Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Jewish Actress Idina Menzel- The Voice Of Elsa In Frozen
Sorry, Idina, but we’re not letting go.
From sexy Arendelle-inspired Halloween costumes to Olaf the Snowman cookies, America’s obsession with “Frozen” is alive and well, nearly a year after the film’s theatrical release.
At the heart of the craze is a voice — a powerful, emotional, Jewish voice. It’s a voice that continues to echo through the mouths of the nation, from small children to grandparents.
Idina Menzel’s contribution to 2013 pop culture is undoubtedly her role as Elsa the Snow Queen, who struggles to conquer her power to control snow and ice and use them for good rather than evil.
Her cry to “Let It Go” resonated with a new generation of Disney fans — and yes, more than a few older ones as well.
“Frozen” has so pervaded the collective mindset that it now seems like an obvious hit. But the plot could have been very, very different. Queen Elsa was originally slated as the movie’s villain. But when the producers heard “Let It Go,” they found that it made her too sympathetic. So they rewrote her as the flawed — but heroic — main character.
Menzel loved the change: “To my beautiful surprise, she was never ever the nemesis. She was just this misunderstood, beautiful young woman we could all relate to.”
Elsa ultimately sides with the “good guys” (or in this case, girls), but she’s not perfect. Her flaws are reflected in all of us, and that’s what makes her such a powerful character.
Despite starring in two major Broadway hits — first as Maureen Johnson in the original production of “Rent” and then as Elphaba, the misunderstood and much-maligned Wicked Witch of the West in “Wicked” — Menzel never really broke through as an A-list celebrity. Until “Frozen.”
Born Idina Kim Mentzel in Queens, to Stuart Mentzel, a pajama salesman, and Helene Mentzel, a therapist, the 43-year-old singer dropped the “t” in her surname to reflect the pronunciation her grandparents had adopted after immigrating to America from Eastern Europe. (This did nothing to help John Travolta, who famously introduced Menzel as “Adele Dazeem” during the 86th annual Oscars.)
At age 15, with her parents going through a divorce, Menzel started performing in synagogues and as a bar mitzvah and wedding singer. She continued these gigs well into her 20s while attending New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Menzel never had a bat mitzvah. In fact, she’s been open about her very secular upbringing. But motherhood has made her reconsider her Jewish roots. Walker, her son with former co-star and now ex-husband Taye Diggs, was born in 2009.
“I feel very connected to the culture and history of the Jewish people,” Menzel told the Kansas City Jewish Chronicle in 2011. “But I’ve struggled and waivered with my connection to organized religion. Now that I’m a mom, we’re struggling with how Jewish we are going to be.”
That inner struggle over identity, broadly reflected in so many of Menzel’s characters, is at the core of her latest Broadway role. In “If/Then,” Menzel plays the two sides of Elizabeth, a 38-year-old divorcée who moves to New York to find herself.
But don’t fret; we haven’t seen the last of Queen Elsa. With “Frozen” set to return with a short sequel in 2015, Menzel has no fear of being left out in the cold.
And as we all know, the cold never bothered her anyway.
Idina Menzel – Forward 50 from Jewish Daily Forward on Vimeo.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
