Review: Idina Menzel at the Apollo Theatre

Idina Menzel. Picture: Robin Wong

The lights go down, the band starts playing, and then through the darkness a voice starts singing and shivers go up my spine.

I'm sitting in the Apollo Theatre, where Broadway legend Idina Menzel is performing as part of a week long residency.

She starts with Somewhere Over the Rainbow, singing the famous lines while we in the crowd desperately try to work out where she is. 

And then, suddenly, she's bouncing, actually bouncing like Tigger, out onto the stage looking gorgeous in a ballgown with bare feet, a look she's become known for.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow seagues into The Wizard And I from Wicked, which is a song I absolutely love, but is often overlooked or put aside so crowd favourite Defying Gravity can be performed instead. It's a great choice, and with its powerful notes really gets the crowd smiling.

I saw Menzel last year at the Royal Albert Hall, a venue that's at least 10 times the size of the Apollo. She had no problem filling the Hall with her voice, but seeing her in a more intimate venue also works.

Most people would probably expect a musical theatre actress like Menzel to spend most of her concert performing show tunes, but she surprises by singing a host of songs from a host of genres - from the Barbra Streisand classic Don’t Rain on My Parade (which she sang at the Royal Albert Hall) to Joni Mitchell’s Both Sides Now to U2’s I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

Peppered in between the songs are stories about Menzel's life and career, and I appreciated the fact that she didn't repeat any of the tales she told last year, even though she performed a few of the same numbers.

Some of her anecdotes are funny, some poignant, some both. One sees Menzel refer to her friend and mentor Marvin Hamlisch, who died recently and who conducted the Royal Philharmonic when she performed with them last year.

She speaks about his influence on her, before performing At The Ballet from A Chorus Line, which Menzel says she sang at Hamlisch’s funeral at the request of his family. She finishes the segment with another tale about Hamlisch and how he was a mentor to her, and allowed her to sit at the piano bench with him and sing. A bench is brought out and Menzel sits herself down, leaving a space where Hamlisch would have been, and sings an emotional rendition of What I Did For Love.

Happier moments come when Menzel sings Take Me Or Leave Me from Rent, the musical which was her first Broadway show (she also sings No Day But Today). In a great moment of crowd interaction three members of the audience are picked at random to sing Take Me Or Leave Me with Menzel. They rush out of the crowd, and include a girl who can’t be more than 13 and has a voice that more than stands up to Menzel’s - definitely a star of the future. I have to admit I'm more than a bit jealous of the singers, not just because they get to perform with Menzel, but because when I sing I sound like 10 cats yowling while 20 people run their fingernails down a blackboard.

Happily, she performs her version of Love For Sale mixed with Roxanne, which I will never get tired of hearing her sing, as well as Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes and snippets of Katy Perry's Firework and Beyonce's Single Ladies, which are great fun.
 
As well as well known standards Menzel performs two original numbers, both of which are touching, plus the afore-mentioned Defying Gravity. From Wicked she also sings For Good in tribute to the crowd, and is forced back on stage for an encore which ends with her “favourite song ever”, Somewhere from West Side Story, with its lyrics: “There’s a place for us/Somewhere a place for us”.

The standing ovation that greets Menzel shows her fans have found their place - right there cheering her on.

•Idina Menzel is at the Apollo Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue, until Sunday, October 14.

Album review: Idina Menzel's Barefoot at the Symphony

Relaxed, fun, charming, stunning - all words that can be used to describe Idina Menzel on her latest album, Barefoot at the Symphony.

The live album - recorded in Toronto during her symphony tour - features not just the songs Menzel sang, but also all the anecdotes she told during the show, which was also filmed for a television special.

I was lucky enough to see Menzel at the Royal Albert Hall on this tour, and loved every moment, so it's great to be able to relive the concert experience again.

My two favourites on this album have to be No Day But Today from Rent, the musical that gave Menzel her big break on Broadway, and Asleep on the Wind, a gorgeous ballad on which Menzel's vocals soar as much as the metaphorical birds in the song.

Also powerful is Menzel's version of Love for Sale, which is mixed with Roxanne. Menzel conveys the pain of the women at the centre of both stories through her voice - there's no need to see her to know what the characters are going through.

Similarly, feelings and character are conveyed well in Where or When - although this time the feelings are much more upbeat. This is a number Menzel didn't do on her visit to London, and after hearing this recording I would have loved to have seen it done live. In Where or When you can feel the chemistry between Menzel and husband Taye Diggs as they sing. It's a fun number, with plenty of teasing laughter and great vocals from both singers.

Fun also comes along in the opening track, Life of the Party, and Poker Face, which Menzel performed when she appeared on Glee. Her tongue in cheek narration during Poker Face, pointing out the absurdity of lyrics such as "cause I'm bluffing with my muffin/I'm not lying I'm just stunnin' with my love glue gunnin'" adds a laugh out loud dimension to the number.

