Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
#1Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/1/08 at 11:56pm
I am not a Renthead, Wicked Head or Idina-Head, but I thoroughly enjoyed her concert tonight which was the first of her tour. She was in amazing voice, looked lovely and had a charming stage presence and personality. She indicated that she was very nervous as it was her first show. You couldn't tell from her singing at all - picture perfect. Her between-songs banter was hysterical and she devoted 15 minutes to her career as a wedding singer, singing snippets of The Girl From Ipanema, Saving All My Love For You, a Michael Jackson song that I can't recall, and in between them, announcing to the "guests at the wedding/bar mitzvah" to "please return to their seats for the salad course." Really very charming. Most of the songs were from her new album which was fine with me as I enjoyed most of them. She losed with a rocking version of Defying Gravity which brought the place down.
The theatre only holds about 300 people so she was close to us all.
One guy yelled out to her and asked if she was going to bring CHESS to America. She said that if she could she would!
Another time, she gestured wildly with her hands, forgetting that she was holding an open bottle of water, which went all over. She got on her hands and knees to clean up the water.
She even brought out her gown that she wore as a Wedding Singer, putting it on over her clothes. It sounds cheesy, but it was really funny.
If you get a chance to see her on this tour, I recommend it. It was nice to see her perform as herself. I've seen her in Rent, Aida, See What I Wanna See and Wicked and found this to be my favorite Idina performance.
Oh, and Taye was there for those of you out there predicting the end of their marriage. She referred to him frequently during the show, indicating that she knows how to "play the sausage."
#2re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 12:05amDid she do the whole thing about calling a cabasa a kielbasa and that she could play that, too? And here I thought she was just clever.
#2re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 12:06amYup
#3re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 12:10am
Sounds like a fun evening.
I don't really enjoy most of her original music, though I do like the arrangements she does with showtunes (her rockish version of "Not a Day Goes By" is wonderful).
Nice review.
#4re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 12:11amI'm so excited that they're recording one of these concerts
#5re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 12:15am
She also did a wonderful version of Embraceable You. I too was not a fan of her first few cds, but I do like I Stand.
I was disappointed that she didn't sing anything from Rent.
mauriposa
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/14/05
#6re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 12:22amI wish I could have seen this. ::crosses fingers for a Chicago date::
#7re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 1:05amI think Stand is my least favorite of her CDs. It was all so ballady. I wanted her to break out with a funky song like Planet Z or Larissa's Lagoon. Too mild for me, I guess.
#8re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 1:08amMe too JerseyGirl. I loved her material at Joes Pub and liked her other two CDs, and found this one kind of a letdown
#9re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 1:14amOT: Your avatar just made me giggle. They were so damn great!
new7
Swing Joined: 10/21/07
#10re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 10:07amA civilized thread reviewing/about Idina? Loving it!
#11re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 10:35amI would kill to see her sing Embraceable you
#12re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 10:39am
Thank you for the review 
I wish that i could see this live, but will have to wait for PBS.
MenzelManiac
Leading Actor Joined: 1/8/05
#13re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 11:37am
Her Joe's Pub stuff was so solid, it's a shame she never recorded or performed it again. "Jealous", "Just Kidding", and "Winter" are unbelievable songs and people should really have the chance to hear them. So Idina or any of Idina's people who might read this, tell Idina to cut it out and give us an old song or two, lol.
Now, some of her "SICBS" stuff isn't good, almost unlistenable for me, but "Here" is good and well-intentioned (albeit way too short). "I Stand" is a great place for her to have arrived at as an artist, with songs that are being played on the radio but also have an intensely personal connection to her life.
Having watched Idina for awhile, there's a certain satisfaction in seeing her last night at George Street, knowing that her dream was always to write and perform her own music. She's so lucky to have PBS commit to filming and airing her concert, I think it will bring nothing but good vibes in Broadway's direction. She's not the "crazy" Broadway performer that will reinforce an outsider's opinion of what Broadway is. Last night, I heard so many older adults talking about how talented she is, and how they'd like to hear more of her music, which is great.
In terms of the structure of the show, it's not much different than what she did at the Zipper a few years back, except that now it's sandwiched by "I Stand" songs. She'll figure out the right voice for the show with practice. The "Wedding Days" stuff is almost all there, except for the Tony Spinelli "Freedom" ending, which I thought was very funny when she would do it. (Goodbye Long Island, Hello Broadway!) That sort of makes the current story fall a little flat and it also meant that she didn't get into the Rent section, so we didn't get to hear Idina's version of "I'll Cover You".
She was so nervous and so sweet onstage, and handled some distractions from the audience really well. Coming back for the encore and singing "Defying Gravity" from her knees surrounded by people who really respected her and wanted her to succeed, very cool experience to be a part of.
Thanks for coming to New Brunswick Idina!
#14re: Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1
Posted: 4/2/08 at 11:46am
Yes, thank you Idina for coming to New Brunswick! It was nice to be able to walk from my apartment to the playhouse to see you instead of hopping on the train to the city.
Loved the concert. Although, I wish she would have done one or two of her older songs. To hear 'Minuet' or 'It Only Hurts When I Breath' would have been wonderful.
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