Yahoo Lifestyle Idina Menzel Thinks About ‘Leaving the Business’ and ‘Going Off the Grid’ (Exclusive)
Idina Menzel is back on Broadway—but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t thought about retirement.
In Parade’s exclusive cover story, published Friday, the Tony Award-winning actress, 53, exclusively shared that performing in her new Broadway musical, Redwood, has her contemplating a more quiet future.
“What I do think about sometimes is leaving the business and just sort of going off the grid—realizing how superficial it all is, and what if I could just take that part that so desires to be loved and liked and not care about it anymore?” she said. “That [stems from] rejection in this business or criticism, the stress and anxiety I feel all the time about my voice and staying healthy. That kind of stress is sometimes when I think about, What if I just leave it all and get a little farm and take care of old horses?”
In creating Redwood alongside director Tina Landau, Menzel “fell in love with the notion [of] what it would be like to escape this world that we're in,” she said. “Could I live in a tree for a really long time? Would I have that kind of fortitude? Would I have that advocacy to embrace this world that is being depleted all of the time?”
The actress, who is mom to 15-year-old Walker Nathanial Diggs—whom she shares with ex-husband Taye Diggs—got her start in the entertainment industry singing at weddings and events, but after she was cast in the 1996 musical Rent, her star began to quickly rise.
“What would I tell my 20 something year old self?” she reflected. “I'd say don't be afraid to be vulnerable and your authentic self in front of an audience—because that's the way that you can most move and change an audience.”
For now, the Frozen star, who will officially open Redwood on Feb. 13 at the Nederlander Theatre (where Rent played for 12 years), is spending her time creating yet another Broadway musical.
“I’m trying to really soak this up and be present,” she said.
And in her downtime from work, she is enjoying time as a mother to a teenager, describing herself as a “basketball mom.”
Watching Walker play basketball is her “happy place,” she said. “I love to just watch him play. He’s got an incredible work ethic.”
She added, “I love it so much.”
