Idina Menzel

Idina Menzel is my hero for numerous reasons. She embodies all of the qualities that make someone a hero to me. She is kind, peaceful, organic and always changing with the times while remaining true to herself.

Born in Long Island, NY, on May 30, 1971, but raised in Syosset, NY, she is the eldest of two siblings. Her mother, Helene, and her father, Stuart, who were of Jewish descent, divorced when she was 15 years old. The divorce was hard on her and to help get through it, she started working as a wedding and bar mitzvah singer. Following that she attended NYU and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Menzel’s Broadway debut came in the form of a show called Rent. She took the role of Maureen simply because she needed another job in the slow wedding months, never thinking that the show would turn into the phenomenon it is today or that it would lead her to her future husband, Taye Diggs.

(www.Idina-here.com)

Following her time with Rent, Idina took parts in numerous other plays such as Dorothy in Summer of ’42 (ironic considering her later success as the Wicked Witch of the West), Sheila in Hair, Amneris in Aida, and Kate in The Wild Party. Achieving so much continual success and becoming so well known in the Broadway community is what opened the door for her most famous role to date.

(www.Idina-here.com)

Wicked debuted in 2003 with Idina staring as Elphaba and Kristin Chenoweth staring as Glinda. Though the two actresses were praised for their portrayal of the roles, the reviews for the show were not so positive. The negative reviews did not seem to matter to the public and with Idina’s powerfully strong voice and flawless interpretation of the character, the show took off to huge success. It has become so big in fact that there are now versions of it in Chicago, Los Angeles, London’s West End, Tokyo, Melbourne and Stuttgart.

In 2004, Idina won a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. The next year she decided to call it quits and leave her role as Elphaba. However, she did reprise her role in the London version of Wicked from September 2006 to December 2006. I believe she did this to get closure from the show after not being able to previously do her last performance because of an injury that occurred on stage.

Most recently, Menzel has been focusing on her film and singing career. She can be seen in movies ranging from Ask the Dust, a serious small movie, to Enchanted, a light hearted Disney blockbuster. While Idina has been trying for years to get her solo music career going, it was not until recently that she really achieved this goal.

She released two albums, Still I Can’t Be Still and Here that never really took off and were mostly enjoyed by her devoted fans only. However, in January 2008, Idina released her third album, I Stand, which has been received by a much broader audience and has allowed her to tour nationwide. Because she has written nearly every song on her album, she really allowed her fans to see who she is and what she stands for.

You can see from the roles she chooses and how much she truly cares for her fans that she is a great person and a good hero choice. She never settles for one style or one way of thinking and forces those who see or hear her to open their minds and explore other options. All of these qualities coming together make her a hero in my eyes.