Actors are gypsies who rarely get to choose their own career paths. But Idina Menzel, hero to theater geeks and “Gleeks” worldwide, thinks it’s no accident that her journey has led her from pop-culture landmarks “Rent” to “Wicked” to TV’s “Glee.”
“They all focus on the underdog, the outsider, the artist, the young person who is struggling with being different,” said Menzel, who will be performing in concert with Marvin Hamlisch and the Colorado Symphony on Sunday at Red Rocks.
“Rent” broke Menzel out as the original “Tango Maureen,” and “Wicked” made her the world’s most beloved wicked (green) witch. But she’s seen more in a single episode of “Glee,” the hit Fox TV show that celebrates the best kind of adolescent misfits, than in her entire theatrical career combined.
“Like ‘Rent,’ ‘Glee’ has dealt a lot with issues of sexual orientation. And the more they make that topic accessible to young audiences, then the more it can become a conversation between parents and kids,” said Menzel, mother of a 22-month-old son. “Then the more revelatory and life-changing that show is.”
A game Menzel was taking a few minutes to talk about her career and upcoming concert, having just been shot up with Novocain. But she came through the interview quite nicely. “I didn’t slur or drool even once,” she said with a laugh. “I’m just getting my lips back.”
Menzel had just seen “The Normal Heart” on Broadway, which starred her “Wicked” director, Joe Mantello. The incendiary, Tony-winning play just closed on Broadway, but “Rent” is about to be revived off-Broadway. Both are period pieces that touch on the early spread of AIDS.
“I saw ‘The Normal Heart,’ and I was crushed,” she said. “I was a mess. It felt like a period piece, but it definitely doesn’t lose its potency, power and resonance by having a little bit of time and distance.”
That’s also why she’s happy to see the return of “Rent”: As long as AIDS exists, both shows will have something powerful to say.
“I think ‘Rent’ should always be available to young generations, so that they are free to discover it for themselves,” she said.
But Menzel knows her place in young theatergoers’ hearts is as Elphaba — the “Wicked” witch who helps girls understand where evil behavior really comes from.
“I would be lying to say ‘Wicked’ wasn’t one of the biggest milestones of my life,” she said, “but not because of the accolades and the career attention I’ve gotten from it.
“There was a synchronicity between the lessons I learned as a person and from that character. This is so special to me, the idea of being a really powerful woman and not having to hide your gifts. And how to harness that kind of power and make it accessible in society. I know I deal with that in my own life, and I know many other women do, as well.”
When Menzel’s symphony tour comes to Red Rocks on Sunday, it will be by far the largest live venue she’s ever performed in. It’s a risk, she said, but one worth taking for the chance to play that legendary venue — and with her mom and sister, both of whom live in Boulder, in attendance.
She describes the evening as “a living-room performance” — in a 9,500-seat living room.
“I was nervous about embarking on this tour, because no matter how big a venue gets, and no matter how grandiose the orchestra is, I really feel it is important that I maintain some sort of intimacy with my audience,” she said, “and that they leave feeling that I revealed a side of myself maybe they hadn’t seen before.”
Menzel was worried about being swallowed up in large houses, but the opposite has been true, she said.
“I go out there, and I take off my heels, and I stand in front of these amazing musicians, and there is an elegance and a class to the evening,” she said.
The songbook includes tunes from Menzel’s Broadway career and solo album, “I Stand.” There are songs by Cole Porter and Hamlisch, and even some a capella.
“Mostly I have been revisiting songs that were sort of my playlist as a kid,” she said. “Songs that are fun to revisit as the singer that I am now, just to see how differently I interpret them.”
So what’s it like touring with Hamlisch, a legendary composer and a longtime friend of the Colorado Symphony?
“He’s a legend, and my new best buddy,” she said. ” Sitting down with him and having a glass of wine after the show is a little surreal for me, just knowing that he wrote “A Chorus Line” and “The Way We Were.” Songs he wrote that I worked on with my voice teacher when I was 8. He’s so cool and down to earth.
“We get a little bit like the Catskills out there — two Jews shooting it back and forth.”
