Tony Award-winning actress, singer Idina Menzel to perform in Pittsburgh

Tony Award-winning actress, singer and songwriter Idina Menzel recalled performing in Pittsburgh around the time of the Tree of Life tragedy in 2018 in Squirrel Hill.

“I remember that time, and I remember such a sense of responsibility and connection to my audience. So, years later, when the project of the documentary came up, I wanted to do something,” said Menzel, who would go on to co-write a song for the HBO documentary “A Tree of Life: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting” with her songwriting partner Kate Diaz. “My life was truly changed by meeting some of the survivors, and I was encouraged by the resilience of the community. People were grieving and healing.”

Music has a way of helping people heal, said Menzel, who will be back in town Aug. 10 at the Benedum Center, Downtown, for a stop on her “Take Me or Leave Me” tour.

Menzel said she often feels transformed when she is on stage. Music can create a relationship with the audience, she said.

“You are sharing a communal experience through songs in real time,” Menzel said. “There is such beauty in that.”

Music has been an instrumental part of her life. Menzel is known for her role as Maureen in the Broadway musical “Rent.” She won a Tony Award for her role as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, in the musical “Wicked.”

Her voice can be heard as Elsa singing “Let It Go” in Disney’s Oscar-winning “Frozen,” the second highest-grossing animated film of all time. The song won an Oscar for Best Original Song and the Grammy for Best Song Written for Visual Media. “Let It Go” reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Menzel the first artist with both a Billboard Top 10 hit and a Tony Award for acting.

She and her sister Cara Mentzel co-authored “Loud Mouse” and “Proud Mouse” via Disney Publishing Worldwide. Both books center around self-acceptance and being true to yourself. (Menzel removed the “T” from Mentzel.)

“It was a chance for my sister and I to be together and write about our lives as little kids,” Menzel said.

Next up for Menzel is “Redwood,” coming to Broadway in 2025. The musical will be directed by Tina Landau, who penned the book and co-wrote the lyrics with Diaz.

Menzel will play Jesse, a successful businesswoman, mother and wife who leaves her life behind and drives to the forests of Northern California.

“It is a passion project,” Menzel said. “It is very profound and moving, and I think people will really relate to it.”

Menzel said she appreciates the generations of people who have watched and listened as her career has evolved.

“They are more than just songs,” Menzel said. “They are landmark milestones, which are part of all of our stories. Being on stage is an opportunity for me to make myself vulnerable in front of my audience because the best performances are the ones where you are vulnerable and honest and people feel connected to you.”

“Pittsburgh is one of my favorite cities,” she said. “It is such a loving, supportive and welcoming city. The people of Pittsburgh and I have a good time together.”

Tickets for Menzel’s “Take Me or Leave Me” tour start at $55 and are available online at trustarts.org.