind Elsa in Disney\u2019s animated \u201cFrozen,\u201d will star in \u201cRedwood,\u201d a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1261,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2],"tags":[77,81],"class_list":["post-1260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-77","tag-redwood"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/0000016f-1083-db68-a9ef-50b7d60e0000-scaled.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Srnq-kk","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1260"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1262,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1260\/revisions\/1262"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}