Broadway diva and original Wicked star Idina Menzel is embarking on a 21-city tour in 30 days,
starting in the PNW with Seattle on July 19th and Oakland on July 21st. We discussed her Take Me or
Leave Me tour, as well as other projects such as the Wicked film and her upcoming Broadway show,
Redwoods, slated for 2025. Here are highlights from our phone interview; more will be featured in our
upcoming arts issue, out on August 1st.
On the Tour:
“I haven’t been on tour in several years, so I’m just really excited to reconnect with my audience, to be
honest. It’s been a long time. We’ve all been through a lot. And I’m looking forward to making that
connection. There’s also a real sense of gratitude that I have for where my career is and how my fans
have supported me all these years. So, I look forward to having a night full of storytelling and
reflection. I pride myself on being able to take a big room and make it feel intimate and small, not
being afraid of being vulnerable and allowing people to really see into me and my experience.”
Career Highlights:
“There have been many career highlights, but each experience I’ve had has played an uncanny role in
my evolution as a performer and as a human being. Each role I’ve played has always come at a time
when I needed to learn something from that character. For instance, becoming a mother paralleled my
experience in the show ‘If/Then,’ which dealt with the balancing act of career and family, and my
maternal instincts. During that time, I was also going through a divorce, so I was dealing with a lot of
personal stuff, but the theatrical community helped me get through it. Another example is ‘Wicked,’
where I learned to step into my own power as a young woman, mirrored in the role of Elphaba. These
roles have a way of reflecting what we need to experience in our own lives, what we’re trying to learn.”
Be sure to check out more in our August Arts Issue, available on August 1st. For tickets to the July
19th show at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre, visit STGPresents.org. For Oakland on July 21st at the
Fox Theatre, go to foxoakland.com .
