Adam Pascal (born October 25, 1970) is an American actor and singer, best known for his Tony-nominated performance as Roger Davis in the original cast of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent on Broadway. He is also known for originating the role of Radames in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida.
Information taken from Wikipedia.com
Full Name: Adam Pascal Date of Birth: October 25, 1970 Place of Birth: Bronx, New York Occupation: Actor, Singer, Producer Previous Occupations: Personal Trainer Education: Syosset High School in Syosset, Long Island; University of Southern Florida (attended for one year); New York Institute of Technology (degree in television and film production)
Parents: Wendy and Mel Seaman (mother and stepfather) Marital Status: Married Cybele Chivian, playwright, on December 19, 1998 (met in 1997 during the Nantucket Film Festival) Children: Lennon Jay (born 2001) and Montgomery Lovell (born 2004)
Fun Facts: Adam and his fellow RENT co-star, Idina Menzel, used to go to the same high school. Furthermore, he found out about the New York Theatre Workshop's auditions for RENT through an old boyfriend of Idina's.
During his Adam Pascal Band days, Adam also played with fellow indie rockers 28th Orange Street, now Common Rotation, fronted by Buffy: The Vampire Slayer alumnus and American Dreamz star, Adam Busch. Adam Busch also went to the same high school as Adam and Idina
Information taken from Adam-Pascal.com
Adam Pascal was born on October 25, 1970 in the Bronx, but spent the majority of his life in Syosset, Long Island, where he had moved to when he was ten years old. He discovered his passion for music and his natural ability to sing when he was twelve years old, describing himself as a "total metal head" as a teenager. He was engrossed with Queensryche, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, although he also cites The Beatles, Elton John, and Billy Joel as major influences in his music.
Adam's first live performance also came at the age of twelve when he played his first real "rock and roll gig" at his hometown's junior high school, covering heavy metal bands like Ozzy Osbourne and D.O. He had gotten his first taste of live music; it went from there and never stopped. He formed a band named Mute and they played throughout Adam's high school and college years. However, in what he considered "his first career decision in the music business," he left the band to go it alone.
As he had been in this band for nearly fifteen years, Adam was in a situation of not knowing what to do next. Then came the fateful day when a friend of his referred him to an off-Broadway musical that was being workshopped at the New York Theatre Workshop. The musical was RENT. After a rigorous auditioning process, over the course of which he was called back three times and had to learn two songs overnight, he won the role of Roger Davis, an aspiring singer-songwriter living with AIDS. RENT went on to become the most successful musical in a decade after moving to Broadway and the Nederlander Theatre, and much of that success, at least by many people's standpoints, was because of Adam. Although he had never acted before the play, he was called "the meditative soul of the play" by The New York Times, and praised by critics and fans alike for his amazingly soulful voice and outstanding acting. In 1996, Adam received two prestigious nominations in the forms of the Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actor in a Musical, and won in that very category for the Obie and Theatre World Awards. In the months that followed after the success of the play, Adam became discouraged from the role because of the commercialization of the play, and left quite suddenly to play Eddie in the Sony Pictures Classics release SLC Punk! Fortunately for English audiences, he traveled to London with many of the original Broadway cast members of RENT for the unveiling of the show there. Unfortunately for American audiences, during his time with RENT, he had also formed a self-titled group called the Adam Pascal Band. However, as soon as he was called to leave for London, he also had to leave the band.
After his time with RENT had wound down, Adam was approached by director Bob Falls for Aida, a new Broadway musical created by Elton John and Tim Rice, the same powerhouse duo that had brought The Lion King such accolade. It was a dream come true for Adam: Elton had been an inspiration of his for so many years. During his time as Radames, Adam was also asked to participate with a select few Broadway stars, including his Aida co-star, Heather Headley, in the televised concert My Favorite Broadway: The Love Songs.
It was during his tenure at Aida when he released his first solo effort called Model Prisoner, literally recording his vocals while blocking lights during the show's pre-production. Unlike many of his colleagues, Adam decided on a small independent Internet label to record his music, and went back to his first love, rock and roll. A deeply personal album, it was written to express his feelings on life and love. He has said that he would love to tour with this album and promote it, never having done an "actual full-fledged, straight-up tour."
