Idina Menzel: World Tour

Performances

Following the success of her critically acclaimed one night only concert at Radio City Music Hall and the release of her Christmas album Holiday Wishes, Menzel announced she would embark on World Tour planning 54 concerts in various countries including America, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and the Netherlands.

This is her first time doing a world tour.

In non-English speaking countries, Menzel sang a bilingual version of Let it Go, singing one of the song's stanzas in the country's language.

Concert synopsis

Aside from her five-piece band, Menzel's accompaniment included a six-piece horn section and four-piece orchestra. The show began with video clips projected against a white curtain before Menzel emerged (wearing a black strapless dress), kicking the show off with a lower version of Defying Gravity from her Tony Award-winning performance in Wicked and a rendition of Don't Rain on My Parade.

She then addressed the audience and expressed how incredible it is "once you're famous and you get a bigger stage" before heading into her original songs Brave and the title track (both) from her 2008 solo album I Stand. Next, Menzel asked if the audience knew that she was the "first original Green Girl in Wicked" before heading into a low key rendition of The Wizard and I. Next, Menzel pulled up a stool for her cover of River from her 2014 Christmas album Holiday Wishes.

Next, Menzel shared a story with the audience about an experience she had studying Theater at New York University having a huge crush on a professor by preparing Cole Porter's Love For Sale for a class assignment before continuing into that song with a mashup of The Police's Roxanne. Up next, came a tribute to Ethel Merman, whom Menzel considered as "one of the first belters of Musical Theatre" in a medley of There's No business Like Show Business, Anything Goes, and Everything's Coming Up Roses. Up next, came the title track of Menzel's 1998 "failed to sell" debut studio album "Still I Can't Be Still" which she "dedicated to the only 3 people in the audience who bought it" before heading into a powerful and haunting cover of Radiohead's Creep.

Up next came songs from Menzel's first Broadway job in the musical Rent starting with Take Me Or Leave Me (which Menzel went into the audience for volunteers to help sing the song with her) before heading into No Day But Today (paying tribute to Jonathan Larson, the composer of Rent). Menzel then shared the experience of her journey of recently ending the Broadway run of If/Then and how much her show's character Elizabeth changed her life before heading into a powerful and showstopping performance of the musical's 11:00 number Always Starting Over.

From there before saying Good Night, Menzel introduced her musicians and acknowledged the audience for their continued support before performing an a cappella rendition of For Good from Wicked and heading straight into a highly anticipated performance of her Oscar-winning song Let It Go from Frozen. Most concerts, Menzel would invite younger kids from the audience to come up sing the song before ending her main set with the final chorus. Menzel then takes a bow, does some free styling rocking out with her band (featuring a few bars bursting into Red Hot Chill Pepper's Give It Away) before leaving the stage.

Menzel then returned to the stage for 2 encore performances of her new original song Child (dedicated to her song Walker Nathaniel Diggs) and a beautiful rendition of Tomorrow from Annie.

Set list

1. "Defying Gravity" from Wicked
2. "Don't Rain on My Parade" from Funny Girl
3. "Brave" from I Stand
4. "I Stand" from I Stand
5. "The Wizard And I" from Wicked
6. "River" from Holiday Wishes
7. "Love for Sale" / "Roxanne"
8. "There's No Business Like Show Business" / "Anything Goes" / "Everything's Coming Up Roses"
9. "Still I Can't Be Still" from Still I Can't Be Still
10. "Creep"
11. "Take Me or Leave Me" from Rent (impromptu duet with chosen audience members)
12. "No Day But Today" from Rent
13. "Always Starting Over" from If/Then)
14. "For Good" (a cappella) from Wicked
15. "Let It Go" from Frozen

Encore

1. "Child"
2. "Tomorrow" from Annie

Critical reception

Idina Menzel: World Tour has garnered critical acclaim. Sharon Eberson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that Menzel was "a little bit naughty, a little bit nice and a little bit nutty, but always entertaining ... Each song, each story she told, was like unwrapping an elegantly wrapped package to see what surprise it held inside."

Melissa Ruggieri of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution opined, "What makes her live show so appealing is Menzel herself" because "She's funny." Ruggieri elaborated, "That's the thing about Menzel. Yes, the spotlight that comes with singing songs associated with 'The Wizard of Oz' ... and Disney cartoons ... But Menzel, 44, is an adult. And she sings about adult things". However, Ruggieri cited her performances of original songs "I Stand" and "Still I Can't Be Still", and rendition of "Take Me or Leave Me" alongside five audience members, among "a few moments that didn’t wow."

Personnel

Musicians