Theater career Rent to The Wild Party (1996–2000) In 1995, Menzel auditioned for
Rent, which became her first professional theatre job and her
Broadway debut.
Rent opened
Off-Broadway at the
New York Theatre Workshop on January 26, 1996, but it moved to Broadway's
Nederlander Theatre due to its popularity. For her performance as Maureen Johnson in the original cast of the musical, Menzel received a
Tony nomination as
Best Featured Actress in a Musical, losing to
Ann Duquesnay for ''
Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk''. Her final performance in the musical was on July 1, 1997. Despite the Tony nod, Menzel said, she faded into "obscurity" for eight years. After 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.
Wicked, If/Then, Skintight, to WILD (2003–2021) ''. She rose to fame during her performance as
Elphaba on
Broadway from 2003 to 2005. In 2003, Menzel was cast to star alongside
Kristin Chenoweth in
Wicked, a musical by
Stephen Schwartz and
Winnie Holzman based upon
Gregory Maguire's 1995 novel
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Shortly after a San Francisco tryout,
Wicked began previews at Broadway's
Gershwin Theatre on October 8, 2003, with an official opening night on October 30. Menzel's performance as
Elphaba, the misunderstood
Wicked Witch of the West, garnered critical acclaim, for which she won the 2004
Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Menzel's character also earned her a devoted fanbase, particularly among young girls who empathized with her misunderstood character, as well as a
gay following. She can be heard on the show's Original Broadway Cast (OBC) recording. During her penultimate performance on January 8, 2005, she fell through a trap door during the melting scene and cracked a lower rib. This injury prevented her from performing in her scheduled final show on January 9; her standby,
Shoshana Bean, played Elphaba at that performance. Menzel did, however, make a special appearance, in a red tracksuit, at that performance, performed her last song, and received a five-minute
standing ovation. Five years later,
Broadway.com readers voted Menzel their favorite Elphaba performer out of the eleven actresses who had by then played the character on Broadway. After
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 Theatre on September 27, 2006. She starred alongside
Helen Dallimore as Glinda and
Adam Garcia as Fiyero. During her run, she was the 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 the musical
Chess at London's
Royal Albert Hall, from May 12 to 13, 2008, alongside
Kerry Ellis,
Adam Pascal, and
Josh Groban. In 2008, she headlined the Powerhouse Theatre's reading of
Steven Sater and
Duncan Sheik's musical
Nero from July 11 to 13, performing the role of
Nero's mistress, Poppea. She was joined by
Glee costar
Lea Michele as
Claudia Octavia, Jeffrey Carleson as Nero, and
Michael Arden as Octavia's brother,
Brittanicus. By February 28, 2013, Menzel was cast to star as Elizabeth in the new
Tom Kitt and
Brian Yorkey Broadway musical
If/Then. Directed by
Michael Greif (with whom Menzel previously worked on the original production of
Rent), it had its world premiere at the
National Theatre in Washington, D.C., starting with previews on November 5, 2013, until November 24, 2013. Following the out-of-town tryout, the show moved to the
Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway and began previews on March 4, 2014. It officially opened on March 30, 2014. For her performance, Menzel received her second Tony Award nomination for Best Leading Actress in a Musical and performed Always Starting Over, but lost to
Jessie Mueller for
Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.
If/Then closed on Broadway on March 22, 2015, after 29 previews and 401 regular performances. Menzel reprised the role of Elizabeth (along with original Broadway cast members
Lachanze,
James Snyder, and
Anthony Rapp) on the first seven stops of the show's national tour from October 2015 to January 2016. She departed the show (along with LaChanze and Snyder) on the last day of the Costa Mesa, California engagement, on January 24, 2016. Her replacement was
Jackie Burns (who previously served as Menzel's standby in the Broadway production) starting January 27, 2016, in Dallas, Texas. Later, in 2018, Menzel was cast as Jodi in
Roundabout Theatre Company's World Premiere production of
Joshua Harmon's new play
Skintight. The show premiered Off Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre. It began previews on May 31, 2018, opened on June 21, 2018, and ran for strictly limited engagement till August 26, 2018. The play earned Menzel rave reviews and marking it her first major New York Theater non-musical role. A year later, she reprised her performance in
Skintight marking its debut on the West Coast. The production played the
Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, California running from September 3 – October 6, 2019. While appearing in
Skintight, Menzel read for the role of Mary Jane in a workshop for the Broadway rock musical
Jagged Little Pill. In late 2019, Menzel revealed on Twitter that she was working on "a mystery project" with
Justin Tranter, Caroline Pennell and
Eve Ensler (later known as V). In mid-2021, it was announced that this project is
Wild: A Musical Becoming, set to perform at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA from December 3, 2021, to January 21, 2022 (she was only scheduled to perform through December 23). It was later announced that she would star as Bea, with contributions to the lyrics. On December 17, due to COVID, it was announced that the show on that day was cancelled; it was later announced that the performance on the following two days and eventually all the following productions were cancelled, making December 16 her last performance.
