Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?

Written By : Margaux Fortier

DOC NYC is the biggest documentary festival in the US and there was an eclectic program of new docs for every audience taste for the 2022 festival lineup. A new documentary about actress and singer Idina Menzel called ‘Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?’ satisfies the theater lover’s curiosity of what it takes to make it and become a legend of Broadway and beyond.

Tony Award®-winning actress and singer Idina Menzel takes audiences on an intimate journey into her life on and off the stage in the new Disney+ documentary "Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?" from Disney Branded Television. (Photo by Eric Maldin/Walkman Productions Inc.)

Best known for her roles in the musicals Rent and Wicked and from the Disney film Frozen, Idina Menzel has fought for her space on the stage for years. With beginnings of singing at weddings and bar mitzvahs on Long Island, Idina has needed to fight her way to the top. Along with her successes in her career, the documentary follows her journey to performing at Madison Square Garden and her personal journey to complete her family while undergoing fertility treatments. All aspects of her life come into focus as her family, friends, and colleagues help to tell her story.

Talent does not always determine success and even though Idina made it to the big stage, Rent was touted as a ragtag non-traditional show when it first opened and therefore was dismissed in the Broadway community as not polished enough to be taken seriously. Though it ended up being a hit and changed the expectation of what a show can look like, Idina had to buck pre-conceived ideas as her career continued. This became especially evident when taking on the innovative role in Wicked.

Photo by Eric Maldin/Walkman Productions Inc.

Now, this documentary follows her progress as a new kind of performer. She has a band and are starting to book concerts all over the country. They were on the road to play at Madison Square Garden, a goal that she has had since she was young and first went to New York City with her family, and following the struggles of new life on the road. She is trying to make a name for herself independent of the work she has done in the past. She is faced once again with people assuming the shape of her career and personal life and having ideas about their value.

Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage? is a documentary about determination, carving your own path, and fighting for your name to be known. Her career has paved the way for others and evolved into a new path that no one has seen before. She is a multidimensional performer and this doc will make everyone cheer, “Idina!”.