If it's power you're looking for, then look no further than Funny Girl/Don't Rain on My Parade, where Menzel's voice is strong enough to stop a herd of buffalo in their tracks without crossing into shouty territory.

Of course, no Menzel concert would be complete without her singing Defying Gravity and/or For Good from Wicked, the show that launched her into the stratosphere. Lucky for us, she performs both, with For Good done a capella, showing just how pure and heartfelt Menzel's voice is.

Menzel is accompanied by the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the legendary Marvin Hamlisch, one of only a few people to win an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony). While the orchestra is brilliant, the recording doesn't quite capture their full sound, and it's easy to forget Menzel is backed by them and not just a regular studio band.

One small niggle is that the album tries to recreate the live experience by including all the applause Menzel received during the show. Sometimes, this goes on a little too long, and I can't help but wish it had been cut short so the music came round faster. Still, it's a small complaint for such a brilliant album.

Broadway fans and Menzel fans will love Barefoot at the Symphony, but this album is also a good introduction to Menzel and her world for those who have not heard her before - you can hardly be failed to be impressed by her vocals even if you're not a fan of her type of music.

Concert review: Idina Menzel at The Royal Albert Hall

Is it that the grand surroundings of the Royal Albert Hall deserve nothing but the very best performers?

Or is it that stunning music deserves surroundings as amazing as the Royal Albert Hall?

Whichever way round it is, everyone got the best last night when Broadway and West End superstar Idina Menzel brought her symphony concert to the historic London venue.

Menzel has been introduced to a new breed of fan with her appearances on Glee as Shelby - Rachel's biological mother and the former coach of rival glee club Vocal Adrenaline. 

But while many more people may know her now, Glee is hardly the pinnacle of her career, which involves Tony nominations and wins, and the chance to originate one of the most famous roles in musical theatre - Elphaba the green witch in Wicked.

So, of course, Menzel sang numbers from the hit musical last night. Despite not being covered in green paint - she was wearing a stunning strapless off-white ballgown with a black ribbon belt and no shoes - her brilliant voice combined with her stage presence and acting chops made it seem as though you were watching Elphaba.

Menzel's ability to embody a character in a song was shown in a rendition of Love for Sale by Cole Porter. 

The number was preceded by a story, as were most of the songs she performed last night.

Love for Sale's story had Menzel revealing she had a crush on a teacher at university, so when he told the class to pick any Cole Porter song, she thought she'd kill two birds with one song and use Love for Sale, complete with seductive looks and a costume consisting of lingerie-like items, and seduce said teacher and complete the assignment. Unfortunately for the young Menzel, she was stopped in her rendition and her teacher told her love for sale was not a seductive song, but a desperate one about a woman who is forced to turn to selling her body for money. Oops. And if that wasn't embarrassing enough, Menzel also discovered later in life that particular teacher was gay.

The humorous anecdote was a contrast to Menzel's performance of the song. She became the desperate woman for the few minutes she sang, uncertain, shy, facing up to her demons. And, in a brilliant arrangement, she also segued seamlessly into Roxanne by The Police midway through the tune before finishing Cole Porter's song.

For me, the highlight of the evening came near the end, with another song from Wicked. This time, though, Menzel simply played herself. Dedicating For Good to the crowd, Menzel shouted to the back of the hall that she would not be using her microphone, and to tell her if they couldn't hear her. They needn't have worried, her powerful vocals filled the hushed Royal Albert Hall, no technology needed. And it was one of the most emotional parts of the night, as Menzel sang straight to the fans who had been clapping and cheering all evening (guilty as charged).

Another spectacular moment also involved the audience, and was again an emotional, quiet performance. Menzel told of the death of the creator of RENT, who passed away on the day the cast had its dress rehearsal.

In tribute to the lessons she learnt from him and her time on the show, she sang No Day But Today, getting the crowd to sing the title line back to her towards the end, each time in hushed tones.

Sweet moments came when Menzel discussed her husband - Taye Diggs, who she met when she was in RENT - and their son Walker, followed by performances of silly songs the pair have made up for Walker ("my husband gets annoyed that my songs don't showcase his strong baritone, I get annoyed because his don't showcase my 13 octave range"). 

Funny moments came during a story about performing for Barbra Streisand (she ignored Menzel and Diggs as they sat at her dinner table, then asked if Menzel had sung for her as she'd forgotten her glasses, then abruptly left). And for the Glee fans Menzel poked fun at herself as she sang a stripped down version of Lady Gaga's Poker Face.

Menzel was accompanied throughout her show by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, masterfully conducted by legendary Broadway composer Marvin Hamlisch, one of just a handful of people to have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony (an EGOT). He had a few funny stories of his own, during the very first short act which featured just him and the orchestra.

With a full orchestra behind her much of the night was loud, rousing and fun.

But it was the quiet, emotional, virtually solo numbers that truly showcased Menzel's talent, and which will stay with me for the longest.