Pulse concert by Idina Menzel to celebrate Women’s History Month at SU

Pulse concert by Idina Menzel to celebrate Women’s History Month at SUMarch 05, 2009Jennifer Bevilacqua Kirkegaard jmbevila@syr.edu

Syracuse University’s Pulse Performing Arts Series will bring its latest Tony-winning performer to campus this month as Broadway superstar Idina Menzel appears on Thursday, March 19, at 8 p.m. in the Goldstein Auditorium of the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center. Menzel, best known for her starring roles in “Wicked” and “Rent,” will perform songs from her solo album “I Stand.”

The concert, co-sponsored by UEncounter, is part of SU’s celebration of Women’s History Month. Tickets are $5 for students with valid SU I.D.; $15 for SU faculty, staff, alumni and Pulse partners; and $20 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased at the Schine Student Center Box Office. For more information, call (315) 443-4517. Free parking will be available in the Lehman and Harrison lots.

Menzel’s Broadway star has burned brightest in two career-defining roles: her Tony Award-winning performance originating the role of Elphaba, future Wicked Witch of the West, in the musical blockbuster “Wicked;” and her Tony-nominated performance originating the role of Maureen Johnson in the revolutionary musical “Rent.” Menzel has also performed in films, including Disney’s romantic fable “Enchanted,” “Rent” and “Ask the Dust.” She recently took up a new challenge-that of a solo singer performing her own material-with the studio album “I Stand.” Inspired by artists such as Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand, Menzel’s “I Stand” is a collection of pop songs and ballads produced with Grammy award-winner Glen Ballard (who has produced Alanis Morrisette, Annie Lennox, Dave Matthews and No Doubt, among others).

Menzel’s career, which started with singing at Long Island-area weddings and bar mitzvahs, took off in 1995 with her turn as an originating cast member of “Rent.” Two of her recordings have cracked the Top 5 in the Billboard Dance Charts since 2007, and “I Stand” reached the Billboard Top 200 last year. In addition to her Tony honors, Menzel has also been twice nominated for Drama Desk awards. She has opened to rave reviews in London as well as on- and off-Broadway.

Pulse Performing Arts Series, presented by SU’s Division of Student Affairs, provides SU undergraduates and the Central New York community with out-of-classroom opportunities to attend and participate in programs, performances, exhibitions and events in the performing and visual arts. For more information, visit http://students.syr.edu/pulse.