iPedia Free Information Center

Information about Idina Menzel

Idina Menzel

Idina Menzel coming out of stagedoor
Birth nameIdina Kim Mentzel
BornMay 30 1971 (1971--) (age 36)
New York City, New York,  United States
Spouse(s)Taye Diggs (January 11, 2003 - present)
Official siteIdinaMenzel.com
Idina Menzel (born Idina Kim Mentzel on May 30, 1971 in New York City) is a Tony Award-winning American actress, singer and songwriter who is best known for her performances in Wicked and Rent.[1]

Personal life

Idina Menzel was born in Queens, New York to Stuart and Helene Mentzel in 1971. [She has since removed the "t" from her last name because of constant mispronunciation.] She grew up in Syosset, New York and earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Drama from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She has a younger sister named Cara as well as two nephews.[1]

Menzel started working as a wedding singer when she was 15 years old. At NYU she enrolled as a music major, later switching to the Drama program.

She is married to actor Taye Diggs, her co-star from the original Broadway production of Rent.

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.[2]

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. She 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 standing ovation.[3]

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 reprised her Tony Award-winning role as Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked when it opened at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, London, 7 September 2006, and finished her run on December 30, 2006.

Film and singing career

Menzel's film roles include appearances in Just a Kiss, Kissing Jessica Stein, Tollbooth, Water, Ask the Dust, 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 (1). Her second album, Here, was released 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.

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, a wish which was fulfilled posthumously.

Menzel has appeared on the cast recordings of Rent and Wicked, two of the best-selling cast recordings, 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.

In 2006, she filmed the movie Enchanted, due in theatres in November 2007.

Her third solo album, I Stand, is due out in early 2008. A new studio version of Defying Gravity was released in May 2007 on iTunes.

Theatre

Enlarge picture
As Elphaba in Wicked with Norbert Leo Butz as Fiyero (Original Broadway Cast)

Filmography

TV Roles

Discography

Enlarge picture
Idina Menzel's album Here

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

Soundtracks

  • The Other Sister (1998)
  • Desperate Housewives (2005)
  • Rent (2005)
  • Genius and Friends (2005)
  • ''Disney's Enchanted Soundtrack (2007)

Nominations & Awards

See What I Wanna See

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 Lead Actress in a Musical) WINNER
  • 2004 Drama Desk Award (Best Lead Actress in a Musical)
  • 2004 Outer Critics Circle Award (Best Lead Actress in a Musical)
  • 2004 Drama League Award (Distinguished Performance)
  • 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)
  • 2004 Broadwayworld.com Theater Fans' Award (Best Lead Actress in a Musical) WINNER

The Wild Party

Rent

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

References

1. ^ IMDb Page for Idina Menzel
2. ^ Idina Menzel's Official Website
3. ^ McKinley, Jesse. "Ding Dong, a Witch Is Hurt, but She Takes Her Final Bow", The New York Times, January 10, 2005. Retrieved on 2007-06-12. 

External links

Awards
Preceded by
Marissa Jaret Winokur
for Hairspray		Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
2004
for Wicked 		Succeeded by
Victoria Clark
for The Light in the Piazza
May 30 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1940s  1950s  1960s  - 1970s -  1980s  1990s  2000s
1968 1969 1970 - 1971 - 1972 1973 1974

Year 1971 (MCMLXXI
..... Click the link for more information.
City of New York
New York City at sunset

Flag
Seal
Nickname: The Big Apple, Gotham, The City that Never Sleeps
Location in the state of New York
Coordinates:
..... Click the link for more information.
State of New York

Flag of New York Seal
Nickname(s): The Empire State
Motto(s): Excelsior!

