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Already a star on Broadway, the charismatic Idina Menzel ("Rent," "Wicked") is ready to star on album. To make that happen, she has enlisted the man responsible for launching, or continuing the phenomenal careers of other recent major female artists. Glen Ballard, best known for Alanis Morissette’s 16-times-platinum Jagged Little Pill and who has worked with Shakira, Christina Aguilera, Annie Lennox and Celine Dion, produced and co-wrote all but one of the songs on I Stand with Menzel.

Idina Menzel Photos

Idina Menzel has a diverse career on the stage, in films and television, and in music. The beloved Broadway star, best known for her work in Rent, her Tony Award-winning performance as Elphaba, the green-faced Wicked Witch of the West in Wicked, and her recurring role in the hit TV series Glee, has spent much of the past two years crisscrossing the country, headlining with dozens of symphony orchestras. This past November, on the second-to-last stop on Menzel's 2011 itinerary, the star recorded her forthcoming PBS special Idina Live: Barefoot at the Symphony. On March 6th, she releases the DVD and accompanying album to the special.

The special, and the album, were captured in Toronto at Koerner Hall, a beautifully modernist, acoustically blessed, 1,100-seat space literally carved out of the city's historic Royal Conservatory of Music headquarters. Menzel performs with the 52-piece Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, one of Canada's premiere symphony orchestras, under the direction of guest conductor Marvin Hamlish (or as Menzel prefers to call him, the legendary Marvin Hamlish) and her equally accomplished music director and pianist, Rob Mounsey (who has worked with everyone from Paul Simon and Steely Dan to Madonna, Usher and Rihanna).

Though Menzel's symphony concerts have attracted sellout crowds and earned consistent critical praise, she was hesitant about the idea at first. "I've toured a lot in my life with different bands and different styles of music, but I stayed away from orchestras and symphonies for a long time, because I like to have a real intimacy with the audience, and I was afraid these big orchestras would usurp my ability to do that. But then I discovered that there's a way to work with 80 musicians and make it feel like we've all known each other for years. It was a bit of me fighting with myself, but that's what turning 40 does to you! I'm still able to explore my edgier side with songs like `Roxanne,' but do it with an orchestra, which is really thrilling."

With the PBS special and the album both completed, Menzel plans to go back on tour this summer. She also hopes to return soon to Broadway for "a brand new, original show that I'm not allowed to talk about, but really excites me." She'll also continue her exemplary work with A BroaderWay, the foundation she established with Diggs in 2010 to help inner-city girls find outlets for self-expression through arts-related programs. But, says Menzel, "my biggest project right now is trying to be a really great mom and learning how to balance family and career. I'm just trying to spend as much time with my family as I can."

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Starring multiplatinum artist Josh
Groban, Tony-winning Idina Menzel
(Wicked) and Tony nominated Adam
Pascal (RENT), Chess In Concert
revives the eclectic yet wonderfully
pop 1984 concept album featuring the music of ABBA's Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson and lyrics of Tim Rice (Jesus Christ Superstar, The
Lion King, Evita). Recorded at
London's Royal Albert Hall in May 2008, this spectacular Chess In Concert - introduced by Rice and with the 50- piece City of London Philharmonic and 100-voice West End Chorus - finally fulfills the promise of the popular cult musical.

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WICKED, STARRING KRISTIN CHENOWETH, IDINA MENZEL AND JOEL GREY. Decca Broadway proudly presents the original cast recording of WICKED, Broadway's most talked about new musical. The box office is already over $10 Million! With a score by Stephen Schwartz (Broadway's Pippin, Godspell), libretto by Winnie Holzman (TV's My So-Called Life) and based on the best-selling novel by Gregory Maguire, the musical is a prequel to the legendary classic, THE WIZARD OF OZ. WICKED explores the early life of the witches of Oz: Glinda and Elphaba. One witch, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED stars Tony Award® winner Kristin Chenoweth (You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown) as Glinda, Idina Menzel (Rent) as Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, and Tony® and Oscar® Winner Joel Grey (Cabaret) as The Wizard. The Original Cast Recording -- featuring an essay by Wicked novelist Gregory Maguire, original color photos from the show and a complete libretto.

Glee: The Music, Volume 3 Showstoppers features 20 brand new songs from the hit TV show. The deluxe version features fan favorites like "Gives You Hell," "Beautiful," "Total Eclipse of the Heart," and "Bad Romance," plus 6 exclusive deluxe edition tracks like "House is Not a Home," "Home," "Rose's Turn," "Beth," "Loser," and "Poker Face."