“Wicked” screen writer Schwartz says of Menzel’s Elphaba: “dilligent” and “hardest-working” performer

Idina Menzel, the actress who stars as Elphaba in the Broadway production of “Wicked” the musical, has been praised by almost every film critic in New York and then as she moved onto the London tour, at publications overseas. But the biggest form of flattery for Menzel, who won the 2004 Tony Award for best leading actress in a musical, was the feedback that Stephen Schwartz - the man behind the script for this play that chronicles happenings between Glinda the Good Witch of the East and Elphaba the Wicked Witch of the West in a land called Oz, long before Dorothy ever drops in! In a forum posting on Schwartz’s official Web site, the writer credits Menzel’s success to a great deal of hard work with vocal coaches. Although he said he wasn’t exactly sure about what went into that type of training, he adds: “I do know that although Idina’s performance style suggests that she is off-the-cuff and spontaneous, she is one of the most diligent and hardest-working performers I have ever worked with. (Of course, she also has an extraordinary vocal gift that she was born with, but she is smart about protecting it.)”

Menzel, who began her acting debut on Broadway in 1996 in the musical “Rent,” has also won the hearts of many with her roles in films such as “Kissing Jessica Stein” and “Camp.” She also starts in the movie “Enchanted” which is due in theaters November 2007 and the Broadway actress hasn’t stopped there. She recorded a duet with singer Ray Charles on his album “Genius and Friends,” which was produced after the singing phenomenon died. Moving into London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, Menzel ended her latest endeavor, the “Wicked” tour, on a bang at the beginning of this year. An upcoming performance slated for Sept. 17 will feature Menzel on stage at Madison Square Garden - nothing new for this Broadway queen. For tickets to any of Menzel’s upcoming shows or to book your seats for Wicked tickets, visit www.StubHub.com.

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