Tag: Idina Menzel

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Watch Broadway Stars Perform LIVE From Home Today

Don’t forget to hit the play button below at 7pm ET/4pm PT today for the return of The Rosie O’Donnell Show LIVE! as she hosts a star-studded array of Broadway’s finest performing from their homes. The event will serve as a fund-raiser for The Actor’s Fund,  which fosters stability and resiliency, and provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan. According to Broadway.com, the special program will feature performances and appearances by some of the biggest names in entertainment, all participating live from the comfort of their own homes, including Sebastian Arcelus, Skylar Astin, Beth Behrs, Nate Berkus, Stephanie J. Block, Matthew Broderick, Tituss Burgess, Norbert Leo Butz, Kristin Chenoweth, Gavin Creel, Darren Criss, Gloria Estefan, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Harvey Fierstein, David Foster, Morgan Freeman, Neil Patrick Harris, Megan Hilty, Lorin Latarro, Judith Light, Barry Manilow, Rob McClure, Audra McDonald, Katharine McPhee, Alan Menken, Idina Menzel, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Kelli O’Hara, Sarah Jessica Parker, Lauren Patten, Ben Platt, Billy Porter, Randy Rainbow, Andrew Rannells, Chita Rivera, Seth Rudetsky, Miranda Sings, Jordin Sparks, Ben Vereen, Adrienne Warren, James Wesley and more.

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My Very Favorite Witches Reunite In Time For Halloween – “A Very Wicked Halloween”

Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel reunite for “A Very Wicked Halloween”

OMG – it’s still Halloween, so I can still post my favorite witches!

NBC aired the fab “A Very Wicked Halloween” TV special this week and I loved it!

I saw the original cast twice and here we are 15 years later as the fab Broadway musical, Wicked, continues to kill it at the Gershwin Theater in New York City.

I love Wicked – it’s about women discovering their true power.

It’s about marginalized people coming to grips with their true power, and majesty.

It’s about owning who we are with pride.

Original stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth reunited for the special, and it was terrific.

Kristin performed “Popular,” Idina gave us “Defying Gravity,” pop star Ariana Grande delivered a terrific “The Wizard & I,” Ledisi and Adam Lambert (a former Wicked cast member) sang “As Long As You’re Mine,” and Grammy Award winners Pentatonix performed “What Is This Feeling?”

The finale of the special was Idina and Kristin joined by past ‘Elphabas’ and ‘Glindas’ for my husband’s favorite song from Wicked, “For Good.”

Check out the performances below.

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Idina Menzel & Kristin Chenoweth Reunite For WICKED’s 15th Anniversary

The blockbuster Broadway musical's original stars, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, will reunite for the show’s 15th anniversary this fall.
Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth in “Wicked”
(photo: Joan Marcus)

 Wicked fans are about to lose their minds 🙂

The blockbuster Broadway musical’s original stars, Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth, will reunite for the show’s 15th anniversary this fall.

The duo who conquered Oz as “Glinda” (Chenoweth) and “Elphaba” (Menzel) will headline a special tribute concert on NBC in October.

The producers of Wicked offer this synposis:

Winner of over 50 major awards including the Grammy Award and three Tony Awards®, WICKED is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz. One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

To refresh your memory, here’s the spectacular Tony Award performance in 2004 of the act one closer, “Defying Gravity.”

Joining the pair of Broadway veterans will be recording artists like Ariana Grande and Pentatonix with more guest stars to be announced..

NBC special programs and late night exec Doug Vaughan issued this statement about the casting coup:

“Wicked is a blockbuster musical playing all over the world and still selling out night after night after 15 years on Broadway, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with Emmy and Tony-winning producer Marc Platt and the entire Wicked team to celebrate the enduring success of this show.”

The terrific twosome will return to Oz, on Monday, October 29, when the Wicked special airs on NBC.

In May of 2016, Kristin and Idina reunited for a special studio version of their duet, “For Good.”

Oh yeah, the magic is still there 🙂

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Idina Menzel Surprises Young “Let It Go” Fan On ELLEN

Idina Menzel surprises young fan Luke Chacko on ELLEN

Earlier this year, a video went viral of 11-Year-Old Luke Chacko belting “Let It Go” in front of Frozen star Idina Menzel during a concert in Dallas.

Luke admits that the experience gave him strength as he’s been bullied at school having been called “gay” and “girl.” But Luke is strong. As he tells Ellen, “I’m a man of steel. These words can come at me and bounce back off. I’m like a rubber man of steel.”

Oh – and he has his own squad. “I have at least 12 people in my squad at school.”