Redwood (2025) Menzel plays the main role of Jesse in
Redwood, a musical that premiered at
La Jolla Playhouse in
San Diego, California on February 25, 2024. The ceremony will be held on March 5, 2026 in Los Angeles.
Music career Menzel initially struggled to crossover into a solo music career beyond stage musicals, claiming the industry did not take her seriously as a pop or rock singer due to her Broadway origins. 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 number 48 in October 1998. Following the album release, she embarked on a promotional tour, but after selling fewer than 10,000 copies in the US and missing the
Billboard 200, Menzel's label put the album out of print, and she was dropped from the label. However, the album was re-released once she began to rise to greater fame with her
Tony-winning performance in
Wicked. Her second album,
Here, was released independently by Zel Records in 2004. Menzel contributed to the soundtrack of
Desperate Housewives in 2005. She also appears on
Ray Charles's album
Genius and Friends, which was also released in 2005, on the track "I Will Be There". 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 led 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". '' in 2008 Her third solo album,
I Stand, was released on January 29, 2008. Produced by Menzel's "top choice" collaborator
Glen Ballard, the album features soaring pop ballads and includes many new songs, including the lead single, "Brave", the title track "I Stand", and a song released on EP, "Gorgeous". The album debuted at number 58 on the
Billboard 200, making it the first solo album by Menzel to make the charts. There are five versions of this album: the original version, the special limited edition, the iTunes version, the Barnes & Noble edition, and the Borders edition. Menzel wrote 9 of the 10 songs on her album, and was the sole writer on the song "Forever." On April 1, 2008, Menzel kicked off her 2008–2009
I Stand tour in support of her new album performing four sold-out legs. The concert at Rose Hall at
Lincoln Center in New York City was filmed for the PBS television series
Soundstage. Menzel was joined by special guests, superstar
Josh Groban and saxophonist
Ravi Coltrane. On November 11, 2008, Menzel released "Hope," written by
Paul Hampton, benefiting
Stand Up to Cancer. On November 27, 2008, she performed "I Stand" on the
M&M's Chocolate float as part of the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. On July 19, 2010, Menzel performed "
Defying Gravity" and "
What I Did For Love" in front of President
Barack Obama and First Lady
Michelle Obama at
A Broadway Celebration: In Performance at the White House. The concert aired on
PBS on October 20, 2010. In April 2010, Menzel returned to the concert stage embarking on her "Barefoot at the Symphony Tour" in which she was accompanied by major symphony orchestras. Her performances included collaborations with the
New York Philharmonic, the
Boston Pops Orchestra, and the
North Carolina Symphony, and featured symphonic arrangements by New York composer and producer
Rob Mounsey. In October 2011, Menzel returned to London to perform a one-night-only concert in the United Kingdom at the
Royal Albert Hall with the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with
Marvin Hamlisch conducting. Menzel's concert stop in Toronto was filmed at
The Royal Conservatory of Music on November 17 and 18, 2011, for her second
PBS special. She was accompanied by the
Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony with
Marvin Hamlisch conducting and special guest Taye Diggs, Menzel's then-husband.
Idina Menzel Live: Barefoot at the Symphony was released as a live CD and DVD and aired on
PBS in March 2012, with Musical Director
Rob Mounsey producing. , in 2008 Menzel announced she would continue live performances in 2012. The first date she announced was July 8, 2012, at
Ravinia Festival near Chicago, Illinois. She made her
Carnegie Hall solo debut (originally on October 29, 2012). However, due to
Hurricane Sandy's impact on New York City, it was postponed until January 13, 2013. Menzel toured Australia in June 2013 with shows in South Australia, Melbourne, Brisbane, and two at the Sydney Opera House. On June 17, 2014, during a
concert at New York City's
Radio City Music Hall, Menzel confirmed that she was working on a Christmas album that contained original material to be released later that same year. In that concert, she performed one of the original tunes from the album, "December Prayer". The album,
Holiday Wishes, was released on October 14, 2014. The album has so far peaked at number 10 on the
Billboard 200, becoming her highest-charting album as a solo lead artist.