On September 22, 2003, Adam performed in the Actors' Fund of America benefit concert of Chess, and in December of the same year, it was announced that he had joined the cast of Tarzan, the upcoming Disney musical workshop based on the music of Phil Collins, as the storyteller. Adam also appeared in two motion pictures in 2003: as Theo in the hugely successful comedy School of Rock starring comedian Jack Black, and as Nicholi in the independent rock musical Temptation with another RENT and Roger alumnus, Manley Pope.
Since then Adam has been splitting his time between his own music, the stage, and the silver screen. In 2004, he released his second CD, Civilian. He cites 9/11 and the birth of his first child, Lennon Jay, immediately after this horrible tragedy as shaping the paradoxical vision that he had for this album. He explains that, at that time, with the predominance in his life of "two very drastically different ideas," he "struggl[ed] with the idea of raising a child in a world of war." This is reflected in the many songs from Civilian that he has dedicated to his son, especially "Beautiful Song."
Nevertheless, even with a new CD under his belt, Adam was ready to tackle another project, this time collaborating with another all-star cast in a production of Hair for the Actors' Fund. Yet, it was his latest career move that has sent his popularity and fame through the roof.
With the tenth anniversary of RENT fast approaching, the majority of the original cast reunited to portray the characters they had created almost a decade earlier in a movie version of the tenth longest running show on Broadway. Given the chance to revisit the role that had put his name on the map and the ability to reach a wider audience through this new medium, Adam truly makes his mark both in this film and in the hearts of whom he has touched.
Adam currently lives in California with his wife, Cybele; his sons, Lennon Jay and Montgomery Lovell; and his dog, Carly
Information taken from Adam-Pascal.com
On Rent:
"Roger gets to scream and yell a lot. {Laughs} He's a likeable guy, but he's a real dark, gloomy guy. He has so much passion and fire about him." (Michael Buckley recalling a 1996 interview with Adam in Playbill.)
"What I like about the character now is that he's very multi-dimensional. He goes from pure heartbreak [Roger's girlfriend has committed suicide] to being pulled out of that by the love of his friends and the love of Mimi. He's enlightened to the fact that there are people who care about him. It was much more fulfilling to make that journey in the film. I got to think about each moment in a way that I never did when I was doing the show." (addressing his change in perspective in regards to the character of Roger Davis during his almost ten year hiatus from the character, in an article by Michael Buckley in Playbill.)
"Anthony helped me in the film, as well [as on stage]. I look up to him in so many ways on a personal level. He's all the things that, as a person, I wish I could be. He's much more forgiving, much more giving, much more optimistic. His vision of the world is better than mine. We're polar opposites. I think the way I am causes me internal grief that I wouldn't have if I was more like Anthony." (on his friendship with Anthony Rapp, in an article by Michael Buckley in Playbill.)
On His Other Roles:
"It was the greatest experience I ever had!" (on his stint as the Emcee in the closing days of Cabaret on Broadway, in an article by Michael Buckley in Playbill.)
"I was so afraid of doing it. I thought: If I can pull this off, I'd be really proud to call myself an actor. And I did! For that reason alone, it was incredible. But I loved the music and the production." (on his stint as the Emcee in the closing days of Cabaret on Broadway, in an article by Michael Buckley in Playbill)
On Music:
"The record was inspired by 9/11, and then, a month later, becoming a father, these were two drastically different ideas...and I was struggling with the idea of raising a child in a world of war." (in regards to his music being compared to the political music of the early 70s, in an interview by Katy before the Case Western show on April 9, 2006.)
"When I would go out and play my own music, I would tend to avoid that; hide it, in a way. I fought it for a long time, and it probably held me back. I'd never play Broadway tunes in my own set; that would've been like sacrilege to the rock and roll gods. I thought it would hurt my credibility in the rock community. It took me time to realize: I had no credibility in the rock community. I wasn't in it, so what was I worried about? That really freed me up to do what I wanted to do, and not worry about being thought of as any particular thing. I'm embracing it much more now, and I'm proud of it." (in regards to playing "show tunes" on his most recent east coast college tour, in an article by Adam Taliercio of the Ocean County Observer on April 2, 2006.)
