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Idina Menzel (born Adena Mentzel on May 30, 1971 in Queens, New York) is an American actress, singer and songwriter.

Menzel made her Broadway debut in 1996 as one of the original cast members in the late Jonathan Larson's Rent, receiving a Tony nomination for her portrayal of Maureen Johnson. She also earned a Drama Desk nomination for her performance as Kate in MTC’s The Wild Party. She originated the role of Dorothy in Summer of ’42 at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, starred as Sheila in the Encores! Production of Hair and appeared on Broadway as Amneris in Aida. Most recently, she appeared on Broadway in the critically-acclaimed musical Wicked, for which she received her first Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. She played the role from October 8, 2003 to January 9, 2005, after which actress Shoshana Bean replaced her. Her other off-Broadway credits include Rent and The Vagina Monologues.

In film, she has appeared in Summer of Sam, Just a Kiss, Kissing Jessica Stein, Tollbooth, and Water. She also made an appearance in the movie Camp in which Stephen Sondheim also made an cameo. Recently, she finished filming Ask the Dust, which is due in late 2005. She also reprised her role of "Maureen Johnson" in the film version of Rent, directed by Chris Columbus and featuring original cast members Taye Diggs, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp. The film began shooting in February of 2005 and will be released wide on November 23, 2005.

Menzel performed at the 1998 Lilith Fair summer concert festival, had her debut album Still I Can’t Be Still released on Hollywood Records and continues to write and perform original music. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. She is married to fellow performer and Rent co-star Taye Diggs.

As of summer 2005, Menzel is performing a series of concerts, in and around Cape Cod. In October, she will be seen in the Public Theater's production of the Michael John LaChiusa musical, See What I Wanna See, which also features Marc Kudisch.

External links

• Idina Menzel - Official site.
• MusicMoz: Idina Menzel - Submissions for music related information.
• IBDB: Idina Menzel - Broadway credits, nominations and awards from the Internet Broadway Database.
• IMDb: Idina Menzel - Filmography, mini-biography, and photos from the Internet Movie Database.

• 1971 births
• Musical theatre actors