Holiday Wishes also marked the first that a woman had three different albums (along with the cast recording to
Frozen and
If/Then) peak within the top 20 within ten months of the release date.
Holiday Wishes also become the second-ever Christmas album to chart before Halloween during the SoundScan Era after
Garth Brooks's 1992 album
Beyond the Season. On November 26, 2014, Menzel announced through her Facebook page that she would be touring during the summer of 2015, making it her first
global tour and first time playing shows in Europe and Asia. Menzel was honored with the Breakthrough Artist award at the 2014
Billboard Women in Music awards ceremony. Menzel sang "
The Star-Spangled Banner" a cappella at
Super Bowl XLIX on February 1, 2015. Menzel's rendition earned mixed reviews from critics, who praised the quality of her voice but questioned some of her stylistic choices, namely tempo and volume. On August 5, 2016, Menzel announced she would release her
eponymous fifth album, on September 23, 2016. Of the release, Menzel stated: "I poured my heart out and used my music as a place to kind of figure some things out. It's a really personal album." Marking it as her first original Pop studio album in 8 years since
I Stand, the album debuted at # 29 on the US
Billboard 200. With the success of the album, Menzel embarked on a World Tour in 2017 that traveled to Asia, Europe, and North America. Menzel's concert stop in Las Vegas was recorded for her second live album entitled
idina Live and released on October 12, 2018. On March 12, 2018, it was announced that Menzel would join Josh Groban for his Bridges Tour. For this tour, she served as Groban's Opening act before joining him later during his set for two duets of
Lullaby and
Falling Slowly. Menzel only performed with Groban on the first leg of North America in various cities, including
Atlanta,
Nashville,
Dallas,
Phoenix,
Chicago,
Boston,
Pittsburgh, and a sold-out performance at
Madison Square Garden in
New York City. The New York City show (entitled
Bridges Live From Madison Square Garden) was also filmed and released in Movie Theaters & later a Live CD & DVD release with an airing on PBS. On May 11, 2019, it was revealed that she had signed to
Scooter Braun and SB Projects for music management. On October 18, 2019, Menzel released her second holiday album entitled
Christmas: A Season of Love from
School Boy and
Decca Records on October 18, 2019. It debuted at #2 on Billboard's US Top Holiday Albums. In support of it, Menzel embarked on a
three-city concert tour in the east coast including a sold-out return to New York's Carnegie Hall. On October 11, 2022, Menzel announced on her Instagram page that she would be releasing a concert special on
Disney+ on December 9, 2022 titled
Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?. The special will consist of concert footage from
Madison Square Garden in New York. The title is a nod to Menzel's first line as Maureen in
Rent. On August 18, 2023, Menzel released
Drama Queen, a dance-themed pop album, via BMG Showcase. The album was developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. She collaborated with singer-songwriters such as
Jake Shears,
Nile Rodgers, and more. Singles from the album included, "Move", "Dramatic", and
Beast. She intended this album as a love letter to her friends in the LGBTQ+ community and to inspire people to release their inner
drama queen. As promotion for the album, Menzel performed a set of concerts with a group of backup dancers at various Pride events across North America and London. In the summer of 2024, she embarked on her 20-city
Take Me Or Leave Me Tour across North America.
Film and television career Early screen appearances (2001–2010) Menzel's feature film debut was the 2001 romantic comedy
Kissing Jessica Stein in which she had a minor role as a
bridesmaid, followed by an uncredited appearance as Linda in the dark comedy
Just a Kiss (2002). While starring in
Wicked, she appeared in the
coming-of-age dramedy The Tollbooth (2004), playing main character Sarabeth's (
Marla Sokoloff) pregnant sister, Raquel Cohen-Flaxman. Menzel was one of six
original Broadway cast members who returned for the film, including then-husband
Taye Diggs. but Menzel's performance was highlighted by reviewers for
Entertainment Weekly and
IGN. The following year, Menzel and her castmates were nominated for
Best Acting Ensemble at the
11th Critics' Choice Awards. In 2006, she played Vera Rivkin in
Robert Towne's
Ask the Dust, a
romantic drama starring
Colin Farrell and
Salma Hayek. Menzel's character, a mysterious Jewish woman, harbors
unrequited feelings for struggling writer Arturo, played by Farrell. Despite her limited screen time, she considers Vera one of her favorite film roles, citing her character's lack of singing and difficulty overcoming difficult situations as essential to demonstrating her versatility.
