Musicals are often all about escapism, and in Idina Menzel’s grand return to Broadway, she takes that idea to a whole new level. “How would it feel to stop my life and be able to get completely away?” she says.
She explores this question is Redwood, which she co-conceived with writer-director Tina Landau more than six years ago. The musical follows Menzel’s Jesse, an art gallery owner who runs away to California’s Redwood Forest and ultimately lives in a tree for weeks. “The metaphor of the redwoods being a symbol of survival and resilience is something I thought would be a beautiful parallel for us to explore in a musical,” says the Tony Award winner over Zoom.
As the show goes on, viewers learn the reasons Jesse left her life behind, a mixture of grief and denial that builds up to a cathartic breakdown. But despite Redwood’s heavy overtones, Menzel is drawn to the joy and sarcastic humor of the show.
“Just like in life, we use our humor to deflect, as a defense mechanism. Everyone has their own way of dealing with loss. There is no right way,” she says. “We try to not use the word ‘grief’ much, because this show can appeal to all kinds of loss, hardship, and pain that people feel.”
Redwood is her first Broadway show since 2014’s If/Then, and her most physically challenging performance to date — which says a lot, considering she flew above the audience for nearly two years as Wicked’s Elphaba. As Jesse, Menzel climbs a life-like redwood tree and flips upside down, sometimes while singing. For training, she turned to the BANDALOOP vertical dance troupe, known for mastering choreography on the sides of trees and buildings.
“Literally, they taught me how to climb redwoods. But they also taught us the vernacular of how they move and dance among the leaves,” she says. “They took me over a roof onto a wall without really giving me a lot of notice.”
Redwood also returns Menzel to the Nederlander Theatre, where she made her 1996 Broadway debut as Maureen in Rent. This homecoming, timed with the Wicked film, has made her especially nostalgic. “There was a moment when I was down center stage, and I remembered when Maureen came running down the stage on her first entrance,” she recalls. “She says, ‘Which way to the stage?’ as she’s about to do her performance art piece. I thought, ‘Wow, this is cool. I’m in exactly the same place I was 30 years ago.’”
Below, Menzel opens up about her Redwood pre-show routine, thoughtful gifts, and her dream escape.
On getting into character:
I’m not one of those people who lives in turmoil every day to get into character. I’m very disciplined about how I take care of my voice, and in this case, my body as well. Because I have to sing and swing upside down during the show, I’ve been running the mezzanine stairs to get out of breath, work up a sweat, and then sing at the same time.
On a heartfelt accessory:
I received so many beautiful opening-night gifts: drawings, frames, a necklace, and crystals from the redwoods. I received an actual baby redwood tree I have to plant. Tina Landau gave me this green shawl scarf that has a very muted redwood design on it. She said she’s had it next to her for many years as she’s been writing and creating, so I keep it in my dressing room with me.
On her ideal escape:
Sometimes I wish I could just sit on a beach with a bunch of books, at a nice hotel with a glass of wine and some good food, where I could take naps whenever I wanted, and not bring my son and husband. The idea of being a total sloth and having no one judge me for it is something I long for, but have never really gotten to do.
On living her childhood dream:
The rehearsal room is like a sanctuary for me. The day I walk in there with my crispy new script and get to start marking it up and making my little character map, that is really escaping. Does it bring lots of stress? Sure. But when I can be there — with complete recognition that I’m living the dream and doing what I wanted to do ever since I was a little girl — then I feel the most at peace.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The post Idina Menzel On ‘Wicked,’ ‘Redwood,’ & Playing Maureen In ‘Rent’ appeared first on Bustle.
