B'way Review: Redwood

Idina Menzel in Redwood
Credit: Matthew Murphy and
Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade.

There’s an awful lot of talk about trees in Redwood, the uneven new musical at the Nederlander after a run at the La Jolla Playhouse. During one of the many discussions on the titular forest king, it’s revealed that the roots of the massive monarch are deceptively shallow. That same could be said for the show itself. All the elements involved with presentation such as Tina Landau’s impressive direction, Jason Ardizzone-West’s ingenious set, Scott Zielinski’s versatile lighting, and Hanna S. Kim’s breathtaking videos, are truly dazzling. But the story conveyed in the book by Landau (conceived by Landau and star Idina Menzel who also is credited with “Additional Contributions”) is as overly familiar and slight as a Hallmark card. Likewise the score with music by Kate Diaz and lyrics by Diaz and Landau is trite and cliche-ridden. The heroine Jesse (a commanding Menzel) sings of “Somewhere else to be/Where I’m no longer me.” 

Like many a Lifetime-TV-movie protagonist, Jesse is going through major grief and midlife issues. She is fleeing her home and job as a gallery owner in Manhattan, driving aimlessly cross country in order to avoid confronting an undisclosed tragedy. The sharper members of the audience will guess the nature of the calamity based on flashbacks featuring her son Spencer (fiery Zachary Noah Piser). She ignores urgent texts and voice messages from her wife Mel (De’adre Aziza in a strong supporting performance). One of the few refreshing pluses of the show is the matter-of-fact handling of Jesse and Mel’s same-sex marriage. Eventually, Jesse just happens to stumble upon a California redwood forest, strikes up a friendship with aboriculturists Finn and Becca (crusty but warm Michael Park and prickly, fierce Khaila Wilcoxon), and finds peace by climbing the redwoods. “I’m a believer/That trees can heal ya,” Finn and Becca sing in typically bland lyrics which also rhyme “silence” with “giants.” Diaz’s music is at time captivating, but unable to raise above the pedestrian words.

There are so many holes in the plot it resembles one of the trees attacked by woodpeckers. In a matter of days, the acrophobic Jesse is scaling a majestic sequoia and spending several nights on a platform up there to dispel her fears and face her tragedy. Even more unbelievably, Finn allows her to do these dangerous stunts, risking his scientific project and her safety. To top it all off, the redwoods are attacked by a wildfire. It’s an unfortunate matter of timing, but the conflagration comes across as a tasteless exploitation of a natural disaster.

B'way Update: Idina Mezel in Redwood

Idina Menzel in Redwood
Credit: Rich Soublet

Tony winner Idina Mezel will return to Broadway in Redwood, a new musical she co-conceived. The original musical which premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse this past February is slated to open sometime in 2025. Written and directed by Tony Award nominee Tina Landau, with music by Kate Diaz, and lyrics by Landau and Diaz, Redwood is conceived by Landau and Menzel, with additional contributions by Menzel. Landau will also be directing the Broadway premiere of Floyd Collins, set to open next April at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater.

“I’m so thrilled to be returning to Broadway, and the fact that I get to do it with Redwood, a musical that means so much to me, makes it even more special,” Menzel said. “This show has lived in my bones for fifteen years, from the very first time Tina and I discussed working together. Finally getting to do it on Broadway is really a dream come true.” After her Tony-winning performance in Wicked, Menzel's last Broadway show was If/Then in 2014.

Redwood is a transportive new musical about one woman’s journey into the precious and precarious world of the redwood forest. Jesse (Menzel) 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.

Menzel will launch a career-spanning North American tour this summer, which will give fans an opportunity to hear a few songs from Redwood ahead of the show’s Broadway premiere.