Though it arrives nearly 20 years after her debut album, the timing couldn\u2019t be more perfect for a self-titled Idina Menzel release. Menzel\u2019s latest, out Sept. 23, is a declaration of self \u2013 of her real self, that is.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s how you pronounce my name,\u201d the Broadway star says during our recent interview about the eponymous title, \u201cidina.,\u201d not-so-subtly alluding to that infamous name botch at the 2014 Academy Awards.<\/p>\n
You remember: John Travolta called her \u201cAdele Dazeem\u201d just before she hit the stage to perform her career-changing song \u201cLet It Go\u201d from Disney\u2019s \u201cFrozen,\u201d during which the Tony winner voices cold-thwarting snow queen Elsa. \u201cFrozen\u201d fame took Menzel to Elphaba heights, but it was \u201cWicked\u201d and \u201cRent\u201d that forever made her a gay fave.<\/p>\n
Imagine, then, what a new \u201cBeaches\u201d might do for Menzel. The Lifetime remake of the 1988 classic has the 45-year-old portraying Bette Midler\u2019s CC Bloom, a career choice the singer-actress admits has ruffled the feathers of her loyal queer following. Menzel talked about one gay fan\u2019s tweet that led to her almost backing out of the film altogether, how LGBT support solidified her success and why she\u2019s \u201cexcited\u201d that \u201cFrozen\u201d fans are pulling for a lesbian Elsa.<\/p>\n
What\u2019s a trip to the grocery like now, after \u201cFrozen\u201d made you a household name? <\/b>
\nIt depends on how many little kids or gay men are there. And they certainly have been complimentary, and yeah, we take some pictures and I\u2019ve put myself on a video for several people\u2019s birthday wishes and bar mitzvahs.<\/p>\n
But the gay guys aren\u2019t just singing \u201cLet It Go\u201d to you, I\u2019m sure. <\/b>
\nExactly. And you know what, I\u2019m leaving out the ladies too! Because, of course, I was Maureen in \u201cRent,\u201d so it\u2019s not all the gay male community. There are a lot of beautiful women that have been very supportive of me.<\/p>\n
What does your long and loyal history with the LGBT community mean to you? <\/b>
\nHonestly, you said the word \u201cloyal\u201d \u2013 it means everything to me. All the women that I\u2019ve revered in my life have been beloved by the gay community. So, when I was younger it was like, if I\u2019m not in with that club, then I haven\u2019t made it. So, as soon as I felt like I was being included and appreciated and supported (by the LGBT community), it just really meant everything to me. Not to mention, the accolades and all the compliments don\u2019t come easy. There can be harsh critics; it\u2019s not an easy crowd to win over, so it feels good when you feel like you\u2019ve made friends and they are so loyal and so supportive.<\/p>\n
When were you first aware of your gay following?<\/b>
\nThe first moment was probably when I\u2019d go to the Nederlander Theatre when I was in \u201cRent\u201d (in the mid \u201990s), and I\u2019d get all these amazing letters from young kids struggling with their sexual orientation and who they were and how they wanted to come out. I\u2019d get a lot of letters about that and how I was helping them be honest with themselves and be brave about coming out, so it started then and that was even\u2026 that was stronger than I had even anticipated or ever really had dreamed. Just on a much deeper, much more important level than singing a high note with a lot of bravado and people clapping. And it\u2019s continued to be like that, really, with \u201cWicked\u201d and \u201cFrozen,\u201d with Elsa. There are always these characters who are literally trying to come out of the closet \u2013 they\u2019re hiding something within them that they\u2019re afraid to let people see, and then finally they embrace it and change the world around them.<\/p>\n
You seem to gravitate toward empowered female characters and tropes. Is there a particular reason why?<\/b>
\nI have no idea! (Laughs) I swear to god, I don\u2019t know if I find them, or they find me. I went into the studio (for this album) \u2013 I was going through a divorce (Menzel and her former \u201cRent\u201d co-star Taye Diggs officially divorced in late 2014 after 10 years of marriage), and I can\u2019t tell you how many times I\u2019d sit with these amazing writers and want to write some really upsetting, sad, dark song and it would turn out to be some uplifting, empowering song about trying to find my strength as a woman. I\u2019d be like, \u201c Aaack<\/i>,\u201d why did we write that?! I hate that! I\u2019m just so sick of it! I wanna be miserable! And I want people to let me be miserable!\u201d (Laughs)
\nBut no, I\u2019m half joking. I just want to make sure that people know that I\u2019m not always feeling that empowered and that confident in what I\u2019m doing. Just like anyone else, I gotta work on all that stuff.<\/p>\n
Are you saying you\u2019re a real person?<\/b>
\n(Laughs) I think so! I think I am!<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of pressure on you and Disney to make Elsa gay. Are you surprised by the #GiveElsaAGirlfriend movement?<\/b>