John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com
Idina Menzel with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra
Conducted by Marvin Hamlisch at Red Rocks. Sunday. 7:30 p.m. $40-$75. 303-623-7876 or
Weekend Best Bet: Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids’ Fame” and “GleeFUL”
Rocky Mountain Theatre for Kids, which gives students a professional performance experience, has simultaneous musical presentations this weekend: “GleeFUL,” inspired by the hit TV show “Glee,” plays at 7:30 p.m. today and 11 a.m. Saturday at the King Arts Center on the Auraria campus (additional performances in Boulder are sold out). “Fame,” inspired by the hit movie about students at New York City’s High School of the Performing Arts, plays at 7 p.m. today, 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday at the Denver Civic Theatre, 721 Santa Fe Drive. $10-$18. 720-545-2119 or
Weekend Best Bet: “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”
Nothing but nothing can do your heart more good than to take in the annual summer musical presented by the handicapped theater company known as PHAMALy. Now in its 22nd year, the company consists only of actors with special needs who incorporate their disabilities (their word!) into their characters. Toward that end, one number in this year’s “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” will be presented in its entirety through the use of American Sign Language. Songs include “I Believe in You” and “The Company Way.” Through Aug. 7. Showtimes 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, plus 7:30 p.m. Monday, July 25, at the Space Theatre in the Denver Performing Arts Complex. 303-575-0005 or
Pictured above: Daniel Traylor and Jeremy Palmer. Photo by Michael Ensminger
This week’s theater openings
“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” This ubiquitous, Tony-winning musical comedy follows six young misfits in the throes of puberty as they compete in an “actual” onstage spelling bee. Recommended for ages 8 and up. Through Aug. 7. Evergreen Players, 27608 Fireweed Drive, 303-674-4934 or
“Crimes of the Heart” Beth Henley’s ubiquitous Southern drama is about a family crisis that brings three quirky sisters home to Mississippi for a melodramatic reunion. Through July 24. Presented by the Estes Park Repertoire Theatre at the Peak to Peak American Grille, 451 S. St. Vrain Ave., Estes Park, 970-577-1331 or
“A Lie of the Mind” After an incident of severe spousal abuse tears a couple apart, their two rural families hole up to await the backlash. Sam Shepard’s classic road-worn characters become caught up in a deranged and piercing fable. Through Aug. 13. Paragon Theatre, 1387 S. Santa Fe Drive, 303-300-2210 or
“My Way” This musical tribute to Frank Sinatra includes classic songs like “Chicago,” “Fly Me to the Moon” and “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.” Sunday nights only. (“A Chorus Line” plays on all other nights.) Through Sept. 4. Union Colony Dinner Theatre, 802 Ninth Ave., Greeley, 970-352-2900 or
“The Nerd” The Backstage Theatre presents Larry Shue’s classic comedy at the Aurora Fox before its “official” run back in Breckenridge. It’s about a young architect who is visited by a man who saved his life in Vietnam — a nerd who then inadvertently ruins his life. Through July 24, then July 28-Aug. 21 in Breckenridge. At the Aurora Fox, 9900 E. Colfax Ave., Aurora, 303-739-1970 or
“Peter Pan” Classic account of two boys and a girl who follow Peter Pan and the invisible fairy, Tinker Bell, to Never Land. Through July 31. Presented by the Front Range Theatre Company at the Imagine Center, 960 E. Frontage Road, Castle Rock, 866-879-7373 or
“Rear Window” In this adaptation of the Hitchcock noir classic, audience members will sit inside the apartment of the recuperating photographer who comes to believe he has witnessed a crime by a neighbor through his binoculars. Through Aug. 14. Spark Theater, 240 S. Broadway, 303-319-1342 or
“The Wizard of Oz” The familiar story of Dorothy’s journey to Oz is told by the Colorado Repertory Theater, headed by director Margaret Ann Gates, a Broadway veteran actor commissioned by Louisville’s The Art Underground to create a New York-quality musical. Through July 24. 1341 Main St., Louisville,
Complete theater listings
Go to our complete list of in Colorado, including summaries, run dates, addresses, phones and links to every company’s home page. Or check out our listings or
The Running Lines blog
Catch up on John Moore’s roundup of the latest theater news:
