As the title of her show-stopping song reveals, Tony award winner Idina Menzel is once again defying gravity."" She is currently on tour in support of her third solo album, I Stand. Menzel, star of ""Rent"" and ""Wicked,"" will make her UW-Madison debut Sunday as the finale of Wisconsin Union Directorate's Shriek Week.
I Stand, like Menzel, has a wide array of styles that is unique from any label, prompting Warner Brothers' reluctance to assign a genre to the album's release.
""I try to be free and open with myself without putting up any barriers ... The record label was very supportive,"" Menzel said. Her songs - in particular ""I Stand"" and ""Brave"" - promote the same positive vibes.
Glen Ballard, most known for his work with Alanis Morissette on Jagged Little Pill, produced the album, providing an encouraging environment in a zen-like studio.
""He really made me feel comfortable in what I had to give, and that I had valuable things to give with the writing process,"" said Menzel, who co-wrote eight of the 10 songs on I Stand.
Ballard also took advantage of Menzel's versatile vocal range on the album.
""It's really nice to be able to be intimate in the studio and use those parts of your voice that are human, so fragile and wounded,"" she said.
Her fans may be accustomed to the astonishing belting range she uses on stage, but while recording, Menzel is able to sing in a wide, dynamic range and, more notably, in a lower register.
Although she is used to infusing her own life experiences into her characters, Menzel also uses her past theatrical roles - strong, talented women - for inspiration in songwriting and in life.
""I find that I learn a lot of lessons through the characters, especially with [""Wicked's""] Elphaba,"" Menzel said. ""She reminded me to be proud of the things that make me unique and different in this world and to be proud of my strength and power.""
Better known as the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba is a talented but misunderstood witch who looks past those who vilify her green skin. ""Success comes from things that make you a little quirky,"" Menzel said.
Although Menzel fluidly switches back and forth from singing to acting to songwriting, reviewers often try to fit her into a category - ""rock chick,"" ""film star,"" ""musical diva"" and ""classical actress,"" to name a few. But it's impossible to describe her in so few words. Menzel allows these terms but will not label herself, saying she'll ""let other people catch up"" to how they want to describe her.
Menzel will be performing songs from I Stand and a wide variety of other selections - numbers from past shows she's been in, covers and favorite childhood songs.
""It's a pretty eclectic show ... People should walk out of the venue with a piece of me that I've shared with them, that they've seen a night that no one else will have seen,"" she said.
