Tony Winner Idina Menzel Returns 'Home to Broadway' Next Year in New Musical If/Then

After 10 agonizing years, Wicked Tony winner Idina Menzel is finally returning to Broadway! Menzel will star in If/Then, a new musical by the team behind the Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal: composer Tom Kitt, scribe Brian Yorkey, director Michael Greif (who worked with Menzel on the original production of Rent) and Wicked producer David Stone. If/Then will premiere in a pre-Broadway engagement at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., beginning on November 5 and officially opening on November 24. The production will land on Broadway on March 4, 2014 with its official opening night scheduled for March 27 at a Nederlander Theatre to be announced.

Featuring music by Kitt and a book and lyrics by Yorkey, If/Then centers on Elizabeth, who moves to New York City intent on a fresh start—a new home, new friends and hopes for a resurgent career. But even in her carefully planned new life, the smallest decision or most random occurrence impacts her world in ways she never dreamed possible. Set against the ever-shifting landscape of modern-day Manhattan, If/Then is a romantic new musical about how choice and chance collide and how we learn to love the fallout.

“I’ve experienced the beauty of working on original musicals and was eager to find a project where the material was exciting and new and spoke to my heart," Menzel said in a statement. "I’m thrilled to have finally found it—an original musical with a complex, flawed and surprising central character that I cannot wait to bring to life onstage. I have loved collaborating with Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey on the creation of this character. And it is such a blessing to be reunited with Michael Greif, who launched my career with Rent, and David Stone, who took such good care of me with Wicked. I am extremely excited about If/Then and very much look forward to returning home to Broadway.”

Menzel made her Broadway debut in Rent garnering a 1996 Tony nomination for her portrayal of Maureen Johnson. The actress went on to star in Aida before landing her Tony-winning role of Elphaba in Wicked, which she reprised in the West End production. Her other New York stage work includes See What I Wanna See, The Wild Party and Hair at Encores! Menzel’s film and TV credits include Enchanted, Glee, Beowulf, Ask the Dust, Private Practice, the PBS broadcast of Chess in Concert and the 2005 movie adaptation of Rent. Menzel is currently working on the Disney animated musical, Frozen, opening in November. Her solo concert series is slated to hit Phoenix, AZ, Pittsburgh, PA, and Australia this summer. In addition to cast albums, Menzel’s prolific recording career includes the solo albums Barefoot at the Symphony (a companion to her PBS Special), I Stand, Here and Still I Can't Be Still.

Kitt and Yorkey won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Orchestrations for their first Broadway collaboration, Next to Normal. The pair will present a special evening of their songs at Lincoln Center's American Songbook series on March 1 at the Allen Room, featuring performances by Menzel and Next to Normal alums Alice Ripley and Brian d'Arcy James.

Can’t wait until the new musical comes to Broadway? Check out Menzel’s heartbreaking rendition of the If/Then song “Learn to Live Without” below!