Video: Inside Opening Night of REDWOOD with Idina Menzel & More

Sharing this moment with Dee and Zach and Kayla and the incomparable Edina Mansell

I just, I feel like I've gotten away with something. Like I stole something

Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World. Tony Award winner, Edina Mansell, is back on Broadway in the new musical Redwood

And we're here on opening night at the Edison Ballroom where we caught up with the company

When you took your bow tonight back on Broadway, do you remember what you were thinking

Oh, God. It was overwhelming for me. Because it's such a risk, you know, to try to do an original musical

and it's very unique. And I was just, honestly, I think I was feeling such gratitude to Tina for collaborating with me on this

and believing in us and our producers. And the way the audience makes me feel

and the fact that I'm back in New York doing theater and just, It's just all, just, I can't explain it, really

But you're also introducing a whole new younger audience. The night I was there, people who have listened to you on a wicked album

and they get to see you live live live, just what it means to you to be introducing a whole new audience to live theater

It's fabulous introducing a whole new audience to the theater. I mean, what I feel so proud of in my life is that there's a multi-generational thing happening

So the rent people, we've all sort of grown. up together and now people are parents and then they go to the other shows that I've done

And so it just another way to sort of grow up and evolve with my audience It such a beautiful show Talk about collaborating with Kate and Tina Just making this beautiful music

Well, we wanted an all-female creative team just because. Tina and I go back a long way with this little kernel of an idea

And she's just, she's the visionary genius behind it all. I had the sort of idea of something that I thought would work for me

and we both loved the idea of a woman in a tree for a musical. And then we found Kate Diaz, too

because Tina and I wanted someone that hasn't come from Broadway and would sort of break the rules and feel really fresh

And Kate is not only a beautiful songwriter, but she's also a film score

so she's extremely cinematic, which having that balance of both of those

works for our production. I feel grateful. I feel humbled. I really feel in debt and in love with my producers and my lead actress and our company and everyone who got us here. I'm just so grateful, honestly

What's made this so special for you? You've worked on so many beautiful projects that you're brought to life. What's made this one so special

Honestly, Richard, this is the most personal show I've ever done. I had a personal loss that was the germ of the show

and me and my family are in so much of this. So I've never actually worked on something

that has felt so exposing and from my heart direct What made this so special for you Honestly I think the whole cast and experience has been so intimate even though like you know we in the middle of Broadway all the time I think Tina especially has made it feel so personal and kept it so you know

special for all of us. So I really felt that more than anything, which I'm really grateful for

What are you enjoying the most about working on Broadway and creating material for the theater

Honestly, I think seeing the cast bring the songs to life and, like, see them find new things in it and just elevate them to places that, you know

kind of beyond my imagination. That's the best part of collaborating is when you get to make things

that you wouldn't make on your own. So that's my favorite part. I'm a very lucky man

This one's special because, listen, there's five of us on that stage together

We rely on each other so much. And there's no joke when we're talking about the connection to the trees and the roots

and being supported by each other. We can't help it. We have to support each other every second

And usually in other shows, you know, I'm working with an ensemble of people

This is different. This is different than how to succeed. This is different than Cat and Houghton roof. This is different than, well, you know, I relied a lot on Jennifer, Laura Thompson, and Deervin Hansen

But we had each other. We needed each other. And that's the same kind of connection that I feel with Kayla

So in one respect, it's completely different. But in the respect of Deervin Hansen to this show, it's almost the same

the respect levels are there, like you wouldn't believe, and that is so special

What's made this so special? You've worked on some incredible pieces. What's so special about this one

That we get to honor the spirit worlds and we really get to dig into that and honor all of our ancestors who have brought us all to this point praying us to this point all the work they did to get us here

That's what really makes this special really leaning into that. Yeah. And sharing the stage with this company

what it means to you. Oh my gosh. Well, the legend, the Adina. I mean

I saw Adina in rent at the Niederlander. So it's kind of mind

boggling. I'm like, is this really happening? And just a wonderful find in Kayla, working with Michael and Zach's voice

It's just like, you know, we really do have this bond. We get together pre-show

And it's just been a really beautiful experience. I appreciate the healing that it has given me

This show is the first show I've ever done where I've done the out-of-town tryout

and then it's come pretty quickly to Broadway. And so it feels like my DNA is like baked into this character

You know me well enough at this point and my personality that I'm not, like, of course, we're acting

I'm not totally like my character, but there are some things where I get to just bring myself to it or bring a younger version of myself to it

And that really never happens, especially if you were a place in a show. Usually it's like, okay, you find that like one thing that you find in common with that character

But here I got to just create Spencer with the creative team, and that's such a gift

What's made it so special for you? Oh, working with this incredible cast, all these legends

Michael Park specifically, he's taking me under his wing, and that's my big homie, and I've learned so much for him

and he's reminded me that I'm a forever student of the craft. So I've been a sponge, this whole process, and I'm excited to continue on to other processes

because I'm going to take a lot from this one specifically