VIDEO: Walter Afanasieff to Pen New Music and Broadway Musical for Idina Menzel, Plus New Barbra Streisand Album

By: Jul. 12, 2015
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Idina is headed back to Broadway, but not before she returns to the pop music scene.

Grammy-winner Walter Afanasieff, known for "The Heart Will Go On," Mariah Carey's "Hero," and many more hits, recently revealed that he and the superstar are collaborating on new music and a brand new Broadway show. Check out the full interview below (starting at 2:20)!

"I'm doing a couple of Idina Menzel projects," says Afanasieff. "Her pop album, which we just finished writing twelve songs for." He also revealed that he is working on new Babs music as well. "I just started hopefully what's going to be the new Barbra Streisand project, starting with the first song we just wrote." And the best news of all, "And then we're also writing a Broadway musical with Idina Menzel, for hopefully her next big Broadway show."

Idina Menzel is an American actress and singer who rose to prominence when she originated the role of Maureen Johnson in the Broadway musical Rent, a role which she reprised for the 2005 feature film adaptation of the musical. She received a Tony Award nomination in 1996 for her performance in Rent. In 2004, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for originating the role of Elphaba in the Broadway musical Wicked. Menzel made her return to Broadway in the 2014 original musical If/Then, which earned her a nomination for the 2014 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She was then honored with the Breakthrough Artist award at the 2014 Billboard Women in Music awards ceremony.

Menzel is also known for her recurring role of Shelby Corcoran on the Fox musical comedy-drama TV series Glee. This role led to a revival in Menzel's career as her name gained more recognition, leading to a two-year tour and more acting roles. These included the 2007 Disney film Enchanted which she played the role of Nancy and as the voice of Queen Elsa in Frozen. Holiday Wishes (2014), her first album in six years, reached number 6 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Menzel is the only competitive Tony Award-winning actress to ever reach the top 10. Menzel began an ongoing world concert tour in May 2015.



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