When Idina Menzel first appeared onstage, her presence abruptly bringing the swelling overture to a stark silence, there was perhaps no greater applause during the nearly three-hour performance of \u201cIf\/Then\u201d than when she delivered the show\u2019s opening line: \u201cHey, it\u2019s me.\u201d<\/p>\n
And that immediate enthusiasm is completely warranted, because a national tour of a star-studded, Tony Award-nominated musical (currently at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco) is rarely filled by its original cast members. Menzel and Anthony Rapp, reunited again after co-starring in \u201cRent,\u201d are the undisputed stars of the show \u2014 stars who perhaps outshine the show itself.<\/p>\n
Created by the duo behind the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning rock musical \u201cNext to Normal,\u201d Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey\u2019s show revolves around Menzel\u2019s character, Elizabeth, a city planner in her late 30s who leaves her husband in Phoenix to start over her life in New York City. The show opens on Elizabeth\u2019s first day in New York, when she is greeted by both her college-sweetheart-turned-best-friend, Lucas (Anthony Rapp), and her new across-the-hall neighbor, Kate (LaChanze).<\/p>\n
From there, Elizabeth is given two choices: attending an anti-gentrification protest with Lucas or going to a concert in Brooklyn with Kate. Her choice dictates the course of her future \u2014 whether she gets a job, meets the man of her dreams or starts a family. By the end of the show\u2019s opening number, Elizabeth finds herself ruminating on all the possibilities, asking herself, \u201cWhat if?\u201d<\/p>\n
The audience, however, does not have to wonder \u201cwhat if,\u201d as the musical explores both of Elizabeth\u2019s possible paths. If she follows Kate, she becomes known as Liz and brushes shoulders with a potential suitor. But if she follows Lucas, she becomes known as Beth and receives her dream job as a city planner, working under her former graduate school boyfriend.<\/p>\n
As Kitt and Yorkey have a propensity for writing music suited for a demanding female vocalist (see Alice Ripley as Diana Goodman in \u201cNext to Normal\u201d), Menzel\u2019s execution was unsurprisingly effortless. Menzel\u2019s sheer presence seemed to dwarf that of the ensemble, and simplistic songs and melodies proved not to challenge her incredible vocal ability.<\/p>\n
Additionally, much of the music was almost audibly indistinguishable. Many of the songs sounded extremely similar and seemed to focus more on narrating the fast-paced storyline than on the emotional responses of its characters. It is as if Kitt and Yorkey were attempting to recreate the clever storytelling quality of \u201cNext to Normal\u2019s\u201d soundtrack but lacked the emotional depth to execute it the same way.<\/p>\n
The ensemble musical performances seemed average and, at times, a bit underwhelming, but the show truly shined through its stars. LaChanze stands out as a pointed and pragmatic kindergarten teacher in \u201cNo More Wasted Time,\u201d her soulful voice echoing the poignant message of grabbing life as it comes and never letting go. Rapp is earnest and honest in his performance of \u201cYou Don\u2019t Need to Love Me,\u201d his tender tenor voice caressing each line with such sincerity that you can\u2019t help but feel a pang of pain in your chest when he sings, \u201cYou don\u2019t need to love me the way that I love you.\u201d<\/p>\n
But of course, it is Menzel\u2019s emotionally driven rendition of the musical\u2019s penultimate song, \u201cAlways Starting Over,\u201d that serves as the show\u2019s most memorable moment. \u201cAlways Starting Over\u201d seemed to be the only song that was fitting of Menzel\u2019s unfathomable vocal range. As she sang, the stage was bare, dressed only by the highs and lows of her soaring, unmovable voice. She belted lyrics that seemed to sum up the show\u2019s central message: \u201cIf we\u2019re always starting over every brand new morning, then we\u2019re always starting out with the end in doubt.\u201d And as Menzel crescendoed into the song\u2019s final, climactic note, it was difficult not to draw comparisons to her iconic role as Elphaba from \u201cWicked\u201d soaring above the stage during the final moments of \u201cDefying Gravity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite its minor flaws and somewhat forgettable tribulations, \u201cIf\/Then\u201d is still worth seeing, purely thanks to the undeniable collective talent of its central cast. To see Rapp and Menzel reunite onstage is the stuff of a theater lover\u2019s wildest dreams, and for them to be part of the national touring cast truly makes this production a treasure.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf\/Then\u201d is playing at the Orpheum Theater through Dec. 6.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
When Idina Menzel first appeared onstage, her presence abruptly bringing the swelling overture to a stark silence, there was perhaps no greater applause during the nearly three-hour performance of \u201cIf\/Then\u201d than when she delivered the show\u2019s opening line: \u201cHey, it\u2019s me.\u201d And that immediate enthusiasm is completely warranted, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"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":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[10],"tags":[36,40],"class_list":["post-589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-36","tag-ifthen"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Srnq-9v","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589","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=589"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":590,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/589\/revisions\/590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}