Recensie Idina Menzel: What a way to the stage [Disney+]

Director: Anne McCabe, Eric Maldin | Time to play: 94 minutes | Year: 2023

in series Happiness Idina Menzel played the mother of the character Rachel Berry. Perfect cast: her looks match and they both have powerful singing voices. thanks to the documentary Idina Menzel: What a way to the stage we learn that the comparison does not stop there. She likes to notice for herself what’s good about her and she seems to wear a mask permanently.

Idina Menzel is primarily famous as a Broadway star and the voice of Elsa. Frozen. But his dream is to perform one day at Madison Square Garden in New York. Some time ago she went on a concert tour, where she performed well-known musical and pop songs, as well as some original songs. She concludes the tour at the desired location. We follow her path there and, in between, get a personal history lesson from her.

But “dream” is perhaps too strong a word. After he finished the musical Rent, Menzel tried to build a solo career as a singer. During a performance, he tells the audience that he hoped he would soon be standing in front of a sold-out Madison Square Garden. Point. And that happens.

There is no previous fight. There will be no exciting reveal, where you will hear whether or not you get what you want. The rooms are reserved and he concludes his tour in Manhattan. Once there, she encourages him very briefly, presumably at the principal’s request. It’s not like his life was a miserable mess before. How happy can you be for someone who has already walked in and gets another candle on the cake?

In fact, it is not very clear if there was ever a fight. Not a word about her family having to fight so that Idina could fulfill her dream in New York. Nothing about years of countless auditions before the choice finally fell on her. She herself complains about a gap in her mind between the musicals Rent and Wicked. She though she just got the chance to record an entire pop album, and she pretends it’s not the fault of the unsuccessful songs.

Make no mistake: she hasn’t been idle. At school she was in the drama club, she sang in various bands and could be hired for weddings. Honestly, she was born with a singing voice and it takes time to keep that voice pure. It’s still a sound that carries the risk that some people won’t like to listen to it.

During the tour, Menzel also tries to conceive, through medical procedures. She already has a child with her ex, but she would like another with her current husband. There has been no news that she has become a mother again, so the outcome of her can be guessed. She didn’t think it was a disaster, or didn’t allow herself to film the actual shock. Anyway, aside from a few tears, you never see her heart break because there’s no second baby in it.

Too bad, because that could have turned out to be an emotional moment. It’s not like she fully pulls off an act for an hour and a half, but it’s never completely pure. In the vein of Rachel Berry, she likes to talk about how she was thought to sing so beautifully from a very young age, that her taste is so incredibly broad, that she’s at peace with the annoying truth that the public sees her more as a singer than an actress. . She even sings the song Don’t Rain on my Parade, Rachel’s great song. Happiness.

to metal is Idina Menzel: What a way to the stage A bit boring documentary. It’s a semi-concert recording, because there are a lot of partial songs coming in, and that’s just fun to watch if it’s an artist you like to listen to. His biggest hits are Let It Go and Defying Gravity, it’s nice to hear them go by. Otherwise this is more for true fans only.

Idina Menzel: What a way to the stage can be seen in Disney+.