Tony winner Idina Menzel launches US tour like a pop star

NEW YORK, N.Y. – Idina Menzel, who has crossed over from the Broadway stage to the Billboard charts, is still surprised that she’s able to sell concert tickets like a proper pop star.

“It’s hard to cross over like that and that’s what this whole last year has been about for me,” Menzel said in a recent interview. “So I’m trying to take it in and be proud of that.”

Menzel, 44, will kick off a North American tour Tuesday in Richmond, Virginia. She’ll play nearly 40 shows, including stops in Philadelphia, Houston, Atlanta, Chicago and Washington, D.C. The tour will wrap up Oct. 3 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

“It’s amazing to go into new territories and have people buy tickets to your show that you never knew in a million years would know your name,” Menzel said, smiling.

The tour will feature music from her career, including songs from Broadway shows like “Wicked” and “If/Then,” and the animated hit “Frozen,” which includes the Oscar- and Grammy-winning song “Let It Go,” which peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Menzel will also perform songs from her lesser-known pop albums. “I’m even doing a couple things from albums that I did earlier … I’m like, ‘You know what, I’m going to do that song now!’” she said.

She may work on new music after the tour.

“I’ll come back and forth, and do some recording, you know, we’ll see,” she said. “There’s only so much you can do at one time.”

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Online:

http://www.idinamenzel.com