Idina Menzel Makes Variety ‘Power of Women’ List

Image by Variety

By Anne Cohen April 23, 2014

Look, it’s Adela Dazeem! (Never gets old)

On a more serious note though, the extremely talented Idina Menzel is on the cover of Variety, as part of the magazine’s “Power of Women” series.

The Broadway actress and “Frozen” star is being recognized for her work with A Broader Way (founded in 2010 with then-husband Taye Diggs), a summer camp in the Berkshires which helps girls find confidence and self-expression through performance.

Menzel herself helps out during the 10-day trip, and helps organize the show that campers put on for their parents at the end of their stay. The number of campers has almost doubled since 2010 (from 30 to roughly 60), but limited finances means the numbers remain small.

“It’s about using the arts to help girls find their own voice,” she told Variety. “There’s a lot of young women who don’t know how to use their voice literally and figuratively. These girls get to be the authors of their own life.”

Other honorees include Claire Danes, Nancy Dubuc, Iman, Sarah Jessica Parker and Susan Sarandon.

Anne Cohen was the Forward’s deputy digital media editor. When she’s not looking for the secret Jewish history of Voodoo in New Orleans, or making lists about Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she writes for The Assimilator. She graduated from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism with an M.S. magazine concentration in 2012.

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