\nAm I surprised? (Sighs) Maybe at first I was a little surprised because it\u2019s Disney, but I can say that I\u2019m excited that the conversation is happening. I can\u2019t promise anybody that that\u2019s what\u2019s gonna happen. I\u2019m just a servant at a big company called Disney and I\u2019m happy to have a role and a job. But deep down am I really happy that it\u2019s causing people to talk about it and have these kinds of conversations? Yeah, I am.<\/p>\n
Do you think the world is ready for a lesbian Disney princess?<\/b>
\nUmm\u2026 I don\u2019t know about that, considering we\u2019re having a hard time even getting Donald Trump out of the way. Sometimes it\u2019s a little discouraging. But you never know. We keep making all these strides. We\u2019ve made a lot of strides in the last couple of years, and then all of a sudden the hate and the vitriol within our country is exposed and you\u2019re like, \u201cWhat happened? We\u2019re in the ancient times again.\u201d<\/p>\n
What does it mean to you to know that so many LGBT people interpreted \u201cLet It Go\u201d as a coming out anthem? And did you when you first read the lyrics?<\/b>
\nYeah, umm\u2026 probably not right at first because I\u2019m an actor first, and so I\u2019m thinking, what is it for this character and this young girl? Having had the \u201cWicked\u201d experience, I bring those themes to it as well. But then I quickly saw all of the parallels and the universality of the song and how it could speak to so many people in so many different ways.<\/p>\n
We must talk about the Patti LaBelle-inspired note you slay during \u201cQueen of Swords,\u201d from your new album. <\/b>
\n(Laughs) I have to say that sometimes my best moments, artistically speaking, have come from really emulating someone I love and playing around, because then I get out of my own space. I was literally just having fun. We had already recorded the end of that song a million times and I sang a million different runs of ad-libs at the end, and I was trying to make my producer and engineer laugh. And I didn\u2019t know I could do that one! So then, of course, they put it in.
\nI\u2019ve had other moments in my life where I\u2019m on stage and if I\u2019m having a hard time \u2013 if I feel insecure about a beat or how I\u2019m interpreting something \u2013 I\u2019ve done something like, how would Glenn Close approach this moment? Then, all of a sudden, I\u2019m like, \u201cOh, look at this,\u201d and I\u2019m holding for applause and taking an extra two seconds just to own the stage, not feeling like I have to get out of there because I\u2019m undeserving. It\u2019s interesting if you put yourself in their footsteps once in a while how it can open that up for you and you realize, \u201cOh, I\u2019ve been selling myself short. I can<\/i> sell this moment.\u201d
\nI\u2019m not saying anybody should copy anybody. I don\u2019t think anybody should mimic anyone, but I\u2019m always an advocate of emulating and soaking in all of the greats, because then once it comes out of you, it\u2019ll never be a clone \u2013 it will be you inspired by these people.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve had three other studio albums \u2013 why self-title this one, and what\u2019s the significance of the period? <\/b>
\nIt\u2019s very personal. I went through the hardest time in my life while writing this album \u2013 a beautiful, successful time, and also a very tumultuous, complicated time in my personal life, and so it\u2019s very intimate. It\u2019s my way of saying, \u201cHey, this is me and my barebones.\u201d And the period is\u2026 what\u2019s the word?\u2026 just a little nudge, like, \u201cThis is me,\u201d with a little attitude in there, whether it\u2019s how you pronounce my name or (directed toward) anybody who has tried to keep me down.<\/p>\n
We refer to our most beloved icons by one name \u2013 Cher, Madonna, Mariah, Bette \u2013 so maybe this is also your initiation into gay iconography. <\/b>
\n(Laughs) Hey, if I can get into that realm or that class, I would be very happy. It would be a huge compliment. But I\u2019m still working toward that. Those women have done a lot more than I have!<\/p>\n
Why was it important to you to be a part of the \u201cFight Song\u201d for Hillary Clinton during the Democratic National Convention?<\/b>
\nElizabeth Banks asked me to do it. You know, I\u2019m just \u2026 I believe in Hillary and I\u2019m a Democrat, and I\u2019m not trying to put off or judge anyone who isn\u2019t, but I felt it was important to be a part of it.<\/p>\n
Now that you\u2019re obviously tight with Elizabeth Banks, could that mean we\u2019ll see you in \u201cPitch Perfect 3\u201d? <\/b>
\n(Laughs) Oh god, that would be awesome. That would be great.<\/p>\n
\u201cWind Beneath My Wings\u201d is a song that\u2019s so iconic and so owned by Bette Midler. What was it like taking it on for your upcoming \u201cBeaches\u201d remake? <\/b>