Ask the Dust was poorly received by film critics. However, Kim Newman of
Empire cautioned audiences to remember Menzel's name, writing, "the film comes to life when she barges in and finds it hard to keep it together after she's gone". The
San Francisco Chronicle's Ruthe Stein said Menzel enlivens the material by sharing more chemistry with Farrell during their brief scenes together than Hayek does throughout the entire film. In 2007, Menzel appeared in the musical fantasy film
Enchanted as Nancy Tremaine, the fiancée of
Patrick Dempsey's character, Robert, and Giselle's (
Amy Adams) romantic rival. Despite being a musical, Menzel famously does not sing in the film; several songs composer
Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz had written for her character were ultimately omitted from the final version. Menzel was offered the role without auditioning, and was flattered that Disney would cast her solely based on her acting. Menzel explained that singing would have been out of character for Nancy, who is a New York native unlike the film's more fantastical characters. but
The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt and Jim Lane of the
Sacramento News & Review felt the film underused Menzel's talents. Some critics and fans also expressed disappointment over Menzel's lack of musical numbers. From 2010 to 2013, Menzel had a
recurring role on the musical comedy television series
Glee as
Shelby Corcoran: the coach of rival
glee club Vocal Adrenaline, and the biological mother of series lead
Rachel Berry (
Lea Michele).
Fans of the show had long observed a strong physical resemblance between Menzel and Michele, and lobbied for the former to be cast as Michele's onscreen mother. Menzel appeared in 12 episodes across the series,
Frozen and worldwide recognition (2013–2016) In 2013, Menzel voiced
Elsa – a reclusive young queen struggling with her magical ability to control ice and snow – in Disney's animated film
Frozen. After failing to secure the
lead role in Disney's animated film
Tangled (2010), the studio re-discovered Menzel's
audition reel while casting
Frozen. Loosely based on the titular villain in
Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale "
The Snow Queen", Menzel's character was re-written into a misunderstood
anti-heroine for Disney's adaptation, inspired by songwriters
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and
Robert Lopez's creation of her anthem "
Let It Go", which they wrote specifically for Menzel due to its demanding vocal range. Released to critical acclaim,
Frozen became the
highest-grossing animated film upon release, earning over $1.2 billion worldwide. Meanwhile, "Let It Go" became a global phenomenon, with countless fans and artists releasing their own Internet covers and parodies. Despite its non-commercial sound, "Let it Go" ultimately became one of the best-selling singles of 2014, selling over 10.9 million copies. Menzel has since reprised her role as Elsa in most tie-in media, including the
Disney Infinity and
Kingdom Hearts video games, the short films
Frozen Fever (2015) and ''
Olaf's Frozen Adventure (2017), the film Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), and the sequel Frozen 2'' (2019). Menzel sang "Let it Go" at the
86th Academy Awards in March 2014, where the song eventually won the
Academy Award for Best Original Song. While introducing her performance, actor
John Travolta mispronounced her name as "
Adele Dazeem"; the mispronunciation was widely ridiculed by fans and the media, and subsequently became a viral
Internet meme. Although initially thrown off by the incident, Menzel was not upset about the mishap, and credits it with introducing her to a wider audience. Shortly after the ceremony, Travolta publicly apologized to Menzel. Although Menzel had already been well known within the Broadway community prior to working with Disney, she was not as recognized outside of her stage credits. The success of
Frozen, "Let it Go", and the Oscars incident are credited with establishing Menzel as an international superstar,
Film actress (2017–present) Following the success of
Frozen, Menzel continued to pursue more prominent roles in film and television projects. She starred as CC Bloom, a role originated by one of her idols
Bette Midler, in
Lifetime's
2017 remake of the 1988 film
Beaches. The
melodrama follows the decades-long friendship and rivalry between a brassy singer (Menzel) and a reserved lawyer, played by
Nia Long. Due to her typical avoidance of
revivals and fondness for the original film, Menzel was initially hesitant to star in the project, but ultimately embraced the remake as an opportunity to introduce a classic story about female friendship to a younger generation. The remake was conceived around Menzel's singing career in a similar manner to how the original incorporated Midler's, whose songs she covered for the film's soundtrack. several critics found the remake inferior to the original, but praised Menzel's musical contributions.