Ellen invited the young guy to reprise his performance on her show this week, but the big moment was Idina herself showing up to surprise him.

This is awesome.

And, you’ve just GOT to see him kill “Let It Go” on national TV! You are not ready for this 🙂

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Idina Menzel Hands The Mic To A Texas Boy And His “Let It Go” Steals The Show

That time that Broadway star Idina Menzel hands the mic to a young boy named Luke in Texas and he blows the crowd away with his chorus of “Let It Go.”

Via The Advocate:

During a rendition of “Let It Go” at a concert Sunday in Grand Prairie, Texas, the powerhouse Frozen singer invited a group of children to the stage. Then Menzel approached the only boy, who gave his name as Luke. She asked if he knew what song she was performing.

“’Let It Go,’ obviously!” said the boy, to the laughter and cheers of the crowd. “What kind of question is that?”

“Let me just tell you what I’ve been through,” said the singer, who explained that during her Idina Menzel World Tour, “every time a boy comes up, he tells me he doesn’t really like this song.” She recalled one young man saying he even preferred Justin Timberlake’s “Can’t Stop the Feeling!” from the film Trolls.

“Heck to the no!” Luke exclaimed. “I’m offended.”

A laughing Menzel handed the microphone to Luke and requested he sing the chorus of “Let It Go.” He blew the audience away. Menzel, impressed, even requested an encore, since the audience’s cheers drowned out part of his performance.

“Can you all just shut up for a minute and let him sing it again?” she asked. Afterward, Menzel remarked, “I can’t sing like that!”

(h/t Advocate)

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News Round-Up: December 29, 2016

Gus Kenworthy (L) and Matt Wilkas (R)

Some news items you may have missed:

• OUT Magazine talks to sexy free-style Olympic skier Gus Kenworthy and his hottie actor bf Matt Wilkas about the genesis of their relationship in a new feature called “The Love Portfolio.”

• Logo TV Network will salute Hollywood icon Debbie Reynolds with a “Will & Grace” marathon, plus her appearances on “Golden Girls” and “Drag Race.”

• Dating app Scruff has banned the word “party” from user bios to avoid the word is being used as a code for drugs and chemsex. #GoodMoveScruff

• Donald Trump says “My Administration will follow two simple rules: BUY AMERICAN and HIRE AMERICAN!” But he just got approval to hire 64 foreign workers saying, “It’s very, very hard to get people.”

• Controversial homocon/provocateur/white nationalist Milo Yiannopoulos inks $250K book deal.

• Politico reports that the incoming Trump administration is frantically trying to place a Hispanic official in a high level position due to criticism that his cabinet is practically all white guys.

• Check out the newly released extended trailer for the upcoming Lifetime Channel’s remake of the 1988 Bette Midler classic film, Beaches, starring Idina Menzel as “C.C.” (originally played by Bette Midler) and Nia Long (The Best Man Holiday). The flick debuts January 21st.

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Listen: Idina Menzel Covers “Wind Beneath My Wings” For BEACHES Remake

From the upcoming Lifetime remake of “Beaches,” premiering January 21, 2017 at 8/7c.

Kudos for making the song her own. Definitely has that Idina feel to it.

Thoughts? Love it? Hate it?

The track is available now on iTunes.

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Idina Menzel Sings “Wind Beneath My Wings” In First Look At BEACHES Remake

We get our first tease of Tony Award winner Idina Menzel singing the iconic “Wind Beneath My Wings” from the upcoming Lifetime Channel remake of the Bette Midler classic film, Beaches.

Here’s the synopsis of the film:

Like the 1988 original, the remake follows C.C. (Menzel) and Hillary (Nia Long) over several decades, including the former’s stage success and the latter’s tragic illness. Despite coming from different backgrounds, C.C., a budding singer, and Hillary, the daughter of a civil rights lawyer, strike up a friendship that lasts a lifetime.

The TV movie debuts on Lifetime January 21 at 8PM ET/7PM C

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Idina Menzel Drops New Album & Gets Engaged

What an awesome week for Tony Award winner and Frozen star Idina Menzel.

On same day that her new self-titled album, Idina, is released, we get the news that she is now engaged to boyfriend, Aaron Lohr.

Having worked together on the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical RENT, the two began dating after her divorce from husband Taye Diggs in December of 2013.

The two apparently began living together a year ago.

The Tony Award winner is set to star in a 2017 remake of the Bette Midler classic film, Beaches.

I’ve previewed Menzel’s new album a few weeks ago here and here, and you can find it on iTunes here.

I’m a huge fan of Menzel’s talent: vast, visceral and uniquely authentic.

Congrats on a great day, Miss Idina.