Exactly how packed can one Tony race get? The 2024 Tony Awards haven’t even happened yet, and it feels like we already have an all-time most-stacked Best Actress in a Musical category: Nicole Scherzinger in her Olivier Award–winning role as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, Audra “Six-Time Winner” McDonald in Gypsy, Tony fave Sutton Foster in Once Upon a Mattress, and now the return of musical-theater icon Idina Menzel. Get ready to go broke. Menzel is starring in Redwood, a new musical that played La Jolla Playhouse in February. The musical is written and directed by Tina Landau (Mother Play), with music by Kate Diaz, lyrics by Landau and Diaz, and “additional contributions” from Menzel. Redwood, which was conceptualized by Landau and Menzel, follows a woman who has it all (family, job, etc.) who goes on a journey to find herself and ends up in the Redwoods.
“I’m so thrilled to be returning to Broadway, and the fact that I get to do it with Redwood, a musical that means so much to me, makes it even more special,” Menzel said in a press release. “This show has lived in my bones for fifteen years, from the very first time Tina and I discussed working together. Finally getting to do it on Broadway is really a dream come true.” The musical is slated to premiere in 2025 during the current theater season. For what it’s worth, Menzel’s Wicked co-star Kristin Chenoweth has a new musical, Queen of Versailles, premiering in Boston this summer that could still make it onto Broadway this season — just in case we want even more chaos.
