A few days before Halloween, Idina Menzel found herself 200 feet in the air, sitting in the canopy of a redwood forest.<\/p>\n
Outfitted in a bulky safety harness, puffer vest, climbing gloves and a bright red helmet, the voice of Elphaba and Elsa couldn\u2019t help but break into song in the breathtaking moment: \u201cFrom here, I see it all\u2026\u201d she sang, before letting her famous voice trail off into the forest\u2019s leafy ceiling.<\/p>\n
The reason the Tony winner was summiting the redwoods? Some seriously above-the-ground research for her leading role in Redwood<\/i>, the new original musical that will mark her return to Broadway for the first time in nearly a decade.<\/p>\n
Four days later, Menzel is safely back on the ground, curled up at home and reflecting on her time in the trees. \u201cI\u2019m used to climbing from our La Jolla production, so I\u2019m comfortable in the harness. And I\u2019m not afraid of heights, so it was fine,\u201d she laughs. And yes, for the record, the Broadway legend sees the parallel between climbing a 200-foot redwood and defying gravity, too.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a little theme goin\u2019 on,\u201d she says, a knowing smile lighting up her face. \u201cI\u2019m not sure why it happened, but I\u2019m definitely drawn to characters who get to fly in some sense of the word.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the new show, which is set to begin performances on January 24 at the Nederlander Theatre, Menzel plays Jesse, a successful New Yorker whose life is irrevocably altered when an unexpected tragedy strikes. Desperately searching for meaning in the wake of such a cataclysmic event, she hits the road and doesn\u2019t stop until she finds herself at the foot of the mystical, magical redwoods of Northern California.<\/p>\n
The story is an idea that Menzel has been developing for more than a decade, after learning about the life of Julia Butterfly Hill, an environmental activist who lived in a 1,000-foot redwood for 738 days in the late 1990s to save the tree from being cut down by the Pacific Lumber Company.<\/p>\n
Both inspired by Hill\u2019s story and fascinated by the idea of forsaking modern life to live in a tree, Menzel partnered with Tina Landau, the veteran director behind Broadway hits like Superior Donuts<\/i> (2009), Spongebob Squarepants: The Musical<\/i> (2017) and Mother Play<\/i> (2024) to bring Redwood<\/i> to life \u2014 starting with Jesse, a character that the three-time Tony nominee sees much of herself in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI relate to the feeling of feeling so low, and my anxiety issues and this need or desire to try to clean the slate and get away from all of the noise that goes on in my head,\u201d Menzel says. \u201cAnd so, she\u2019s doing very much the same thing. She\u2019s a mother. She\u2019s funny. She\u2019s self-absorbed. She\u2019s strong-willed. And\u2026 she\u2019s searching. I think that\u2019s what I love about her and identify with so much.\u201d<\/p>\n
With Menzel set to star and Landau pulling double duty as playwright and director, the duo went out on a limb to enlist Kate Diaz, a young composer with a background in film scoring, to write the music for the show.<\/p>\n
\u201cKate is many things,\u201d Menzel gushes about the musical wunderkind, who boasts dual degrees from Berklee College of Music and Harvard University and happens to be, as the actress puts it, \u201ca really great rhythm guitar player.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe writes really soulful, organic, earthy-sounding music. And <\/i>she writes, I think, sort of cinematically as well. So there\u2019s an intimacy in her writing and an acoustic, unplugged vibe, and then, she can write with huge wonder and grandeur and an epic quality,\u201d she continues. \u201cWhich is what our whole show is, it\u2019s the juxtaposition of a very simple, intimate story of a woman going through something in\u2026 this immersive, transportive experience in the redwoods.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first taste of the musical\u2019s unique organic-meets-cinematic sound comes in the form of \u201cGreat Escape,\u201d which Menzel recorded live during Redwood\u2019s out-of-town run at La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, California. The soaring ballad takes place during Act I, as Jesse experiences the peace and tranquility of climbing high into the redwoods for the first time.<\/p>\n
The song is, at turns, funny (\u201cOh my god, it\u2019s kinda hard to breathe\/ Will you remember me? The city girl who died hugging a tree,\u201d Jesse panics during her initial ascent), moving and utterly transportive, as Diaz\u2019s orchestration builds to a cathartic, crescendoing climax and Menzel wails, \u201cBut from here, I can see it clearly\/ Far away from the pain\/ I\u2019ll stay, I\u2019ll stay\/ \u2018Cause I found my great escape.\u201d (Turns out it\u2019s the same song she couldn\u2019t resist singing when she sat in the canopy for the first time in real life.)<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s likely that not many theatergoers will have climbed a redwood in their lives, Menzel is hopeful that Jesse\u2019s journey toward healing will resonate with audiences. \u201cIt\u2019s sort of a return to her innocence that I think people will really relate to,\u201d she says. \u201cAll the things that theater is meant to do about [creating] a communal experience, people being together in a theater and experiencing something for that one night only, in that one special way \u2014 it seems like that happens in our show. Everybody feels really seen and really heard when they leave.\u201d<\/p>\n
