Wicked Tony winner Idina Menzel is back on Broadway in the new musical Redwood, which officially opened February 13, and the reviews are rolling in. The musical is performing at the Nederlander Theatre, the former home of Rent, which marked Menzel's Broadway debut.
The Tina Landau-Kate Diaz musical features Menzel reprising her performance from the work's world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse last year.
Here's why Playbill thinks you should see the show.
Read the reviews below.
Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones)*
CitiTour NYC (Brian Scott Lipton)
Digital Journal (Markos Papadatos)
Entertainment Weekly (Shania Russell)
Josh at the Movies (Joshua M. Hayes)
New York Magazine/Vulture (Sara Holdren)*
New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski)
New York Stage Review (Melissa Rose Bernardo, Frank Scheck)
New York Theater (Jonathan Mandell)
New York Theatre Guide (Gillian Russo)
The New York Times (Jesse Green)*
The Wall Street Journal (Charles Isherwood)*
The Washington Post (Naveen Kumar)*
*This review may require creating a free account or paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
Menzel isn't the only one back from that earlier staging. Also reprising their performances are De'Adre Aziza as Mel, Michael Park as Finn, and Zachary Noah Piser as Spencer, newly joined by Khaila Wilcoxon as Becca. Standbys Daniel Brackett, Bradley Dean, Veronica Otim, and Jessica Phillips round out the company. Casting is by The Telsey Office's Patrick Goodwin.
Menzel stars as Jesse, a woman who finds herself at a crossroads in a Northern California redwood forest after a life-altering event. Landau, who's directing the Broadway bow, conceived the work with Menzel (who provides additional contributions), and has written the book. The score features music by Diaz and lyrics by Diaz and Landau.
Video: Idina Menzel's Newest Musical Redwood Has Been 15 Years in the Making
“I made my Broadway debut at the Nederlander Theatre in Rent almost 30 years ago, so to be returning there with Redwood is very emotional for me as it feels like a real homecoming,” Menzel said in an earlier statement. “It has been such a gift to collaborate with Tina and Kate on this show, and I’m so proud to bring it to Broadway.”
The production also features scenic design by Jason Ardizzone-West, video design by Hana S. Kim, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Scott Zielinski, sound design by Jonathan Deans, vertical movement and choreography by Melecio Estrella of BANDALOOP, and orchestrations and arrangements by Diaz, all reprising their work from the La Jolla world premiere. New for the Broadway bow is music supervisor Tom Kitt and music director Julie McBride.
Redwood is produced on Broadway by Eva Price, Caroline Kaplan, and Loudmouth Media.
Visit RedwoodMusical.com.