Official language(s) None

Capital Albany
Largest city New York City

..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
..... Click the link for more information.
Taye Diggs

Birth name Scott Diggs
Born January 2 1971 (1971--) (age 36)
Rochester, New York, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
Tony Award

Designed by Herman Rosse, 1949
Awarded for Excellence in theatre
Presented by American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers
Country  United States
First awarded 1947
..... Click the link for more information.
The Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical is the Tony Awards award given to the actress who was voted as the best actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival.
..... Click the link for more information.
20th century - 21st century - 22nd century
1970s  1980s  1990s  - 2000s -  2010s  2020s  2030s
2001 2002 2003 - 2004 - 2005 2006 2007

2004 by topic:
News by month
Jan - Feb - Mar - Apr - May - Jun
..... Click the link for more information.
Wicked may refer to:
  • Wickedness

Fiction and the arts

  • Wicked (novel), a novel by Gregory Maguire based on L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz; full title: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West

..... Click the link for more information.
May 30 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


..... Click the link for more information.
19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1940s  1950s  1960s  - 1970s -  1980s  1990s  2000s
1968 1969 1970 - 1971 - 1972 1973 1974

Year 1971 (MCMLXXI
..... Click the link for more information.
City of New York
New York City at sunset

Flag
Seal
Nickname: The Big Apple, Gotham, The City that Never Sleeps
Location in the state of New York
Coordinates:
..... Click the link for more information.
Tony Award

Designed by Herman Rosse, 1949
Awarded for Excellence in theatre
Presented by American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers
Country  United States
First awarded 1947
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"In God We Trust"   (since 1956)
"E Pluribus Unum"   ("From Many, One"; Latin, traditional)
Anthem
..... Click the link for more information.
actor, actress, or player (see terminology) is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity.
..... Click the link for more information.
A singer is a musician who uses their voice to produce music. Often the singer is accompanied by musicians and instruments. While many people sing for pleasure, vocal skill is usually a combination of innate talent and professional training.
..... Click the link for more information.
A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. That is to say, a songwriter is a lyricist, a composer, or both.
..... Click the link for more information.
Wicked
'

Broadway Poster
Music Stephen Schwartz
Lyrics Stephen Schwartz
Book Winnie Holzman
Based upon Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked
Productions 2003 Broadway
2005 U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
Rent
'

Original Broadway Windowcard
Music Jonathan Larson
Lyrics Jonathan Larson
Book Jonathan Larson
Based upon Giacomo Puccini's Opera
La bohème
Productions 1996 New York Theatre Workshop
1996 Broadway
1996 U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
The Bachelor of Fine Arts, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. Also named in some countries the Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA.
..... Click the link for more information.
New York University (NYU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan.
..... Click the link for more information.
Tisch School of the Arts (known more commonly as Tisch or TSOA) is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University (NYU).

The school was founded in 1965. It has 2,700 undergraduates (in 7 programs) and 500 graduate students (in 10 programs).
..... Click the link for more information.
Taye Diggs

Birth name Scott Diggs
Born January 2 1971 (1971--) (age 36)
Rochester, New York, U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
Rent
'

Original Broadway Windowcard
Music Jonathan Larson
Lyrics Jonathan Larson
Book Jonathan Larson
Based upon Giacomo Puccini's Opera
La bohème
Productions 1996 New York Theatre Workshop
1996 Broadway
1996 U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
This article needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.
You can assist by [ editing it] now. A how-to guide is available, as is general .
This article has been tagged since June 2007.
..... Click the link for more information.
Rent
'

Original Broadway Windowcard
Music Jonathan Larson
Lyrics Jonathan Larson
Book Jonathan Larson
Based upon Giacomo Puccini's Opera
La bohème
Productions 1996 New York Theatre Workshop
1996 Broadway
1996 U.S.
..... Click the link for more information.
Broadway theatre[1] is the most well known form of professional theatre to the American general public and most lucrative for the performers, technicians and others involved in putting on the shows.
..... Click the link for more information.
Tony Award

Designed by Herman Rosse, 1949
Awarded for Excellence in theatre
Presented by American Theatre Wing and the League of American Theatres and Producers
Country  United States
First awarded 1947
..... Click the link for more information.
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical is awarded to the actress who is voted the best non-starring actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival.
..... Click the link for more information.


This article is copied from an article on Wikipedia.org - the free encyclopedia created and edited by online user community. The text was not checked or edited by anyone on our staff. Although the vast majority of the wikipedia encyclopedia articles provide accurate and timely information please do not assume the accuracy of any particular article. This article is distributed under the terms of GNU Free Documentation License.
Herod_Archelaus


page counter