"I like music with instruments, not computers, but now a lot of music is computer generated, and there's lipsynching and backing tracks. I think technology has also allowed less musically inclined people to make music, helping them to express themselves easier. And MTV has created a different culture. You used to have to go see a band live, and now there is this novelty of seeing it on video. It's all about presentation" (in regards to his opinion of the music scene today, in an interview by Katy before the Case Western show on April 9, 2006.)
On His Appearance:
"Yes. I am a very handsome man!" (at the RENT Screening and Q&A at Symphony Space on November 23, 2005 in regards to Anthony questioning Adam about whether he would ask himself out on a date.)
Adam: I like it better short because it's...it's easier to deal with. Rosario: And he's not looking in the mirror all the time. Adam: Well, I don't know about that, but...{Laughs} (from the RENT Movie blog in regards to the question "Adam, do you like your hair longer or shorter?")
Information taken from Adam-Pascal.com
Filmography SLC Punk! (1999) School of Rock (2003) Temptation (2004) RENT (2005) Goyband (2007) American Primitive (2007)
Television Cold Case (Episode 3.18: "Willkommen")(2006)
Theatre RENT (1996 - 1998, 2007) Aida (1999 - 2003, 2004) Cabaret (2003 - 2004) RENT (1996) Tarzan (2004) Chess (2003) Hair (2004) The 24 Hour Plays (2005) Fully Committed (Co-Producer with Jesse L. Martin) (1999)
Discography Wine and Vision (1990) Mute (1995)
Awards Obie Awards for RENT (1996) Theatre World Awards for RENT (1996)
Wilson Jermaine Heredia is an American actor of Dominican descent, best known for winning the 1996 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of Angel Dumott Schunard in the musical Rent. In addition, he won the Drama Desk Award in the same category, and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award.
Information taken from Wikipedia.com
Wilson Jermiane Heredia was born on December 2, 1971, and raised in Brooklyn, New York.
Heredia has appeared in several films, including his portrayal of Cha-Cha, the drag queen, in 1999's Flawless, where he worked opposite former Rent cast mate Daphne Rubin-Vega. The film also stars Robert DeNiro and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Heredia also worked alongside Christopher Meloni and Mariska Hargitay in TV's popular drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the episode "Nocturne".
Along with five other principal members of the original Broadway cast, Heredia appeared in the film release of Rent, directed by Chris Columbus. Heredia stated that he enjoys the transformational process involved in assuming the persona of the cross-dressing Angel, but dislikes having makeup on his face and found the high heels he had to wear as part of his costume extremely painful. Heredia says he enjoyed the blackly comedic parody of Rent in the film Team America: World Police, which features a fictional Broadway musical called Lease. He enjoys filming because the close up shots allow him to "cut loose" and go wild a lot more than the stage allows.
On Monday, January 9, 2006, he presented an award at the Critics' Choice Awards with Rosario Dawson, Taye Diggs, and Tracie Thoms, his costars from the Rent motion picture. He is currently collaborating with Dawson and Thoms on the upcoming film Descent.
Information taken from Wikipedia.com
Do you continue doing the original choreography or is it changed up a little bit? How are you guys remembering everything? - Jessica
The choreography has pretty much changed because the playing field became 3 dimensional. The stage production only allowed us to focus our physical energies in one direction, the audience, as it is with all staged productions. The feeling of the movement hasn't changed though because it comes from an organic place. RENT has never been about huge choreographed numbers anyway. I like to think of it as "inspired movement". There is one number that is completely choreographed and that you'll just have to see for yourself when the movie is released.
Is it hard to play Angel in general? (I mean the high heels, eek I'm sure they hurt!) Is hitting those high notes in songs hard? Is it hard playing drag? - Lindsey
One of the most difficult things about playing Angel IS the heels. It was easier on Broadway because out of the three hours of it, I only had to be in them for about three quarters of the show. For the film I've been in the heels for 12 hours or sometimes more. Ahh, there's nothing like Epsom salt. Aside from that the role itself isn't harder than playing any character that you have to bring to life. It's all a challenge. The singing is in my vocal range but, as I said before, hours of it takes a toll on the vocal chords. Oh, and by the way, I hate makeup on my face. But Mindy Hall is one of the best makeup artists in the business in my book and if I would have to do it again, she's the master.
