Idina Menzel In Concert 4/1

Did 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.

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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.

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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.

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I 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.

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OT: Your avatar just made me giggle. They were so damn great!

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I would kill to see her sing Embraceable you

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!