Idina Kim Menzel (pronounced /ɪˈdiːnə mɛnˈzɛl/; née Mentzel; born May 30,
1971) is an
American actress, singer and songwriter. She is widely known for originating the roles of
Maureen in
Rent and Elphaba in
Wicked.
Idina was born on
Long Island, New York, to a
Jewish family. Her mother,
Helene, is a therapist, and her father,
Stuart Mentzel, worked as a pajama salesman. She was raised in
Syosset, New York, with her younger sister Cara, and later changed the spelling of
her last name (Mentzel) because of constant mispronunciation.
When Menzel was 15 years old, her parents divorced and she began working as a wedding and bar mitzvah singer. A job she continued throughout her time at
New York University's
Tisch School of the Arts. She earned a
Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in
Drama at
NYU.
In
1995, Menzel auditioned for Rent, which became her first professional theater job and her
Broadway debut. Rent opened off-Broadway at the
New York Theatre Workshop on
January 26,
1996.
it moved to Broadway's
Nederlander Theatre due to its popularity. For her performance as
Maureen Johnson in the original cast, Menzel received a
Tony nomination as
Best Featured
Actress in a
Musical. Her final performance in the musical was on July 1,
1997.
Following the success of Rent, Menzel released her first solo
album entitled "
Still I Can't
Be Still" on "HollyWood
Records", Menzel also originated the role of
Dorothy in
Summer of '42 at
Goodspeed Opera House in
Connecticut, starred as
Sheila in the
New York City Center Encores! production of
Hair and appeared on Broadway as Amneris in
Aida. Menzel earned a
Drama Desk Award nomination for her performance as
Kate in the
Manhattan Theatre Club's
2000 off-Broadway production of
Andrew Lippa's
The Wild Party. Her other off-Broadway credits include the pre-Broadway run of Rent and
The Vagina Monologues.
In
2003, Menzel starred with actress and singer
Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway in Wicked, a musical by
Stephen Schwartz and
Winnie Holzman loosely based upon the popular 1995
Gregory Maguire novel. Menzel received the 2004
Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Elphaba, the
Wicked Witch of the West. On her third-to-last performance of Wicked on January 8,
2005, she fell through a trap door and cracked a lower rib. The injury prevented her from performing in the January 9 show. Menzel did, however, make a special out-of-costume appearance at that performance, performed her final song, and received a 5 minute long standing ovation. Menzel was replaced by Elphaba standby
Shoshana Bean.
Following Wicked, Menzel appeared off-Broadway in the
Public Theater's production of
See What I Wanna See, a
Michael John LaChiusa-penned musical whose run ended in
December 2005, for which she received Drama Desk Award and
Drama League Award nominations. She reprised her Tony Award-winning role as Elphaba in the
West End production of Wicked when it opened at
London's Apollo Victoria Theater on
September 7,
2006. During the run, she joined the ranks of highest paid female performer in the West End at $30,
000 per week. Menzel finished her West End run on
December 30, 2006. She was succeeded by Elphaba standby
Kerry Ellis.
Menzel played the role of
Florence in the
21st Anniversary concert of
Chess at the
Royal Albert Hall,
London from May 12-13, 2008. Alongside Kerry Ellis,
Adam Pascal and
Josh Groban.
In 2008, Menzel headlined the
Powerhouse Theatre's reading of
Steven Sater and
Duncan Sheik's musical
Nero from July 11-1. She performed the role of
Nero's mistress Poppea.
Menzel's film roles include appearances in
Just a Kiss,
Kissing Jessica Stein, Tollbooth,
Water,
Ask the Dust,
Enchanted, and Rent, in which she and five other original cast members reprised their stage roles. As a singer Menzel is known for her wide vocal range, and her use of the 'belt' technique.
Menzel performed at the
1998 Lilith Fair summer concert festival and continues to write and perform original music. She has toured extensively and frequently performs in various venues throughout
New York City. She produced and released her debut album, Still I Can't Be Still, for
Hollywood Records in 1998. One single from the album, "
Minuet," made the
Radio & Records CHR/
Pop Tracks chart at #48 in
October 1998.
Her second album, Here, was released independently by Zel Records in 2004. Menzel has contributed to soundtracks, including those for the film
The Other Sister and the
ABC television dramedy
Desperate Housewives. In
2007, she appeared on the
Beowulf soundtrack singing the end credits song, "A
Hero Comes
Home". Also in 2007, Menzel's powerful singing voice lead her to be asked to accompany the baritone
British X-Factor runner-up
Rhydian Roberts on his debut album, duetting on the song "
What if".
Her third solo album,
I Stand, was released on
January 29, 2008. The CD includes many new songs, including the lead single, "
Brave," the
...
Source:
Last.fm
- published: 24 Dec 2014
- views: 9866