Do you have a website yourself? - Duane
I plan to have one as soon as I have the time.
Because of the time passing, and new members to the cast, was there ever any suggestion to just use the stage recording? - Cassie
With musical films you have to record tracks before anything is shot with the anticipation of what action is taking place. Even when we lip sync we're actually singing it through every single time. So...no.
That backflip looks awesome! Was that you? - David
I'd like to say it was me but it wasn't. But it looks pretty cool don't it!
Toughest scene to film? Most surprising moment? - Marlen
For me it was all tough but fun. You can't beat doing what you love and getting paid for it. The surprising moments I'll leave up to you.
Do you read these posts? - Serena
Yes true believers,...I do read the posts. I love to hear what you have to say and, in turn, I love to answer back. Forgive me if there's some gaps in between but I am up to date with the blogs. Keep writing 'cause I'm watchin'. Until then...
No day but today.
Information taken from rentmovieblog.com
Filmography The Girl from the Naked Eye (2008) (filming) iMurders (2009) (post-production) Descent (2007) Johnny Was (2006) Nailed (2006) Rent (2005) Flawless (1999) Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God... Be Back by Five (1998)
Theatre The New Americans Rent (1996) Popol Vuh The Tower
Television Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (2000)br> Medium (2006) Without a Trace (2007)
Awards Tony Award for Rent (1996) Drama Desk Award for Rent (1996)
Jesse Lamont Martin (born Jesse Lamont Watkins, January 18, 1969) is an American theatre, film, and television actor, best known for his roles as the original Tom Collins in Rent and as Det. Ed Green in the NBC series Law & Order.
Information taken from Wikipedia.com
Name: Jesse Lamont Martin Profession: Singer, Actor, Artist Born: January 18, 1969 Where: Rocky Mount, Virginia Mother: Virginia Price, a College Career Counselor Father: Jesse Reed Watkins, a Truck Driver Physical: 6'2" Brown Hair, Brown Eyes Graduate of: The Buffalo School for Visual and Performing Arts & NYU Tisch School of Performing Arts Resides: New York Voted: "Sexiest Newcomer" by People Magazine, 1999 Marital Status: Not Married
Information taken from alljesselmartin.net.
Jesse L. Martin was born in Rocky Mount, Virginia, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains. He is the third of five sons. Martin's parents, truck driver Jesse Reed Watkins and college counselor Virginia Price, divorced when he was a child. Ms. Price eventually remarried and the boys adopted their stepfather's surname. When Martin was in grade school, the family relocated to Buffalo, New York, and the move was not an immediate success: Martin hated speaking because of his thick Southern accent and was often overcome with shyness. A concerned teacher influenced him to join an after-school drama program and cast him as the pastor in The Golden Goose. Being from Virginia, the young Martin played the character the only way he knew how: as an inspired Southern Baptist preacher. The act was a hit, and Martin emerged from his shell.
The actor attended high school at The Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, where he was voted "Most Talented" in his senior class. He later enrolled in New York University's prestigious Tisch School of the Arts Theatre Program. After graduation, Martin toured the states with John Houseman's The Acting Company. He appeared in Shakespeare's Rock-in-Roles at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and The Butcher's Daughter at the Cleveland Playhouse, and returned to Manhattan to perform in local theatre, soap operas, and commercials. Finding that auditions, regional theater, and bit parts were no way to support himself, Martin waited tables at several restaurants around the city. He was literally serving a pizza when his appearance on CBS's Guiding Light aired in the same eatery. While the show aired, the whole waitstaff gathered around the bar television to cheer his performance. Often, during the dinner rush, he broke out in song. When he gave his customers their dinner checks, he told them to "keep it, because someday I'll be famous!" Many of his coworkers in the restaurants continue to follow his career and are considered his early "fan club". Martin made his Broadway debut in Timon of Athens, and then performed in The Government Inspector with Lainie Kazan. While employed at the Moondance Diner, he met the playwright Jonathan Larson, who also worked on the restaurant's staff. In 1996, Larson's musical Rent took the theatre world by storm, with Martin in the part of gay computer geek/philosophy professor Tom Collins. The 1990s update of Puccini's La Bohème earned six Drama Desk Awards, five Obie Awards, four Tony Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize. Martin soon landed roles on Fox's short-lived 413 Hope St. and Eric Bross' independent film Restaurant (1998). Ally McBeal's creator, David E. Kelley, attended Rent's Broadway premiere and remembered Martin when the show needed a new boyfriend for Calista Flockhart's Ally. The actor's performance as Dr. Greg Butters on Ally McBeal caught David Duchovny's eye, who then cast Martin as a baseball-playing alien in a 1999 episode of The X-Files that he wrote and directed.