CNN's Brian Lowry said "the lure of providing Menzel an opportunity to let loose on these familiar tunes is more than enough to qualify as a win for Lifetime, even if the movie itself ... never achieves liftoff". Katie Rife of
The A.V. Club, Linda Holmes of
NPR, and MaryAnn Sleasman of
TV Guide each found Menzel's acting adequate but lacking the conviction and humor Midler brought to the role, resulting in a less compelling version of the same character. In 2019, she starred opposite
Adam Sandler in the crime thriller
Uncut Gems, playing his character's estranged and frustrated wife, Dinah Ratner. The role was considered a stark departure for Menzel, who longed to be involved in a project that differed from the
family-friendly material she had become synonymous with. Directors
Josh and Benny Safdie cast her based on her performance as a similar character in
Skintight, and Menzel drew upon personal experience for the role, having grown up around confident women like Dinah in New York. The film and Menzel's performance drew critical acclaim. while Johnny Oleksinski of the
New York Post called her "delightfully abrasive". In 2021, Menzel co-starred alongside
Camila Cabello,
Billy Porter, and
James Corden in
Kay Cannon's
jukebox musical adaptation of the
Cinderella fairy tale, playing Cinderella's (Cabello) unkind stepmother, Vivian. Despite admiring actresses who had played the villainous role prior, Menzel wanted to eschew "the archetypal kind of idea of the straight-ahead evil nemesis" in order to uncover the trauma behind the character's cruel nature. In addition to performing several covers for the film, which was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Cinderella received mixed reviews, but Menzel's performance was praised:
IndieWire's Kristen Lopez said she played the character "deliciously", while
Richard Roeper of the
Chicago Sun-Times described Menzel as "her usual spectacular self" and "arguably the most nuanced and empathetic 'evil' stepmother in 'Cinderella' history". Michael Calleri of the
Niagara Gazette said Menzel delivers the film's best performance. In 2022, Menzel reprised her role as Nancy in the
Enchanted sequel
Disenchanted. Now the Queen of Anadalasia as Edward's (
James Marsden) wife, Menzel's character sings for the first time, in addition to serving as the film's "
voice of reason". A pop version of Menzel's song, "
Love Power", was released as the
soundtrack's lead single in November 2022.
Disenchanted received mixed reviews; most critics appreciated hearing Menzel sing, while others found her role brief and her song unmemorable. Marya E. Gates of
RogerEbert.com called Menzel's performance "one of the few that manages to transcend beyond the subpar trappings of" the film, lamenting that she is "relegated to only a handful of scenes". She also starred in an episode of the
HGTV show
Celebrity I.O.U. with the
Property Brothers Drew and
Jonathan Scott. In this episode, she helped the brothers renovate a garage for her friend James. In 2023, Menzel played Bree Friedman in the coming-of-age comedy
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, reuniting with Sandler
. Directed by Sammi Cohen, the film co-stars Menzel and Sandler as Jewish parents raising an adolescent girl as they prepare for her
bat mitzvah. Menzel had previously played Sandler's wife in
Uncut Gems, while Sandler's real-life wife and children also co-star in
You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah. Writing for the
Los Angeles Times, Gary Goldstein said Menzel fits in well among Sandler's own family, while Matthew Jackson of
The A. V. Club said the duo make "a wonderful (and wonderfully grumpy) couple". Abhishek Srivastava of
The Times of India said Menzel "comes across as extremely authentic and hits all the right notes". She also starred in
American Murderer directed by Matthew Gentile. During the ongoing time of the COVID-19 pandemic, Menzel created and launched a brand new YouTube web series for children entitled ''Idina's Treehouse''. The series featured Menzel from her treehouse out in her Los Angeles home that originally was built for her son Walker Nathaniel Diggs. It features a full set of songs, stories, and appearances from Menzel's family and friends. In 2024, alongside Chenoweth, Menzel made a cameo appearance during the "One Short Day" sequence in the first of the
two-part film adaptation of
Wicked. Menzel is slated to star alongside Millie Bobbie Brown, Amrit Kaur, Julian Dennison, Ben Jackson Walker, Brec Bassinger, and Margo Martindale in Netflix's forthcoming romantic comedy,
Just Picture It. == Artistry ==