Idina Menzel’s Redwood-Themed Musical Transfers to Broadway

Photo from the Redwood Musical Facebook page

Tony Award-winner Idina Menzel’s musical Redwood has officially transferred to Broadway.

Redwood, a musical about a woman’s journey to Northern California, premiered at San Diego’s La Jolla Playhouse in February of last year, but recently relocated to New York’s Nederlander Theatre.

Menzel stars in the musical as the character Jesse. The show was inspired by the life of Julia Butterfly Hill, according to Wikipedia. Menzel previously wrote a song about Hill entitled Butterfly, which you can listen to here.

“Finding herself at a turning point, Jesse leaves everyone and everything behind, gets in her car and drives,” said a press release from La Jolla Playhouse published in January of 2023. “Thousands of miles later, she hits the ancient forests of Northern California, where a chance meeting and a leap of faith change her life forever.”

The press release continues, “Travel with Jesse to an intoxicating environment of dense greenery, fractured light and dizzying heights – a place where Nature can help us heal, if only we don’t destroy her first. An exhilarating new musical featuring one of Broadway’s greatest stars, Redwood will awaken your sense of adventure and lift you higher than the treetops.”

Previews of the show began at the Nederlander Theatre on January 24. To read more about Redwood, click here.