LIVE: IDINA MENZEL – Detroit, MI, USA – August 11, 2024

Venue: Masonic Cathedral Theatre

City: Detroit, MI

Dates: August 11, 2024

Review and Photographs by: Todd “Toddstar” Jolicoeur (www.toddstarphotography.com)

To say I was excited to be seeing (and photographing) Idina Menzel once again would be an understatement.  From the first time I heard her sing songs from Rent or Wicked, I was enamored with her voice.  My love of her music moved into non-musical material when she released 2008’s I Stand (that featured a small tour to support the release, and I saw her perform on campus at Michigan State).  Every time she tours, I check dates and hope my calendar will line up with hers.  It did just that the other day in Detroit.  With new music, a new musical, and apparently some time to kill, Idina took to the road to showcase her voice, her catalog, and her love of her fans and with just a handful of dates remaining on the tour, she landed in Detroit and the packed venue was ever so grateful.  While I would like to ramble on about not only the music, but also the interaction and banter, I feel it unfair to those that have not yet seen this tour so I will stick to the setlist and pepper in some anecdotal thoughts and memories from the show.  Opening the set with the newest track in the set, “Dramatic,” she grabbed everyone’s attention with her voice, smile, and amazing outfit / dress.   Next up was another non-musical track “Everybody Knows,” that saw her shed a little of the dress without losing any of her energy and excitement.  Rolling into musical territory, Menzel paired “The Life of the Party” from The Wild Party with her own rendition of Frozen’s “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?”  Keeping things grounded a bit, she introduced two new songs, both from her upcoming new musical Redwood, and did a little storytelling as well around the theme of the musical as well as other tidbits.  The new tracks “Great Escape” and “Little Redwood” played well when mixed into the set early on.  More storytelling and a joke or two helped introduce “Buenos Aires,” from Evita.  Returning to Frozen and her performance at The Osxar’s, Idina delivered on every level as she sang “Let It Go” with everything she had, and even more.  She was joined midperformance by a child who brought a letter to her at the stage; the banter between Menzel and the child was beautiful.

I often struggle to find different words to describe performances and live shows, but when it comes to Idina’s Detroit tour stop, the best words are real and more importantly genuine.  From the banter to the performance and obvious moments of pure emotion, Menzel was as genuine and exposed as it gets on the concert stage.  Rolling into some cool covers starting with Nat ‘King’ Cole’s “That’s All,” the most poignant moment occurred after her take on Joni Mitchell’s “Twisted.”  Hearing her name repeated a couple times in between the songs, she found herself conversing with a woman named Karen that exclaimed she absolutely loved the singer with the assistance of a voice machine.  After returning the love and sentiment, an obviously emotional Menzel scrapped her intro to her version of “Why” stating anything she could say seemed trite considering the conversation she just had.  So many performers would have avoided or moved quickly past the moment, instead she chose to expose herself to us and share a moment that will resonate with most of us for some time.  The tour’s titular track, “Take Me or Leave Me,” was next and featured some guest vocals from four different audience members that were chosen to help with a second round of verses and several choruses.  Next was a great rendition of “Learn to Live Without” from Broadway’s If/Then (which I had the pleasure of seeing years ago with Idina in the lead role).  Leaning into arguably her most famous – and Tony winning – role of Elphaba, “No One Mourns the Wicked.”  There was another soul baring moment near the end of the song as she stripped away the makeup, hair, and some of the glamour as the song ended as she bridged the moment with the lone song from the earlier referenced I Stand release, as she performed “Brave” to help close out the set.  After a short curtain call from the ecstatic and wanting audience, Idina and the band returned to the stage for “Finale B (No Day But Today)” before ending the night the only way she could… with “Defying Gravity.”  There is no denying, Idina is an amazing performer that chooses show after show to lay it all out there for her fans.  I only hope she understands how much it is appreciated from city to city, crowd to crowd, and fan to fan.  This is one that will sit at the top of the list for a long time…

Setlist: Dramatic – Everybody Knows – The Life of the Party – Do You Want to Build a Snowman? – Great Escape – Little Redwood – Buenos Aires – Let It Go – That’s All – Twisted – Why – Take Me or Leave Me – Learn to Live Without – No One Mourns the Wicked – Heart on My Sleeve / Brave – Finale B (No Day But Today) – Defying Gravity

[Show as slideshow]

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Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries