A native of Long Island, Idina Menzel made her Broadway debut in 1996 as Maureen in Jonathan Larson’s hit musical, Rent – for which she garnered a Tony® nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical – and quickly went on to top billing as Elphaba in Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman’s musical adaptation of Gregory Maguire’s novel, Wicked. Playing opposite Kristin Chenoweth, Menzel won the 2004 Tony Award® for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance. Idina Menzel has also performed a great deal Off Broadway, earning a Drama Desk nomination in 2000 for her portrayal of Kate in Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party. In 2001 she was a replacement for Amneris in Elton John and Tim Rice’s Broadway adaptation of Aida, and in 2006 earned another Drama Desk nomination for portraying various characters in the Public Theater’s production of the musical See What I Wanna See by Michael John LaChiusa. Menzel reprised her role as Maureen Johnson in the film version of Rent (2005), and played Nancy Tremaine in the Disney film, Enchanted (2007). She frequently performs around the country as a singer/songwriter in her own right.
Photo courtesy of The Everett Collection
