Photo courtesy of Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

On March 6, The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall and Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation will welcome the award-winning superstar, Idina Menzel, to the stage to perform as part of the Sarasota Performing Arts Foundation Gala: Defying Expectations: An Evening in Three Acts. The Foundation’s Gala will showcase Menzel’s extraordinary talent while raising funds to support arts education, community engagement and creative growth across our region.

Menzel first entered the spotlight as Maureen in Rent and won a Tony Award for Elphaba in Wicked. As the voice of Elsa in Frozen and Frozen 2, she helped drive both films to global success; her song Let It Go earned an Academy Award and Grammy. She recently returned to Broadway in Redwood, co-conceived with Tina Landau, receiving a Distinguished Performance Award from the Drama League and recognition from New Dramatists. On screen, she has appeared in Enchanted, Disenchanted, You're So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah, Cinderella and Uncut Gems, with TV roles in Glee and Beaches.

The Q&A below is part of a larger interview that will appear in the May/June edition of SRQ Magazine.

Why is being part of this gala especially meaningful for you?

I'm just so excited to be there for such a great cause. We all have to really prioritize arts education these days because it's getting cut everywhere we look. It's so important to me that kids have the arts as a tool for expressing themselves, as an arena to feel comfortable trying something and being free. We're at a beautiful venue raising awareness and money for arts education, which is something that’s near and dear to my heart. It's where we all found ourselves and had a free space to play, to express our feelings and discover who we are.

Will you be performing barefoot?

Probably at some point. I always try to put the heels on because I like the way it makes me look in my dress or suit, but then it just becomes not worth it anymore.

Photo courtesy of Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall.

To learn more, visit