RTÉ TEN's John O'Driscoll reviews Idina Menzel's debut Irish performance at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre. Was she wickedly good?
"This is going to be a big f***ing Broadway night!"
The lady wasn't kidding.
Idina Menzel is the undisputed queen of musical theatre, 44-years-old and she's already a Tony Award grandee. She's also had the kind fortune to lend her voice to an Oscar winning song. Yes, I'm talking about Disney's monster-hit, Frozen, which drove tweens worldwide into ecstatic renditions and left parents on a fast track to a Valium addiction.
Her Irish debut at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on Saturday, June 20, was treated like the second coming at a revivalist meeting. The sell-out audience, from Gleekers to grannies, were all believers in the power of a good show tune and would have been delighted if she'd just sang the alphabet (though they did get a rendition of Happy Birthday for all those celebrating. It was that kind of show).
From her opening number Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked, it was a trip through some of Broadway's biggest hits and a masterclass in vocal delivery. The staging was wisely kept simple, just her and a backing band, the spotlight very much on Idina's trademark voice (though some early sound mixing issues did drown her out a tad). Her range and poignant interpretation of some well known classics, such as Anything Goes were captivating and prove why she is now such a recognisable musical force. Unless of course you happen to be John Travolta, who famously mangled her name at last year's Oscars!
But the undeniable highlights came when she strayed from the Broadway standards. Her versions of Radiohead's Creep and Joni Mitchell's River were spine tingling, while the performance of the night was a jazzy mash up of Cole Porter's Love For Sale and Roxanne. An acapella of For Good from Wicked came a close second. While she can clearly inject pathos in even the most hackneyed of numbers, a couple of performances did fail to connect, in particular more contemporary songs such as I Stand.
That aside, her passion for performance and genial on stage banter would win over the biggest cynic. From birthday requests, self-deprecation, even attempts to get her tongue around 'Go raibh maith agat', she treated the audience like old friends. A big karaoke session featuring two of the biggest hits from Rent - Take Me or Leave Me and No Day But Today - sealed the deal. When the inevitable Let It Go finale was performed she had the entire place on its feet for the umpteenth time.
All in all a great f***ing Broadway night!
John O'Driscoll