\n(Sighs) It was almost reason to say no. I mean, I did say no a couple of times at first to the whole thing because to walk in her footsteps, I mean, you can\u2019t. I needed to find what the reasons were to be a part of this when the (original) movie is so beautiful as is. I found that there\u2019s a whole young generation of women who hadn\u2019t seen \u201cBeaches.\u201d Because of the time we\u2019re in now, as women, there\u2019s a new perspective we have within that story, and there\u2019s a new conversation that can go on as far as us living out our passions and our work and our home life. It\u2019s a little different when you watch the movie now, in this context of life. There\u2019s more that we can bring to it to update it. But as far as the song \u2013 the song terrified me. I brought it to my producer, Greg Wells, who did \u201cQueen of Swords\u201d and half of the album, and I said, \u201cHow can we make this contemporary?\u201d We sat at the piano and stripped it down, and he just found this way that brings in all these modern sounds. We stayed pretty strict to the melody and I don\u2019t know \u2013 I\u2019m just really happy about it. I think it came off really beautifully. It\u2019s an homage to what was already there, but also just a new incarnation of it.<\/p>\n
Gay men are very devoted to \u201cBeaches.\u201d Have you consulted any of them for the role? <\/b>
\nBy accident I went on my Twitter feed and saw somebody who wrote, \u201cIdina, I love you, but it\u2019s sacrilege that you\u2019re doing this!\u201d I called my agent and I was like, \u201cTell them I can\u2019t do it. All these gay men are mad at me and they\u2019re gonna hate me!\u201d But it\u2019s just such a great role for me and the experience of being on set and working every day on this beautiful woman that is funny and talented and she gets to do drama and comedy \u2013 it was such a great experience for me and it was just hard to turn down. So I hope they\u2019ll forgive me! I understand if they cannot. But you know, come on, Judy Garland redid \u201cA Star is Born\u201d and then Barbra redid Judy Garland! So sometimes these things happen. I\u2019m not saying I\u2019m any of those women, but you know, sometimes we redo these movies.<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, you reunited with your \u201cWicked\u201d co-star Kristin Chenoweth and sang \u201cFor Good\u201d with her for the first time in 12 years. What was it like to revisit that song a decade-plus later with Kristin and can we expect you to work on anything else with her?<\/b>
\nAh, maybe! Yeah, I would never say never to that. That experience that day was very powerful for both of us, and very moving. We both sung that song a lot through the years in our own concerts, but we hadn\u2019t gotten back and sung it together. And you know, that show changed our lives and the trajectory of our careers. It bonded us \u2013 it bonded lots of people \u2013 and it\u2019s a song that people connect to in so many ways. They use it at their weddings and their dances with their mothers and they play it at funerals. It\u2019s this incredible song, and for us to have sort of originated that \u2013 and together \u2013 it\u2019s something we\u2019ll always share. We felt such a pride about it.<\/p>\n
Are you going to be OK if \u201cWicked\u201d gets made into a film with actresses other than you and Kristin?<\/b>
\nNo, I\u2019m gonna \u2013 no! I\u2019m gonna have a hard time with that. (Laughs) Let\u2019s be honest\u2026 you want me to be honest? Or do you want me to say, \u201cOh, sure, can\u2019t wait for whoever looks 20 years younger than me but can\u2019t sing as good as me gets the role\u201d?<\/p>\n
They better not fuck it up, right? <\/b>
\nThey better not fuck it up! I\u2019m lobbying to do it like \u201cBenjamin Button.\u201d A little CGI on a beautiful, green face. I could look gorgeous! Like, who cares \u2013 just take out a couple wrinkles. Green and exotic. I still have a girly innocence about me. And here I am trying to audition for this role\u2026 (Laughs)<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sorry, Idina; believe it or not, I have no say in this. <\/b>
\n(Laughs) No, it\u2019s all good. It\u2019s not gonna happen for a while anyway. I\u2019ll be 70 by the time it comes out and still be trying to get this role.<\/p>\n
The special effects will be even better in 30 years.<\/b>
\n(Laughs) I hope I\u2019m just not in Vegas in some bad lounge singing it, that\u2019s all I hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Though it arrives nearly 20 years after her debut album, the timing couldn\u2019t be more perfect for a self-titled Idina Menzel release. Menzel\u2019s latest, out Sept. 23, is a declaration of self \u2013 of her real self, that is. \u201cIt\u2019s how you pronounce my name,\u201d the Broadway star […]<\/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":[2],"tags":[47],"class_list":["post-744","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews","tag-47"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6Srnq-c0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744","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=744"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":745,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/744\/revisions\/745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=744"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=744"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.idina-here.com\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=744"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}