Menzel on the Move

I might of thought that Idina Menzel's moment to capitalize was a couple of years ago, back when "Wicked" was white hot rather than just regular hot. Menzel, the play's first green witch Elphaba, won a Tony award, made the movies "Rent" and "Enchanted" returned to "Wicked" in London and even fit in another play, Michael John LaChiusa's "See What I Wanna to See."

...OK, when I put it that way, it's not like Menzel has been sitting around doing nothing. And pity the fool who underestimates the power of green. During the Tonys telecast last week, Menzel's very appearance during the "Rent" reunion drew the typical girlish shriek from the audience (fellow "Wicked"-teer Kristin Chenoweth, less soo). I did see Menzel play "Wicked," BTW, when the show was in its pre Broadway tryout in San Francisco. And, yes, she was pretty terrific.

She's got a new album out, "I Stand", and she'll be in concert at the Wiltern Theatre Aug 15. No way to get tix yet, but Menzel fans can check out www.idinamenzel.com for more info.