IDINA MENZEL - BROADWAY STAR SHINES AS A SINGER-SONGWRITER

It can be a daunting task for an established Broadway musical actor or actress to cross over to a career as a mainstream pop singer. That’s especially true when the artist creates or defines a memorable stage role, and audiences begin to view the performer and the role as one and the same.

In a relatively brief twelve-year Broadway career, Idina Menzel has already created two landmark characters – the bi-sexual performance artist Maureen in Rent, and her Tony Award-winning role as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked. She’s also branched out to non-musical roles in television and film (most notably as Patrick Dempsey’s fiancé in Enchanted).

The 37-year-old Long Island native has been touring in support of her latest album (and Warner Brothers Records debut) I Stand.

Her character? Singer-songwriter Idina Menzel.

In her performances Menzel will certainly acknowledge her stage career, perhaps with renditions of Wicked’s “Defying Gravity,” or Rent’s “Take Me or Leave Me,” but concert-goers should expect the bulk of Menzel’s repertoire to be drawn from her own material.

Make no mistake – this is NOT a case of a Broadway singer simply “turning pop.” Menzel’s professional resume as singer-songwriter dates back to 1998, when she released her underrated debut album, Still I Can’t Be Still. The lively, wide-ranging mix of pop, rock, and soul showcased Menzel’s wonderful voice and knack for crafting memorable, somewhat quirky (in a good way) tunes, but failed to find a large audience.

Menzel was eventually dropped from her record label. She spent the next ten years establishing her stage career, but never abandoned her music. During that time she contributed to a few soundtracks and other albums, and in 2004 released a six-song EP entitled Here on the independent Zel Records label.

Menzel was signed to Warner Brothers Records, which released I Stand last year.

Menzel worked with Glen Ballard (Alanis Morissette, Shakira, Annie Lennox) who produced and co-wrote all but one of the songs on I Stand with Menzel. Featuring the singles “Brave,” “Gorgeous,” and the title track, the album is a strong mix of engaging, soulful pop and heartfelt ballads. Menzel’s powerful voice is in top form throughout, but the bigger surprise is the maturity of her songwriting.

Here's the "I Stand" lyric video:



In a press release, Ballard commented, “It's very rare when you have somebody with Idina's vocal skills who also writes so eloquently about what's important to her. I knew I was working with a first-rate writer. She has stories to tell and they're really worth hearing."

Menzel says she’s thrilled when fans dig deep into her lyrics and interpret her songs.

"Sometimes when people hear my new songs they take a completely different meaning from them than what I originally intended,” she says. “I just love that. As a songwriter, it means I've accomplished something bigger than myself."

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GOOD WORKS: Menzel has recorded a brand-new song called "Hope" in support of Major League Baseball and its ongoing programs to raise awareness, as well as funds for research through the new Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) initiative. Idina's recording of "Hope" was selected as the signature title song for important, inspiring efforts throughout the baseball industry. The song release marks the launch of a series of forthcoming initiatives to be announced at a later date.

"Hope" — which was written by award-winning composer Paul Hampton and produced by Steve Lipson (Annie Lennox, Whitney Houston, Paul McCartney) — is available for purchase through iTunes® and other online retailers.

Proceeds from the sale of the track will go to benefit Stand Up To Cancer. Fans will also be able to get the info on downloading the new song by visiting http://www.idinamenzel.com/, as well as www.MLB.com/Hope.

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Upcoming tour dates for Idina Menzel:

Mar 25, 2009 Glenside/Philadelphia, PA - Keswick Theatre - Buy Tickets
Mar 27, 2009 Wilmington, DE - Grand Opera House - Buy Tickets
Mar 28, 2009 Greenvale, NY – Tilles Center Concert Hall - Buy Tickets




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Linda Eder - Back to the Beach

There was a time when singer and Broadway star Linda Eder could stroll down Atlantic City's Boardwalk on a crowded summer evening and go unnoticed. In fact, it happened on a fairly regular basis in the mid 1980s. Back then, Eder was a recent transplant from Minneapolis, building a reputation and fan base performing her show four times a night, six nights a week at Harrah's.

In the years since, Eder's celebrity profile has risen considerably. In 1987, she tried out for the television talent show Star Search, and won a spot on the first episode of that show's 1988 season. She proved unbeatable for an unprecedented 12-week run. The Star Search appearances led to a record contract and her big break; she was cast as Lucy in a new musical version of Jekyll & Hyde.

The show debuted in 1990 at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas. In April 1997, Jekyll & Hyde made its way to Broadway. That year, Eder was nominated and won a Theater World Award for her performance as Lucy. Since then, she's appeared on stage in Beauty and the Beast, The Civil War and Camille Claudel, and has released eight solo albums, including her most recent, 2005's By Myself: The Songs of Judy Garland.

Eder has performed in Atlantic City numerous times since her lounge act days. While she considers herself a mid-level celebrity at best, her days of going unnoticed in a crowd have passed. In February 2006, she returned to perform two shows with singer and pianist Michael Feinstein at the Atlantic City Hilton.

"It's a new show — an idea that we've wanted to do for a while," Eder said at the time in an interview for Atlantic City Weekly. "We put it together last year and did five shows to try it out. It was so much fun, and the response was fantastic, so we've got a lot more booked."

Eder and Feinstein are on stage together for the entire show, with the exception of two short solo segments where each performs two or three songs apiece. The duo is accompanied by Eder's seven-piece touring band, under the direction of John Oddo.

Touted as an evening of "masterpieces from the American songbook," the show includes songs by legends like Irving Berlin and Duke Ellington, as well as more contemporary artists.

"It's everything from Steve and Eydie, to Sonny and Cher, to Joni Mitchell, to more current material," Eder says. "My definition of a standard is anything that is written well enough so that it stays around as the years go on. New standards are being created all the time."
Eder says she enjoys the variety afforded by successful careers as both a stage performer and recording artist. At this point in her life, however, family considerations have kept her from committing to another Broadway show.

"I want to do it again, but I'm not in a big rush," she says. "It's a wonderful experience and great fun, but it's also the most work. I know the hours that it involves. I have a six-and-a-half year-old son who's now in school, and I know that if I were in a show on Broadway, I really wouldn't see him that much. So I'm very tempered by that.

"There is a piece in the works being especially written for me that I really like, so we'll see…. We're progressing with that, but it would be at least two years before it would be ready to come to New York."