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Idina Menzel eyes Broadway next year in a new musical by the brains behind 'Next to Normal'

By: Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press

Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013 at 4:45 PM | Comments: 0

FILE - This Sept. 12, 2012 file photo shows Idina Menzel at the West Coast premiere of "The Book of Mormon" at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles. Menzel will return to Broadway since winning the Tony Award for "Wicked" to star in "If/Then," an original Broadway musical. The production will begin previews on Broadway on March 4, 2014 and will officially open on March 27, 2014. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP, file)

NEW YORK, N.Y. - Idina Menzel, who won a Tony Award as the green witch in "Wicked," is planning a return to Broadway.

Producers of a new musical by the creators of the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Next to Normal" announced Thursday that Menzel will star in their "If/Then," a Broadway-bound musical that first takes a stop this fall in Washington, D.C.

Tom Kitt will supply the music, Brian Yorkey will write the story and lyrics, and Michael Greif will direct. All three did the same jobs for "Next to Normal."

The new show will make its world premiere this November at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., and then go on to open on Broadway in March 2014.

Producers said the musical will centre on the character of Elizabeth, who on the verge of turning 40, moves to New York. "Set against the ever-shifting landscape of modern day Manhattan, 'If/Then' is a romantic and original new musical about how choice and chance collide and how we learn to love the fallout," producers said in a statement.

Menzel made her Broadway debut in "Rent" and won a Tony as Elphaba in "Wicked." Her films include "Enchanted," ''Rent" and "Ask the Dust." She also has launched a solo recording career and had a recurring role on TV in "Glee."

"I've experienced the beauty of working on original musicals and was eager to find a project where the material was exciting and new and spoke to my heart. I'm thrilled to have finally found it - an original musical with a complex, flawed, and surprising central character that I cannot wait to bring to life onstage," she said in a statement.

"If/Then" is being produced by David Stone, who produced both "Wicked" and "Next to Normal."

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Online: http://www.ifthenthemusical.com

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