Showing posts with label idina menzel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label idina menzel. Show all posts

Monday, October 26, 2009

Dark Monday -Wicked




Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth starred in the Broadway musical Wicked. They were both beyond spectacular. Wicked essentially gives you the backstory to The Wizard of Oz. But it is much more than that, for it is about being different, not fitting in, and how the majority can injure the minorities.



Idina Menzel play Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and shows how a green young girl goes from innocence to wicked through life's trials. Idina must have really had to act here, since that lucky woman is beautiful, has a gorgeous voice, and is married to Taye Diggs, who she met while both were in the original cast of Rent on Broadway. She gave girth to a son in September. Here she sings the amazing song Defying Gravity.



Kristin Chenoweth played Glinda, the Good Witch. Glinda's path is one of redemption, as she starts out a rather shallow and self-involved character and grows to become so much more. Kristin is immensely talented, as could be seen on both Pushing Daisies and Glee. She won the Emmy this season, and just went to Washington, DC, to participate on the March for Equality. In this clip, she sings Popular.



The show is an incredible show, and has opened throughout the world. In the Melbourne production, Anthony Callea [a favorite of mine] played Boq, the munchkin in love with Glinda, the same role American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert played in the American touring company. It is still running on Broadway, as well as touring. To find out if it might be playing near you, you can check out the official website here.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Dark Monday - Rent

rent,broadway
rent,broadway

In 1996, a little musical opened that might very well have changed the landscape on Broadway forever. It was named Rent, starring a cast of relative unknowns, most of whom went on to much more. They were Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Jesse L. Martin, Idina Menzel, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Fredi Walker. The show ran for 12 years, until 2008.

rent,broadway rent,broadway

To quote Wikipedia, Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La Bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York's Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of AIDS.

rent,broadway

The first video clip is video of the opening night performance of Today 4 U, featuring Wilson Jermaine Heredia, who won a Tony for his portrayal of Angel. The quality isn't great, but it was the opening night!



The second clip is when the entire original cast flew to Chicago for the 1996 Democratic National Convention to perform Seasons Of Love, a truly great song. The lyrics are so beautiful I used them at my sister's wedding when I made the toast at the reception, as I was her 'maid of honor.'


Just amazing!

Monday, June 15, 2009

Chess in Concert: Interview with Josh Groban | Great Performances | PBS



Chess In Concert is playing on PBS on Wednesday night, and I will be glued to the TV. Besides Groban, it also stars Adam Pascal [of Rent fame] and Idina Menzel [the lucky beyatch married to Taye Diggs].

chess josh groban Pictures, Images and Photos

OK, I ordered this on DVD because Josh Groban is spectacular. When he sings 'Anthem,' it sends chills up my spine.

Chess in Concert: Interview with Josh Groban | Great Performances | PBS

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