I’ll Take Her, Baby!

A review of Idina Menzel’s I Stand

What 20-something-year-old dyke coming of age in the late 1990s didn’t break a sweat anticipating Idina Menzel’s throaty, powerful, belt as she slid disc two of the RENT soundtrack into her first CD player? The famous lesbian duet “Take Me or Leave Me” (performed by Menzel and Freddie Walker), featuring Menzel standing on a table in skin-tight leather pants, earned her a 1996 Tony nomination for her performance as the bisexual performance artist, Maureen in the acclaimed Broadway show. Menzel went on to record her first album with Hollywood Records, entitled Still I Can’t Be Still before she landed the second role of a lifetime as Elphaba, the wicked witch of the west in the hit musical Wicked, for which she won the Tony for Best Actress in a Musical in 2004.

On January 29th, Menzel will release her latest album, the highly anticipated I Stand with legendary Grammy winning producer Glen Ballard. The album features a collection of heartfelt ballads, including “Brave” and “Gorgeous” which not only highlight Menzel’s incredibly unique vocals, but also emphasize her songwriting talents. Show some love to this Long Island-native, NYU-alum and fellow New Yorker. She’ll take your breath away in more ways than one.


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