nyminutenow idina menzel radio city music hall nyc

Idina Menzel performs Defying Gravity and songs spanning different genres.

It’s been over a week since Idina Menzel’s one-night-only, sold-out concert at Radio City Music Hall. In my previous post, I mentioned how awesome and enjoyable the show was and that I would post highlights “tomorrow” (oops). Here goes…

1) She had a wicked sense of humor!

As most native New Yorkers do, Menzel didn’t filter the f-bombs and non-PG quips. She was funny, self-deprecating, and unsurprisingly… real! At the start of the set, she exclaimed, “This place is f***ing huge!”

Walking barefoot in a swishy, sheer black skirt cascading from a fitted bodice, she caught herself immediately and said, “I know we’ve got little kids here, but just hold their ears so I can do my thing,” later on adding, “Just give them headphones or something.”

(By the way, as I’m writing this, I have Entertainment Weekly’s, “The 8 craziest things you missed at Idina Menzel’s Radio City Music Hall concert” feature open as reference.)

2) She was grateful and earnest.

Amidst the jokes and hilarious jabs—at herself and at the audience—the Tony Award winner expressed her heartfelt gratitude and appreciation for being able to perform in front of 8,000 people, which wasn’t always the case. She talked about those early days where a gig in Chicago brought in two people or so. (“That sucked!”)

3) She started the set with Defying Gravity

4) …And ended with Let It Go (followed by the encore).

5) She sang Creep.

THAT one by Radiohead!

6) She shut the mic off and sang For Good—the Elphaba-Glinda duet from Wicked—a capella.

7) I want to be friends with her!

Okay, okay—that’s not a concert “highlight” per se. But really, Idina Menzel is a fascinating human being. While watching her perform, I thought, How nice would it be to be to know her socially. Not in a stalkerish kind of way, of course, but more like, “Hey, we both live in New York, let’s hang.” Or, perhaps more realistically, “I could be your assistant…”

Let It GoCreep, and For Good videos courtesy of allisonroad29.