Ready for a great escape? Travel no further than the Nederlander Theatre, where Tony winner Idina Menzel is making her Broadway return in Redwood. The new, original musical arrives with direction by Tony Award nominee Tina Landau, music by Kate Diaz, and lyrics by Diaz and Landau.
Menzel does not just star in the show. She also co-conceived the project with Landau. The musical premiered in early 2024 in a sold-out run at La Jolla Playhouse. Redwood marks her first return to Broadway since starring in If/Then in 2014.
What's it all about? Redwood is a transportive new musical about one woman’s journey into the precious and precarious world of the redwood forest. Jesse is a successful businesswoman, mother and wife who seems to have it all, but inside, her heart is broken. Finding herself at a turning point, Jesse leaves everyone and everything behind, gets in her car and drives… Thousands of miles later, she hits the majestic forests of Northern California, where a chance meeting and a leap of faith change her life forever.
With its deeply personal story, refreshingly contemporary sound, and awe-inspiring design, Redwood explores the lengths –and heights– one travels to find strength, resilience and healing.
Looking for nature's remedy? It's on Broadway in Redwood!
Becca, wary of letting the inexperienced Jesse join their climbing efforts, is a foil to her colleague Finn (Michael Park), who is willing to bend the rules to do so. Their respective motivations — Becca's struggles as a Black woman in her industry despite her intelligence, Finn's own troubled relationship with his son and experience of familial loss — too, hint at character depth but are just as soon glossed over. Redwood broaches many potentially compelling topics, but, like the redwood tree, as we learn, its roots remain shallow.
The high-tech staging thrills, as when Menzel spins upside down from her rope while belting a ballad. But the thin, repetitive story and composer/co-lyricist Kate Diaz’s score keep bringing the show back down to earth. The songs seem tailor-made for Menzel’s magnificent voice, but there’s an exhausting sameyness to these melisma-heavy pop ballads in which virtually every phrase goes up a third during the final word, like a bird that can’t quite decide where it should land. Menzel is a natural stage star, and there are moments when Redwood truly soars, but you can only defy the gravity of real life for so long.
| 2025 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Projection and Video Design | Hana S. Kim |
| 2025 | Drama League Awards | DISTINGUISHED PERFORMANCE | Idina Menzel |
| 2025 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Video/Projections | Hana S. Kim |
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