Helping audiences feel seen by the stories she tells on stage has been a hallmark of Menzel\u2019s celebrated career from the time she made her Broadway debut nearly three decades ago in Rent<\/i>. As bohemian lesbian performance artist Maureen, the actress not only earned her first Tony nomination and helped add modern classics like \u201cSeasons of Love,\u201d \u201cLa Vie Boheme\u201d and \u201cTake Me or Leave Me\u201d to the canon of great American show tunes, but she played a central role in the musical that defined a generation.<\/p>\n
So it seems fitting \u2014 like some magical full-circle moment, really \u2014 that Menzel\u2019s long-awaited return to Broadway will be in the very same theater that Rent<\/i> revitalized, playing for over 5,000 performances from 1996 to 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is actually very emotional for me when I\u2019ve talked about it,\u201d she says, shaking her head in wonder at the thought of stepping back onto the Nederlander\u2019s stage. \u201cIt feels really right. It\u2019s the right place and it\u2019s the right size of theater for this show, and it\u2019s got good juju. And I\u2019m gonna take my old dressing room. You know, it\u2019s like coming home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, of course, there\u2019s Wicked<\/i>. Playing Elphaba, the green-skinned dreamer-turned-Wicked Witch of the West, in the beloved prequel to The Wizard of Oz<\/i> catapulted Menzel into the stratosphere as Broadway royalty, winning her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical and indelibly changing her life (for good).<\/p>\n
Somehow, it\u2019s been more than two decades since Wicked<\/i> first premiered at the Gershwin Theatre \u2014 the show just celebrated its 21st anniversary and has become the fourth longest-running production in Broadway history. And yet, for a subject she\u2019s spent the better part of the 20th century being asked about, Menzel remains thoughtful, candid and visibly emotional when it comes to the special handprint Elphaba has left on her heart.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can only speak for myself and that I feel an immense amount of pride having been a part of this incredible legacy,\u201d she says before taking a long pause to collect her thoughts. \u201cI just know that I\u2019m a better person having played that character. And even more so for being able to sing her music every time I get on stage to do a concert.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, as a woman who second guesses herself and when it\u2019s OK to be loud and powerful and opinionated and strong, and angry,\u201d she continues, \u201cI\u2019m just so proud that this character sort of speaks to that and tells all of us \u2014 whether you\u2019re a woman or not \u2014 that by embracing our power and what makes us really special, we can change the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
More than two decades later, Menzel is watching a new wave of Wicked<\/i> mania take over the world as the musical finally makes its way to the silver screen for the long-clamored-for film adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.<\/p>\n
Naturally, she\u2019s seen the movie ahead of its Nov 22 premiere (\u201cIt\u2019s wonderful\u2026 it\u2019s actually very respectful of the musical, so it translates beautifully\u201d). And yes, there\u2019s a defin-ish<\/i> chance fans may spot her somewhere in Jon M. Chu\u2019s Technicolor version of Oz (\u201cI think if you went on socials and did not even a deep dig, you might find the answer to that question\u201d) as she ceremoniously passes her broomstick to Erivo as a new generation\u2019s Elphaba.<\/p>\n
\u201cI already know from spending time with the two of them how much it\u2019s changed them and how wonderful of an experience they had,\u201d she says of Erivo and Grande, whom she and original Glinda Kristin Chenoweth will pose arm-in-arm with at the film\u2019s Los Angeles premiere just a few days after our interview. \u201cIt sort of bonds all of us. So I\u2019m excited for them, that they\u2019re having this experience, and that everyone\u2019s going to see their contribution to this story and these women and celebrate them. I\u2019m also excited that more people, a wider audience, will get to be introduced to the story.\u201d<\/p>\n
And while the ever-popular story of Elphaba and Glinda takes on a new life, Menzel will return to the stage to tell Jesse\u2019s healing, hopeful story of flying among the redwoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love to create original roles,\u201d she says, \u201cand be a part of a creative group of people that want to make new work and tell stories that haven\u2019t been told\u2026 I always say my favorite thing in the world is to stand at a piano with a composer who\u2019s just written something new for the show. With you in mind, with me in mind. And to hear it for the first time and then learn how to sing it: that\u2019s the magic for me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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