New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Idina Menzel and
Bebe Rexha co-headlined the third annual "
Beyond" Benefit concert, organized by Justin Tranter. The event was Wednesday, October 16.
The mission of "Beyond is to highlight the annual anti-bullying effort known as
Spirit Day.
"2019 is the year of the queer songwriter," Tranter said. "Spirt Day is so important to me because when I was young, I was bullied beyond belief - I went to one semester of public high school and got the shit kicked out of me. Even where I am, I hear people say weird shit where I'm, like, 'Am I going to call you out or am I just going to finish my day of work?' The music business is still a business, and like a lot of businesses in this country needs a lot of change and progress."
Tranter says the music industry would benefit from more LGBTQ diversity.
Menzel spoke at the event, along with performing there. The night ended with a rousing performance of "Seasons of Love" from "Rent."
"I feel like this community has supported me ever since I got my first professional job off Broadway in 'Rent,'" she said. "They confided in me, told me their deepest secrets and fears and the changes in their life all through the years. We've grown up together so I'm just glad to be here to make sure [other LGBTQ] people don't feel alone."
Idina made her Broadway debut as Maureen in the Tony and Pulitzer Prize winner, Rent, for which she received a Tony Award nomination. She followed that with her Tony Award-winning performance as Elphaba in Wicked, which she subsequently brought to London's West End. Other New York stage work includes See What I Wanna See (Public), The Wild Party (MTC), and Hair (Encores). Menzel's voice can be heard in the Disney animated musical, Frozen, singing its Oscar nominated song, Let It Go. She reprised her performance as Maureen in Chris Columbus' film version of Rent, and has appeared in movies as diverse as Enchanted and Ask the Dust. On television, Menzel had a recurring role over multiple seasons of "Glee" and has guest starred in numerous other shows. She starred in her own PBS special, Barefoot at the Symphony, with an accompanying live album of the same name. Menzel's highly successful international concert tour recently included a sold out performance at Carnegie Hall. In addition to cast albums, Menzel's prolific recording career includes solo albums: Barefoot At The Symphony, I Stand, Here, and Still I Can't Be Still.
