Mid-Performance Injury Sidelines Wicked Star Idina Menzel

Idina Menzel, who won a Tony Award for her performance as Elphaba in Wicked, was injured during the matinee performance of the musical on Saturday, January 8, during the climactic scene when her character “melts.” According to a company member, Menzel fell a few feet beneath the stage when the “melting” effect went awry. She was taken in a stretcher to a nearby hospital, where she was examined by doctors to determine whether or not her ribs had been broken or merely bruised; no information on the diagnosis is yet available.

The show was stopped for about 45 minutes and the audience was told what had happened via an announcement over the sound system. Following the curtain call, Joey McIntyre — who plays Fiyero in the show — gave details of the mishap and assured the audience that Menzel had not been seriously injured. The star’s standby, Shoshana Bean, went on for the last scene of the matinee performance and for the entire show last night. Today’s matinee was to have been Menzel’s final performance, but Bean, who had been scheduled to assume the role full-time on January 11, will again play Elphaba in her stead.

Menzel is set to recreate her original stage role of Maureen in the upcoming film version of the Jonathan Larson musical Rent. The star and her husband, actor Taye Diggs (Rent, TV’s Kevin Hill) were recently in the news for having received anonymous letters threatening them with bodily harm because of their interracial marriage.