"If/Then" National Tour Review




    If you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE Idina Menzel. She is probably my favorite performer alive. She has been my phone lockscreen on multiple occasions and I have a Idina Menzel "Frozen" phone case. So naturally, when I saw that the national tour of "If/Then" starring Idina Menzel was going to a nearby city that with conveniently located relatives, I hopped on the chance to get tickets and it was a trip that was well worth it.

  "If/Then" tells the story of Elizabeth (Idina Menzel), who is returning to New York City after a failed marriage in Phoenix, Arizona. After arriving in NYC, Elizabeth meets up in the park with her new friend, Kate (LaChanze) and her old college boyfriend, Lucas (Anthony Rapp). While at the park, Elizabeth has to choose if she wants to go to a music festival with Kate and her girlfriend, Anne (Janine DiVita) or a street action with Lucas, who is an activist. The show follows both of those paths.

  The show is written by Tom Kitt (Music) and Brian Yorkey (Book and Lyrics). Kitt and Yorkey have a written a very wonderful piece of theatre. The score has the typical contemporary musical theatre and the story is very interestingly put together and the flip flopping between the shows two timelines are smooth and easy to follow (in one timeline they call Idina Menzel's character Liz and she wears glasses, and in the other she is called Beth).

   Idina Menzel commands the stage. At the start of the show, she was greeted with a very insane entrance applause and she enchanted the audience whenever she spoke or used her powerhouse singing voice. Along with her killer singing voice, she was able to show off her clever acting chops during all of her scenes and songs like "What the F***" and "I Hate You". Songs where she was able to showcase her voice the most were "You Learn to Live Without" and the incredible "Always Starting Over"', in which she brought the audience to tears. I don't think the applause would have ended for that song, had the cast not come onstage for the finale of the show. Idina Menzel is wickedly talented.
Idina Menzel (Elizabeth) belting out her 11'o clock number "Always Starting Over"



  In the role of Kate, LaChanze is so spunky and the audience falls in love with her and her character, especially when she belts out songs like "It's a Sign" and "Love While You Can", which she sings phenomenally with Janine DiVita, who plays the role of Anne.

 Anthony Rapp and James Snyder do wonderful jobs in the roles of Lucas and Josh, Elizabeth's husband in one timeline. In the featured roles of the show, Mark DelaCruz (David) is a lot of fun and Kyra Faith (Elena) is a good performer, but when put next to Idina Menzel, her talent is drowned out.

  The set (by Mark Wendland) for this show is simple and only consists of a bridge, a few staircases, a turntable (which I love), a color changing backdrop, and a projection of a map of New York City that takes up the upper half of the stage.

  Overall, "If/Then" is a show that isn't quite for everyone, but most of the general audience seems to be enjoying it. Idina Menzel, LaChanze, and James Snyder depart the show next week, but NEVER FEAR! I am sure you will be in good hands with Jackie Burns, Tamyra Gray, and Matthew Hydzick. GO SEE IT!!


Idina Menzel and the original Broadway cast of "If/Then"




Image result for 4 stars out of 5


  As of January 26 2016, the current cast of the national tour of "IF/THEN" consists of:
Elizabeth-JACKIE BURNS
Kate-TAMYRA GREY
Lucas- ANTHONY RAPP*
Josh-MATTHEW HYDZICK
Anne- JANINE DiVITA
Stephen- DARREN A. HERBERT
David- MARK DELACRUZ
Elena- KYRA FAITH
* denotes original principal cast member


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