While still shooting Ally McBeal, Martin heard rumours that actor Benjamin Bratt planned to leave the cast of Law & Order. Martin had tried out for the show years before and won the minor role of a car-radio thief named Earl the Hamster, but decided to wait for a bigger part. With the opportunity presenting itself, Martin approached Law & Order producer Dick Wolf regarding the opening. Wolf hoped to cast him, and upon hearing that CBS and Fox both offered Martin development deals, he gave the actor the part without an audition.
From 1999 to 2008, he played Det. Ed Green on Law & Order, save for a brief hiatus at the end of the 2004 – 2005 season while he was filming the movie adaptation of Rent, for which he reprised the role of Tom Collins. So far, Martin's character has been the only detective to be made from junior to senior partner. Martin's final episode of Law & Order aired April 23, 2008.
Currently in development is Sexual Healing, a film about the last years of singer Marvin Gaye's life. Martin plans to both produce and star in the film. The film, directed by Lauren Goodman, is slated for production in 2007.
Information taken from Wikipedia.com
Filmography Sexual Healing (2007) Rent (2005) Season of Youth (2003) Restaurant (2000)
Theatre Three Penny Opera: WTF Summer (2003) Rent Timon of Athens and the Government Inspector The Arabian Nights Ring of Men Fully Committed (Producer) The Butcher's Daughter (1993)
Television Law and Order (1999-present) Apollo at 70: A Hot Night in Harlem (2004) A Christmas Carol (2004) Rocky Horror 25: Anniversary Special (2000) The X Files (1999) Deep In My Heart (1999) Ally McBeal (1998-1999) 413 Hope Street (1997-1998) New York Undercover (1995)(1999) The Guiding Light (1992)
Anthony Dean Rapp (b. October 26, 1971 in Chicago) is an American stage and film actor best known for originating the role of Mark Cohen in the Broadway production of Rent in 1996 and later for reprising the same role in the film version. He also performed the role of Charlie Brown in the 1999 Broadway revival of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Rapp was born in Chicago, where he attended high school at Joliet West High School in Joliet and theatre camp at the prestigious Michigan Interlochen Arts Academy. Rapp's brother is playwright, novelist, and filmmaker Adam Rapp. Rapp also has a sister, Anne, as well as a "little sister," Rachel, although she is actually a cousin of his who was taken in by his mother
Rapp, a self-identified "queer," is an advocate in show business for LGBT rights. He has three cats named Emma, Sebastian, and Spike.
In 2006, Rapp released a memoir about his days in Rent, as well as his mother's struggle with cancer and his experiences growing up, entitled Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent, which was released February 7, 2006 by publisher Simon & Schuster. The book was re-released in paperback on October 31, 2006.
He still remains close friends with many of his Rent castmates, such as Daphne Rubin-Vega, Adam Pascal, Idina Menzel, Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Taye Diggs, and Jesse L. Martin.
He first performed on Broadway in 1981 in The Little Prince and the Aviator, a musical based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's novel The Little Prince. The show closed during previews. He also appeared in the 1987 movie Adventures in Babysitting, which was directed by Chris Columbus. Columbus would later direct Rapp in the film version of Rent.
Rapp has gone on to appear in several movies and Broadway shows, most notably as intellectuals. His notable work includes films Dazed and Confused, A Beautiful Mind, School Ties, Road Trip, the stage and film versions of Six Degrees of Separation, An American Family, and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
Rapp is probably best known for playing Mark Cohen in the off-Broadway and original Broadway casts of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent. He reprised that role in the film adaptation, which was released on November 23, 2005. Rapp has embraced his role as an unofficial spokesperson for the musical and has given numerous television and print interviews regarding the show and its development. Some of Rapp's photographs from rehearsals of Rent have been published.
