IDINA MENZEL

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Idina Menzel


Birth name Idina Kim Mentzel
Born May 30, 1971 (1971-05-30) (age 36)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Spouse(s) Taye Diggs (January 11, 2003 - present)
Official site IdinaMenzel.com
[show]Awards
Tony Awards
Best Performance by a Lead Actress in a Musical
2004 Wicked

Idina Menzel (born May 30, 1971) is a Tony Award-winning American actress, singer and songwriter who is best known for her performances as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the Tony award-winning musical Wicked and as Maureen Johnson in the Broadway and film versions of Rent.[1]

Biography

Personal life
Menzel, who is Jewish, was born Idina Kim Mentzel in Long Island, New York, the daughter of Helene, a therapist, and Stuart Mentzel, a pajama salesman.[2][3] Menzel changed her birth name (Mentzel) because of constant mispronunciation. Menzel also has a younger sister named Cara as well as two nephews. After growing up in Syosset, New York, she earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Drama from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she enrolled as a music major, later switching to the Drama program. Menzel started working as a wedding singer when she was 15 years old, and continued until she was cast in Rent.

She married actor Taye Diggs, her co-star from the original Broadway production of Rent, on January 11, 2003. Fans of the couple refer to them as 'Tidina', a term which was coined long before the two were romantically involved by the self-professed "RENT heads". They have a Yorkshire Terrier named Sammy Davis, Jr., and two cats named Ella and Coltrane.


Charitable Work
In December of 2007 Menzel worked with the Kids Wish Network to grant a wish for Sammie, a young woman with common variable immunodeficiency, taking her to the Hollywood red carpet premiere of the movie Enchanted.[4]


Theatre career
In 1996, Menzel auditioned for rock musical Rent, which became her Broadway debut. For her performance as Maureen Johnson in the original cast of the musical, she received a Tony nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She left the show on July 1, 1997.

Following the success of Rent, Idina 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.[5]

In 2003, Menzel starred alongside fellow actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway in Wicked, a musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman based upon the popular 1995 Gregory Maguire novel. Idina 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.[6] 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 her role as various characters, she received Drama Desk Award and Drama League Award nominations. She reprized her Tony Award-winning role as Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked when it opened at London's Apollo Victoria Theater on 7 September 2006. Menzel finished her run on December 30, 2006. She was replaced by Kerry Ellis who previously served as the standby for Elphaba.

She was slated to appear in Vassar College's Powerhouse Theater premiere of "Romantic Poetry" in July 2007, but was forced to cancel because of conflicts with the schedule for the release of her third solo album.

She has confirmed that she will be playing the leading role of Florence in the 21st Anniversary two-night concerts of Chess (musical) at the Royal Albert Hall, London on the 12th and 13th May 2008.


Film and singing career
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.

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.[7] 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."

Singer Ray Charles invited Menzel to duet with him on one of the tracks of his album Genius & Friends. The tracks were recorded in 1998 but were never produced, and it was one of his dying wishes that the album be made[citation needed], a wish which was fulfilled posthumously.

Menzel has appeared on the cast recordings of Rent and Wicked, two of the best-selling cast recordings of all time, as well as the recordings of Lippa's The Wild Party, LaChiusa's See What I Wanna See, and the soundtrack of the film Rent. She recently signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records.

Her third solo album, I Stand, is due January 29, 2008. It will include many new tracks such including the lead single, "Brave" as well as title track "I Stand" and a song released on EP, "Gorgeous". A new studio version of Defying Gravity was released in May 2007 on iTunes. A remix of Defying Gravity was the "anthem" at the 2007 Gay Pride Parade and Festival in Los Angeles and that version appears on the official CD from the event. It has instantly become a collectors item.


Theatre

As Elphaba in Wicked with Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero (Original Broadway Cast)Rent (1996)....as Maureen Johnson (Original Broadway Cast)
The Wild Party (2000)....as Kate
Summer of '42 (2000)....as Dorothy
Aida (2001)....as Amneris (Replacement)
Hair (2001)....as Sheila
The Vagina Monologues (2002)....Performer
Wicked (2003)....as Elphaba (Original Broadway Cast)
See What I Wanna See (2005)....as Kesa/The Wife (Lily)/The Actress (Deanna)
Wicked (London Production) (2006)....as Elphaba (Original London Cast)
Chess (musical) (in concert) London (2008)....as Florence

Filmography
Kissing Jessica Stein (2001)....as Bridesmaid
Just a Kiss (2002)....as Linda
The Tollbooth (2004)....as Raquel Cohen-Flaxman
Water (2004)....Jessy Turner
Rent (2005)....as Maureen Johnson
Ask The Dust (2006)....as Vera Rivkin
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway (2007)....as Herself (also recorded her own rendition of "Lullaby of Broadway" for the end credits)
Enchanted (2007)....as Nancy Tremaine

TV Roles
Hercules: The Animated Series (1998 - 1 episode)....Circe
Rescue Me (2004 - 1 episode)....Carol
Kevin Hill (2005 - 2 episodes)....Francine Prescott

Discography

[edit] Cast Recordings
Rent - Original Broadway Cast (1996)
The Wild Party - Original Off-Broadway Cast (2000)
Wicked - Original Broadway Cast (2003)
See What I Wanna See - Original Off-Broadway Cast (2005)

Solo Albums
Still I Can't Be Still (1998)
Here (2004)
I Stand (Jan 29, 2008)

Soundtracks
The Other Sister (1998)
Camp (2001) (contributed backing vocals but was not seen in the film)
Desperate Housewives (2005)
Rent (2005)
Genius and Friends (2005)
Beowulf (2007)

Nominations & Awards

See What I Wanna See
2006 Drama Desk Award (Best Lead Actress in a Musical)
2006 Drama League Award (Distinguished Performance)

Rent: The Movie
2005 Northeastern Critics Award (Best Supporting Actress)
2005 Northeastern Critics Award (Best Ensemble)
2005 Broadcast Film Critics Award (Best Ensemble)
2005 Washington Film Critics Award (Best Ensemble)

Wicked
2007 WhatsOnStage.com Theatregoers Choice Award (Best Actress in a Musical) WINNER
2004 Tony Award (Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical) WINNER
2004 Drama Desk Award (Best Lead Actress in a Musical) nominated
2004 Outer Critics Circle Award (Best Lead Actress in a Musical) nominated
2004 Drama League Award (Distinguished Performance) nominated
2004 Broadway.com Audience Award (Best Lead Actress in a Musical) WINNER
2004 Broadway.com Audience Award (Best Diva Performance) WINNER
2004 Broadway.com Audience Award (Best Onstage Pair) WINNER (with Kristin Chenoweth)

The Wild Party
2000 Drama Desk Award (Best Featured Actress in a Musical)

Rent
1996 Tony Award (Best Featured Actress in a Musical)