Following the success of her critically acclaimedone night only concert atRadio City Music Hall and the release of her Christmas albumHoliday Wishes, Menzel announced she would embark on World Tour: planning 54 concerts in various countries including America, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan, the Philippines and the Netherlands.
This is her first time doing a world tour.
In non-English speaking countries, Menzel sang a bilingual version ofLet it Go, singing one of the song's stanzas in the country's language.
Menzel is accompanied by a five-piece band, six-piece horn section, and four-piece orchestra.[1] The show begins with video clips projected against a white curtain before Menzel emerges wearing a black strapless dress, starting the show with a lower version ofDefying Gravity fromWicked andDon't Rain on My Parade fromFunny Girl.
She then addresses the audience before performingBrave and the title track from her 2008 solo albumI Stand. Next, Menzel talks about her role inWicked and performs a lower version ofThe Wizard and I. Next, Menzel pulls up a stool for her cover ofRiver from her 2014 Christmas albumHoliday Wishes.
Menzel shares a story about an experience she had studying Theater atNew York University and performs a mashup of Cole Porter'sLove For Sale and The Police'sRoxanne. Menzel performs a tribute to Ethel Merman in a medley ofThere's No Business Like Show Business,Anything Goes, andEverything's Coming Up Roses. Menzel then performs the title track of her debut studio albumStill I Can't Be Still and a cover of Radiohead'sCreep.
Menzel then performsTake Me Or Leave Me with volunteers from the audience andNo Day But Today from the musicalRent, paying tribute to Jonathan Larson, the composer of the musical. Menzel shares her experience with the Broadway run ofIf/Then and performsAlways Starting Over from the musical.
Menzel then introduces her musicians and thanks the audience before performing an a cappella rendition ofFor Good fromWicked andLet It Go fromFrozen, inviting audience members to perform with her. Menzel then takes a bow, dances with her band, and leaves the stage.
Menzel returns to the stage to perform her new original songChild (dedicated to Walker Nathaniel Diggs) andTomorrow fromAnnie.[1][2]
Idina Menzel: World Tour has garnered critical acclaim. Sharon Eberson of thePittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that Menzel was "a little bit naughty, a little bit nice and a little bit nutty, but always entertaining ... Each song, each story she told, was like unwrapping an elegantly wrapped package to see what surprise it held inside."[2]
Melissa Ruggieri ofThe Atlanta Journal-Constitution opined, "What makes her live show so appealing is Menzel herself" because "She's funny." Ruggieri elaborated, "That's the thing about Menzel. Yes, the spotlight that comes with singing songs associated with 'The Wizard of Oz' ... and Disney cartoons ... But Menzel, 44, is an adult. And she sings about adult things".[1] However, Ruggieri cited her performances of original songs "I Stand" and "Still I Can't Be Still", and rendition of "Take Me or Leave Me" alongside five audience members, among "a few moments that didn’t wow."[1]
