{"id":475,"date":"2015-10-23T03:46:31","date_gmt":"2015-10-23T03:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/?p=475"},"modified":"2015-10-23T03:46:31","modified_gmt":"2015-10-23T03:46:31","slug":"im-very-proud-that-frozen-has-connected-with-the-gay-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/im-very-proud-that-frozen-has-connected-with-the-gay-community\/","title":{"rendered":"I’m very proud that Frozen has connected with the gay community"},"content":{"rendered":"

Frozen\u2019s Elsa, Idina Menzel, talks divorce, Broadway success, and why she’s had a “very trying year”<\/em><\/p>\n

Even if you do not recognise Idina Menzel, you know her voice. She plays Elsa in Disney\u2019s Frozen \u2013 you may have heard of it. The film has permeated popular culture in a way that could only be surpassed if the sun went supernova.<\/p>\n

New York also seems to have caught Frozen fever. The city is just emerging from a long, hard winter as The Big Issue shares a taxi with Menzel, on her way to the Richard Rodgers Theatre on West 46th Street.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cold really bothers me,\u201d Menzel says. \u201cI have to sing and I can\u2019t get sick so when I get sick it\u2019s not fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before she was Elsa, Queen of Arendelle, Menzel, 43, was Queen of Broadway. In the mid-1990s she starred in the original production of Rent, before donning green face paint and winning a Tony Award for playing Elphaba, the misunderstood Witch of the West in Wicked. Her latest show If\/Then, in which she plays a new divorcee looking for a fresh start, is in its final week after a year of sold-out performances.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s bitter sweet,\u201d she says as the taxi pulls up. \u201cIt has been the most rewarding and most exhausting experience. When I\u2019m gone from the theatre too long I really start to miss it. I like the consistency in an industry where it\u2019s so ephemeral. It\u2019s nice to know you have a place to go every day and do your job as an artist. But I\u2019m ready for a break.\u201d<\/p>\n

Out of the taxi, into the theatre, straight to hair and make-up ahead of the evening\u2019s performance. This seems like the only time in the day Menzel gets to rest (\u201cI might fall asleep on you\u201d), as she reflects on the impact Frozen has had on her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been such a gift,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen I was in Rent I thought, oh well that\u2019s it, you don\u2019t get lucky enough to be a part of something this extraordinary more than once. It has happened three times. For whatever reason the universe dropped these in my lap.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frozen has done alright for itself. The tale of two sisters overcoming their issues with love, loyalty and a singsong is warm enough to melt the iciest of hearts. It is the highest-grossing animated film of all time, making $1.3bn at the box office and untold riches through limitless merchandising. In America, more than three million children (and adults?) own a Frozen costume. After a bumper Christmas, Disney\u2019s Consumer Products wing reported a 47 per cent sales surge and the company\u2019s stock price jumped to a record high of $101.28 per share.<\/p>\n

Menzel believes that it is the relationship between Elsa and Anna and their distinct brand of girl power that is key to Frozen\u2019s success. \u201cI don\u2019t know if I\u2019d compare them to the Spice Girls but they are two women who are unique and powerful in their own way and are not afraid to show that. They don\u2019t need a man to complete them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Writer and co-director Jennifer Lee is the creative dynamo behind the film but even she did not predict that it would find an audience. \u201cI remember that nervousness as we went into the opening weekend, just completely not knowing what was going to happen,\u201d she tells The Big Issue. \u201cIn the summer we had screened it for two audiences. It was only half animated but the reactions exceeded our expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were going out with a giant musical with two female leads,\u201d Lee continues. \u201cWe knew that boys enjoyed it just as much as girls but that did not mean they would come to see it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Well, they did come to see it, repeatedly. And the inevitable sequel is already in the works.<\/p>\n

Next month, Menzel is embarking on a worldwide tour with a setlist including an Ethel Merman tribute, Radiohead, plus \u201cthe songs you would assume\u201d. \u201cMostly I\u2019m excited that for the first time I\u2019m out there after having an actual hit song,\u201d Menzel beams. \u201cPeople knew songs from shows I was in but I finally have a song that was played all over the world on the radio.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frozen is a fine film but it\u2019s the score, crowned by the show-stopping anthem Let It Go, that is responsible for its snowballing success. The soundtrack album was the second bestselling of 2014 \u2013 only Taylor Swift sold more records. Most kids can sing Let It Go by rote. It is universally adored, except by one child \u2013 Menzel\u2019s five-and-a-half-year-old son, Walker.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy job requires my attention and my time and he\u2019d rather it all be for him,\u201d she explains. \u201cIf I start to sing it in the house or if somebody starts talking to me about it he gets really annoyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

The things you need to learn in your life are mirrored in the work you are given to do<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Not every fairytale has its happily ever after. Menzel\u2019s marriage to Walker\u2019s father, Taye Diggs, ended after 10 years as her career soared to new heights. \u201cIt\u2019s been a real personally trying year for me \u2013 professionally astounding \u2013 but I\u2019ve been getting divorced,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s interesting how serendipitous things are. The things you need to learn in your life are mirrored in the work you are given to do. And I like that. I feel like I\u2019m able to learn through my art.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s universality in specificity,\u201d Menzel continues. \u201cIn the details of our daily lives is authenticity that then reaches out to so many people beyond. You realise you\u2019re speaking for others in a way you never even thought.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps that is the secret of any great show or song, if people can relate even if the singer may be a snow queen or not-so-wicked witch. Elsa and Elphaba specifically have been embraced by the LGBT community who relate to the characters\u2019 stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very proud of that,\u201d Menzel says. \u201cIt\u2019s coming out of the closet. They\u2019ve hidden something or felt that they\u2019ve had to compromise who they are in order to be accepted. They finally decide to throw caution to the wind, tell everyone to screw off. The world opens up to them in a whole new way and they find happiness and contentment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that [in the characters I play] there\u2019s a pattern of young people trying to find their way. The older I get the more I still need to be reminded of my own self-esteem and my own empowerment as a woman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Do you still have problems with other people trying to bring you down or with letting go?<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, of course. To connect with your audience you have to remain vulnerable. You have to let them see who you really are even if you\u2019re hiding behind green makeup or an animated character.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerformers are the most hypocritical people. We\u2019re terrified, we\u2019re insecure, we have all of these demons inside of us and yet we\u2019re the first to get up on stage and expose ourselves in front of hundreds or thousands or millions of people. I\u2019m constantly having to fight my own insecurities, but I\u2019m also finding ways to celebrate who I am.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m comfortable being myself with no makeup to hide behind,\u201d Menzel concludes. \u201cI\u2019m a pretty cool chick.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Frozen\u2019s Elsa, Idina Menzel, talks divorce, Broadway success, and why she’s had a “very trying year” Even if you do not recognise Idina Menzel, you know her voice. She plays Elsa in Disney\u2019s Frozen \u2013 you may have heard of it. The film has permeated popular culture in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":476,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[36,11],"class_list":["post-475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interviews","tag-36","tag-world-tour-2015"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/gc.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Srnq-7F","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=475"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":477,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/475\/revisions\/477"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/476"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=475"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=475"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}