Idina Menzel Looks Beyond Rent, Wicked and Glee in Her Upcoming PBS Special

For Tony winner Idina Menzel, who earned her Broadway stripes as the original Maureen in Rent and her statuette as the original Elphaba in Wicked, her solo concert, which has been recorded for broadcast on PBS in March 2012, is about more than just rehashing her greatest hits.

“Everyone wants to pigeon-hole you, in my case as a green witch for Wicked or a rock singer for Rent,” she told The Hollywood Reporter. “This [PBS special] gives you an opportunity to be myself and be genuine and to show a wide spectrum of talents.”

The special will reportedly follow Menzel as she polishes her one-woman concert at venues around the world, backed by different orchestras and helmed by maestro Marvin Hamlisch. The material includes fan favorites like Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” and an a cappella rendition of “For Good” from Wicked, as well as anecdotes about her days as a wedding singer, meeting husband Taye Diggs, being snubbed by Barbra Streisand and the time when “I was having a baby, I was really fat and I get a script for Glee.”

The concert featured on the broadcast was filmed over two nights in Toronto at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Koerner Hall and featuring the Kitchener-Waterloo symphony orchestra. The PBS special will be followed by a live album and DVD release.