BWW Reviews: IDINA MENZEL Thrills in O.C. Concert Tour Stop

There was quite an electric, palpable excitement crackling in the huge 3,000-plus-seat Segerstrom Hall on this particular Sunday afternoon. The largest venue within the Orange County Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa, this stage is used to Broadway-caliber talent wowing its audience, since it usually plays host to a revolving door of touring companies performing popular stage musicals. It only seems fitting, then, that one of contemporary musical theater's biggest stars, IDINA MENZEL, would be welcomed wholeheartedly here. And, boy, was she ever.

Curiously, Menzel's symphony orchestra-backed concert tour stop in Orange County has been billed as part of OCPAC's Cabaret Series, which in previous incarnations has always involved a smaller backing band within a much more intimate setting. For Menzel, though, her "intimate" cabaret-tinged concert has been appropriately scaled up to match her huge voice and indisputable star power: lush, full-bodied symphony orchestrations, coupled with her incredible marquee-worthy talent. If anything, Menzel's powerhouse concert is much more akin to a pop-rock concert, judging from the plethora of loud, adoring declarations of love from its appreciative, fan-filled audience. What cabaret concert have you been to that would incite such a loud frenzy?

For her part, the supremely talented Menzel has spent the past few years building up a rabid fan base from her work on the Broadway stage, particularly in two fan-centric shows that have become historical musical benchmarks for the decades each perspectively rose from: first, she originated the Tony-nominated role of sexy Maureen, the uninhibited performance artist in Jonathan Larson's iconic '90s musical RENT; and then, in 2003, she originated the career-defining role of Elphaba in the gargantuan Stephen Schwartz hit WICKED. In the latter musical, Menzel portrayed the young, misunderstood "green girl" who would eventually become the Wicked Witch of the West—a part that eventually earned her a Best Actress in a Musical Tony Award, as well as the unbreakable adoration of idolizing musical theater fans young and old.

So it's no wonder that many of the capacity-crowd patrons hollering during Menzel's sole Southern California tour stop could hardly contain their adulation. Also unsurprisingly, Menzel does not disappoint, delivering a mix of show-stopping musical theater gems, pop tunes, obscure but lovely compositions, and, yes, her signature fan favorites—all in an effort to not only showcase her big diva voice, but to also please this mixed Orange County matinee audience comprised of older Cabaret enthusiasts, teen fans, and Broadway aficionados. It's safe to assume, too, that many of the younger audience members present identify themselves as "GLEEks," those affectionately-dubbed super-fans of the popular Fox series Glee, in which Menzel plays the recurring role of Lea Michele's on-screen birth mom.

Fronting a hard-working full symphony orchestra conducted by Matthew Kraemer (ivory-tickling piano accompanist Rob Mounsey serves as the show's musical director), Menzel's remarkable belt certainly carries up all the way to the highest peak of the venue. No one doubts that she's a gifted singer (she nonchalantly mentions that she has a five-octave range at one point), and her carefully-selected set ensures that the audience is aware of this. Even while singing ad hoc musical compositions she made up as lullabies for her 14-month old son Walker, her child with husband actor Taye Diggs (the two met as cast members workshopping RENT), Menzel's vocals seem effortless.

In between renditions of career highlights and stage hits, Menzel regales the rapt audience with brazenly-honest personal recollections and humorous behind-the-scenes anecdotes that has the audience frequently in stitches. Wearing her Broadway diva persona like a deservedly-bestowed badge of honor, her half-timid, wickedly dry comedic delivery elicits plenty of well-earned snickers. Then again, she's already playing to her target audience. But whether making snarky comments or singing the heck out of a song, Menzel is absolutely beguiling. Her intermission-less concert shows that she is truly a genius entertainer.

The show begins with the full orchestra warming up with a rousing, though rapidly abbreviated version of Leonard Bernstein's Suite from WEST SIDE STORY, the evening's only thematic disconnect. Soon after, thunderous cheers greet a beamingly barefoot Menzel as she glides like an ethereal siren in a flowing purple gown to center stage. She opens with the upbeat "Life of the Party" from Andrew Lippa's THE WILD PARTY, a show which featured Menzel in its 2000 off-Broadway production. After a peppy 'hello' to her O.C. fans, she follows it up with the beautiful, heartbreaking, "I'm Not That Girl" from WICKED, using a faithfully-recreated arrangement, seemingly plucked right out of the musical. Referencing a college assignment during her musical theater training days (in which she talks of her attempt to seduce a hot professor), she then dives into a rather odd yet sonically adventurous mash-up of Cole Porter's "Love For Sale" and The Police's "Roxanne." (Continues on Page 2)

(Continued from Page 1) Soon, more hilarity ensues. While explaining her understandably nervous trepidation upon performing "Don't Rain On My Parade" as a tribute to the one and only Barbra Streisand during the living legend's Kennedy Center Honors segment, Menzel veers into a hilarious (and supposedly unplanned) tangent about being wary of trap doors during performances (she famously injured herself falling through the trap door of her final week as Elphaba in WICKED—and the O.C. audience was treated to the full, unedited story of what happened). By the time she segues back into her terrific medley from FUNNY GIRL (the title song from the film version, which she sang on Glee, followed by "Don't Rain On My Parade"), we are reminded again of her theatrical splendor. In addition, this entire section dedicated to Streisand and FUNNY GIRL feels almost like an unintended winking audition bid to star in any possible future revival for the show—mirroring similar moves her on-screen daughter Lea Michele has coincidentally displayed as well via recent Glee episodes.

Following the gorgeous, little-known "Asleep On The Wind" by Jimmy Webb, Menzel pays her respects to Jonathan Larson's parents, who were in attendance at the concert, with a hauntingly subdued version of "No Day But Today" from their son's final masterpiece RENT. Revoiced as a singular, pleading musical plea enhanced by the floating airiness of the string section, the song takes on a stirring new life.

She lightens the mood once again, referencing her much-talked-about guest starring role on Glee, which found her doing a fantastic, albeit strangely inappropriate, mother-daughter acoustic duet with Michele on Lady GaGa's pop hit "Poker Face." She seems to be a sport about it all, though she does let on that she felt a bit down about having to play a mother to 24-year-old Michele. She then gamely reprises the song all alone for the concert (although you could hear audible whispers from nearby audience members crossing their fingers for a Lea Michele surprise appearance), poking fun at the ridiculousness of the lyrical content of a song sung between a mother and daughter. "What the heck does that even mean?" she asks mid-song, after singing about muffins and glue-gunning. The audience is crying from laughter.

And the tears don't stop there. Sandwiched between "original" tunes she penned for her son—included here simply because, well, this star can—are breathtaking, stripped-down songs that really showcases Menzel's amazing, made-for-Broadway pipes. First, she sings a stunning, slow-like-honey version of "Look To The Rainbow" from FINIAN'S RAINBOW.

Later, she expresses her self-effacing shock and awe that she was "even able to fill" a 3,000-seat auditorium for this concert, which, of course, is drowned by defeaning cheers and applause. So as a musical "thank you" to her fans, she performs an exquisite "For Good," the tear-jerking final ballad from WICKED—sung completely without the aid of a microphone or musical accompaniment. Raw and exposed, she gives a heartfelt, magnificent a cappella performance of the song. You could hear a pin drop in that massive theater as she displays her glorious talent, raw and exposed. Now, that, ladies and gentlemen, is a gutsy move.

That moving moment is a fitting segue into the final, definitive song everyone's been waiting for: a grand, showstopping rendition of "Defying Gravity." By the time she hits that final high note, the audience cannot contain their joy over witnessing a real, honest-to-goodness musical star. Even her nicely understated encore number, a nod to a song from her childhood, aims to firmly cement her place in the rare exclusive club of contemporary musical theater greats.

Three standing ovations, then, should not be a surprise to anyone.

Photos of Idina Menzel by Stewart Shining.

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The Orange County Performing Arts Center's 2010-2011 Cabaret Series continues with Broadway Up Close and Personal: A Tribute to Cy Coleman starring Jason Graae, Jenifer Lewis and David Zippel performing December 9 - 12, 2010; followed by Sutton Foster performing January 6 - 9, 2011; and Nathan Gunn performing March 24 - 27, 2011. For tickets or information, visit ocpac.org.

For more information on Idina Menzel's upcoming national tour dates, visit www.idinamenzel.com/tours.

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