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Idina Kim Mentzel (pronounced "uh-DEE-nah men-ZELLE")
Birthday:
May 30, 1971
Birth Place: New York City, USA
Parents: Stuart and
Helene Mentzel
Siblings: younger sister, Cara
Biographical Information:
Idina (who changed her name to avoid having it pronounced incorrectly) grew up in Woodbury, Long Island, after moving
between Queens and New Jersey until she was in the 2nd grade. She always knew that she wanted to sing, but when she was 5
years old, counselors at a summer camp she attended noticed that she was harmonizing by accident while singing the Harry Chapin
song, "Cat’s In the Cradle". She was told that this was a really big deal, and soon she started to sing more
often in front of people.
She performed in talent shows and grade school musical productions, some of which included
The Wizard of Oz, where she played Dorothy, and The Pirates of Penzance as Mabel. At the age of 8, she went
to a voice teacher who took her on as a student so as to prevent Idina from screaming her lungs out during songs. She was
trained in classical singing until she reached high school, when she started to become more interested in listening and singing
to the great R&B and Jazz singers like Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday, Chaka Kahn, etc.
Idina attended high
school at Syosset High School in Long Island, and she landed roles in several of the school’s musical theater shows,
one being 60-year-old Nettie in Carousel. However, eager to get out and do more with her singing, she decided to
audition for a wedding band when she was only a junior. So she lied about her age and got hired as the lead singer, required
to wear a black cocktail dress and pumps while singing everything from jazz to rock to oldies to Motown and everything in
between!
For 8 years, Idina performed in several different wedding bands, performing at weddings and bar mitzvahs
all while attending New York University’s Tisch School of Drama. Though she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree
in Drama, Idina began to set her focus on writing her own music and performing with her own band. But desperate for money
to keep that dream alive, she decided to audition for a small Off-Broadway show she had heard about called Rent,
just to get some extra money during the winter wedding "down season". She ended up getting cast in the show as wild-cat
‘Maureen’, and in December 1995 on New Year’s Eve, she played her last gig with her wedding band at the
Four Seasons in Philadelphia.
Jonathon Larson’s production of Rent opened Off-Broadway at the New
York Theater Workshop in 1996 and eventually went on to appear ON Broadway at the Nederlander Theater (where it is still playing
today!) Idina was nominated for a 1996 Tony Award for her performance in that show, though she unfortunately did not win.
She departed Rent on July 1, 1997 after having found a wonderful family of friends in the process -- not to mention
a boyfriend (in the form of original cast member, Taye Diggs, who played Benjamin "Benny" Coffin III).
During her run in Rent, Idina signed on with Hollywood Records to record her debut album, "Still I Can’t
Be Still". After leaving the Broadway show, she began promoting the album and touring with her original songs - she made
appearances at 1998’s Lilith Fair tour during the August of that year and also headlined a series of her own gigs. Her
CD was released on September 15, 1998, however, she was dropped from the record label in 1999. Feeling down, she retreated
to the place she had grown to know and love so well: the New York Stage!
Idina got cast as ‘Kate’
in Andrew Lippa’s Prohibition-era production of The Wild Party, and she was able to work in an environment
where she felt safe and comfortable. She also got the opportunity to work with her boyfriend (and future husband), Taye Diggs,
once again on the stage. The Wild Party opened Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theater Club on February 24, 2000, and
it ran through April 2, playing only 88 performances. But Idina had now found her niche, and she began performing in benefit
concerts on Broadway, including Encores! revival of Hair and the Actors’ Fund Funny Girl benefit.
She also replaced the original ‘Amneris’ in Broadway’s Aida in the fall of 2001 and played it for
several months. But she was about to make her biggest break yet:
One day, she heard of a new musical being developed
based on the book Wicked, written by Gregory Maguire. So she slapped on some green lipstick and smokey eye shadow and
went off to audition for the lead role of ‘Elphaba’, the green girl who becomes the infamous Wicked Witch of the
West. She nailed the part, and spent over 3 years with the project. Wicked opened on Broadway on October 30, 2003
at the Gershwin Theater and continues to play, though Dee has since left the production, departing on January 9, 2005 - what
was set to be her last performance, but due to an injury received the day before, it was simply her final shining moment on
the Gershwin stage, appearing for the final moments of the show to thunderous applause. [Idina also recently released her
second studio album, entitled "Here", which she compiled and recorded between the San Francisco trial run and Broadway
opening of Wicked. The album was released on February 10, 2004. Later that year, Idina would go on to win the coveted
Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for playing 'Elphaba', having been up against some of the best female
performers on Broadway that year!]
In late 2005, Idina appeared in an Off-Broadway musical, See What I Wanna
See, for a limited run. Also released that Fall was the film version of her Broadway debut show, Rent, where
she reprised the infamous role of ‘Maureen’. Soon after in early 2006, the film Ask the Dust hit theaters,
in which Idina co-starred alongside Salma Hayek and Colin Farell. She has recently completed filming on a new Disney musical
film, Enchanted, scheduled to be released in late 2007, and is currently reprising her Tony Award winning role as
'Elphaba' in the London premiere of Wicked through the end of the year. On January 29, 2008, Idina
released her new album called "I Stand" She's soon starting her summer tour.
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