In 2000, Rapp released a solo CD, entitled Look Around (Anthony Rapp album). He is represented as a keynote speaker by Greater Talent Network speakers bureau.
Rapp returned to Rent on July 30 2007, for a six week run, along with original cast member Adam Pascal.
Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal continued in their return to Broadway's Rent through Oct. 7 at the Nederlander Theatre.
According to Playbill and Rapp's Myspace page, Rapp and Pascal will reprise their roles of Mark and Roger in a national tour of Rent in 2009
Filmography Adventures in Babysitting (1987) Grave Secrets (1989) Far From Home (1989) School Ties (1992) Dazed and Confused (1993) Six Degrees of Separation (1993) The Mantis Murder (1996) Twister (1996) Man of the Century (1999) Road Trip (2000) Cruise Control (2001) A Beautiful Mind (2001) Paradisco (2002) Open House (2004) Rent (2005) Danny Roane: First Time Director (2006) Scaring the Fish (2006) Let Them Chirp Awhile (2007)
Theatre The Little Prince and the Aviator (1981) Precious Sons Six Degrees of Separation (1990) Sophistry (play) (1993) RENT New York Theater Workshop (1994) RENT (1996, 2007) You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (1999) Henry V (2002) Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2003) Little Shop of Horrors (2004) Feeling Electric (2005)
Discography Look Around (2000)
Author/Books Without You: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and the Musical Rent (2006)
Television
Sky High (1990) Assault at West Point: The Court-Martial of Johnson Whittaker (1994) The Lazarus Man (1996) The X-Files (1997) The Beach Boys - An American Family (2000) Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2004) Kidnapped (2006)
Idina Kim Menzel (born May 30, 1971) is a Tony Award-winning American actress, singer and songwriter who achieved fame for her performances as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the Tony award-winning musical Wicked and as Maureen Johnson in the Broadway and film versions of Rent.
Information taken from Wikipedia.com
Born in Queens, New York with the birth name Idina Kim Mentzel, Menzel is the daughter of Helene and Stuart Mentzel, who worked as a therapist and a pajama salesman respectively. She was raised in Syosset, New York with her younger sister Cara and later changed her surname (Mentzel) because of constant mispronunciation. When Menzel was 15 years old, her parents divorced and she started working as a wedding and bar mitzvah singer, a job which she continued throughout her time at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree in Drama, until she was cast in Jonathan Larson's rock musical Rent.
Information taken from Wikipedia.com
Menzel married actor Taye Diggs, her co-star from the original Broadway production of Rent, on January 11, 2003 after 7 years of dating. They have a Yorkshire Terrier named Sammy Davis, Jr., and two cats named Ella and Coltrane whom they call their "Jazz Cats" since they were named after famous jazz performers. On December 6, 2004, it was reported by the New York Post that Menzel and Diggs were threatened with harm in a series of letters because of their interracial marriage.
In November 2007, Menzel worked with the Kids Wish Network to grant a wish for Sammie, a young woman with common variable immunodeficiency, taking her to the Los Angeles premiere of the film Enchanted
Information taken from Wikipedia.com
Theatre In 1995, Menzel auditioned for Rent, which became her first professional theater job and her Broadway debut. After Rent opened off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop on January 26, 1996, it was moved to Broadway's Nederlander Theatre due to its popularity. For her performance as Maureen Johnson in the original cast of the musical, Menzel received a Tony nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She completed her last performance on July 1, 1997.
Following the success of Rent, Idina originated the role of Dorothy in Summer of ’42 at Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, starred as Sheila in the New York City Center Encores! production of Hair and appeared on Broadway as Amneris in Aida. Menzel earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for her performance as Kate in the Manhattan Theatre Club's 2000 off-Broadway production of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party. Her other off-Broadway credits include the pre-Broadway run of Rent and The Vagina Monologues.
In 2003, Menzel starred alongside fellow actress and singer Kristin Chenoweth on Broadway in Wicked, a musical by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman based upon the popular 1995 Gregory Maguire novel. Idina received the 2004 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West. On her third to last performance of Wicked on January 8, 2005, she fell through a trap door and cracked a lower rib. The injury prevented her from performing in the January 9 show. Menzel did, however, make a special out-of-costume appearance at that performance, performed her final song, and received a 5 minute long standing ovation. Menzel was replaced by Elphaba standby Shoshana Bean.
Following Wicked, Menzel appeared off-Broadway in the Public Theater's production of See What I Wanna See, a Michael John LaChiusa-penned musical whose run ended in December 2005. For her role as various characters, she received Drama Desk Award and Drama League Award nominations. She reprised her Tony Award-winning role as Elphaba in the West End production of Wicked when it opened at London's Apollo Victoria Theater on September 7, 2006. Menzel finished her run on December 30, 2006. Menzel was then succeeded by fellow Elphaba Stand-by Kerry Ellis.
She was slated to appear in Vassar College's Powerhouse Theater premiere of "Romantic Poetry" in July 2007 but was forced to cancel because of conflicts with the schedule for the release of her third solo album.
Menzel will be playing the leading role of Florence in the 21st Anniversary two-night concerts of Chess at the Royal Albert Hall, London from May 12, 2008 through May 13, 2008. Current London Elphaba Kerry Ellis (Menzel's former standby) will be joining her.
Film and Singing Menzel's film roles include appearances in Just a Kiss, Kissing Jessica Stein, Tollbooth, Water, Ask the Dust, Enchanted, and Rent, in which she and five other original cast members reprised their stage roles.
Menzel performed at the 1998 Lilith Fair summer concert festival and continues to write and perform original music. She has toured extensively and frequently performs in various venues throughout New York City. She produced and released her debut album, Still I Can’t Be Still, for Hollywood Records in 1998. One single from the album, "Minuet," made the Radio & Records CHR/Pop Tracks chart at #48 in October 1998.
Her second album, Here, was released independently by Zel Records in 2004. Menzel has contributed to soundtracks, including those for the film The Other Sister and the ABC television dramedy Desperate Housewives. In 2007, she appeared on the Beowulf soundtrack singing the end credits song, "A Hero Comes Home".
Singer Ray Charles invited Menzel to duet with him on one of the tracks of his album Genius & Friends. The tracks were recorded in 1998 but were never produced, and it was one of his dying wishes that the album be made, a wish which was fulfilled posthumously.
Menzel has appeared on the cast recordings of Rent and Wicked, two of the best-selling cast recordings of all time, as well as the recordings of Lippa's The Wild Party, LaChiusa's See What I Wanna See, and the soundtrack of the film Rent. She recently signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records.
Her third solo album, I Stand, was released on January 29, 2008. It includes many new tracks such as the lead single, "Brave" as well as the title track "I Stand" and a song released on EP, "Gorgeous". A new studio version of Defying Gravity was released in May 2007 on iTunes. A remix of Defying Gravity was the "anthem" at the 2007 Gay Pride Parade and Festival in Los Angeles and that version appears on the official CD from the event. It has instantly become a collectors item. The album debuted at #58 in the Billboard 200 making it the first solo album by Menzel to make the charts.
On April 1, 2008, Menzel kicked off her "I Stand" tour in support of her new album.
Information taken Wikipedia.com
Filmography Kissing Jessica Stein (2001) Just a Kiss (2002) The Tollbooth (2004) Water (2004) Rent (2005) Ask the Dust (2006) Enchanted (2007)
Theatre Rent (1996) The Wild Party (2000) Summer of '42 (2000) Hair (2001) Aida (2001) The Vagina Monologues (2002) Funny Girl (2002) Wicked (2003) See What I Wanna See (2005) Wicked (2006) Chess (2008)
Television Hercules: The Animated Series (1998) Rescue Me (2004) Kevin Kill (2005)
Discography Still I Can't be Still (1998) Here (2004)
Information taken from Wikipedia.com
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Welcome All fans of the Broadway musical, RENT, come here! Talk about the songs, the meaning, the play, and the movie! Under construction.
