Idina Menzel Returning to Broadway in “Redwood”, a New Musical She Co-Conceived: 'Really a Dream Come True'
The Tony Award-winner spent 15 years working on the musical, which made its world premiere earlier this year at La Jolla Playhouse
Idina Menzel is coming back to Broadway after a decade-long absence in a new musical close to her heart.
The Tony Award-winning actress, 53, will star in Redwood, a project she co-conceived with acclaimed playwright and theatre director Tina Landau.
News of the musical comes after Redwood had a sold-out world premiere engagement earlier this year at La Jolla Playhouse. The Broadway transfer will happen next year, producers Eva Price, Caroline Kaplan and Loudmouth Media announced on Thursday, June 13, in a theater yet to be announced.
Additional casting and creative members will be announced at a later date.
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Redwood, according to an official descriptive, is "a transportive new musical about one woman’s journey into the precious and precarious world of the redwood forest" that "explores the lengths — and heights — one travels to find strength, resilience and healing."
Menzel plays Jesse, a successful businesswoman, mother and wife who heads to "the majestic forests of Northern California" at a turning point in her life in search of healing her inside heartbreak. There, "a chance meeting and a leap of faith changed her life forever."
Related: Idina Menzel Opens Up About Educating Herself While Raising a Mixed-Race Son: 'It's on Us'
The musical is written and directed by Landau, and will feature music by Kate Diaz with lyrics by Landau and Diaz. Additional contributions are by Menzel.
“I’m so thrilled to be returning to Broadway, and the fact that I get to do it with Redwood, a musical that means so much to me, makes it even more special,” the Frozen star said in a release. “This show has lived in my bones for fifteen years, from the very first time Tina and I discussed working together. Finally getting to do it on Broadway is really a dream come true."
Redwood will be Menzel's sixth Broadway show.
She was last on the boards in 2014, in the musical If/Then — a role that earned her a leading actress in a musical Tony nomination. It was her third nomination, her first being for her featured role in the original 1996 cast of Rent, which marked her Broadway debut.
Of course, Menzel won her Tony 10 years prior to that (and 20 years this year) in 2004, for originating the part of Elphaba in Wicked. The smash hit musical is heading to the silver screen this year, with Cynthia Erivo in the role.
Related: Idina Menzel Congratulates Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo on 'Wicked' Casting News: 'So Much Love'
Related: Nicole Scherzinger Will Perform at 2024 Tony Awards for Emotional 'In Memoriam' Segment (Exclusive)
Both Menzel and Erivo will be at the 2024 Tony Awards on Sunday, June 16, where they are listed as presenters. Other names include Nate Burleson, Cynthia Erivo, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Josh Gad, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Sean Hayes, Taraji P. Henson, Jennifer Hudson, Angelina Jolie, Nick Jonas, Idina Menzel, Ashley Park, Jim Parsons, Wendell Pierce, Ben Platt, Anthony Ramos, Andrew Rannells, Solomon Thomas, Taylor Tomlinson, Pete Townshend, Tamara Tunie, Adrienne Warren, Patrick Wilson and Jeffrey Wright.
Ariana DeBose is hosting for the third time in a row. Presented by Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, the 2024 Tony Awards will take place on Sunday, June 16, at Lincoln Center's David H. Koch Theater in N.Y.C. Viewers can watch the show on CBS and Paramount+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
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