August 14, 2023
Idina Menzel Says Playing Lea Michele's Mother Was a Hit to Ego
Emell Adolphus READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Broadway legend Adele Dazeem says her ego took a hit playing Lea Michele's mom on "Glee." Just kidding. We are of course talking about none other than the wickedly talented Idina Menzel.
As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Menzel says she was all for having a turn to showcase her singing chops on "Glee." But she wasn't so game to play Michele's mother. After all, they are only 15 years apart and probably would have made more sense as sisters.
In an interview with Irish magazine, Stellar, Menzel recounted how she had just given birth to her son in 2009 and was worried she would not be offered more acting roles before she signed on to "Glee."
"I had my son Walker, and then three months later, I got the call and so I said 'yes,'" Menzel said, who explained that she was still breastfeeding at the time during filming and "couldn't fit into any of the costumes."
"You're worried you're not going to work again, and then people hire you to be someone's mother when you probably should be their older sister," said Menzel. The casting on "Glee" just "wasn't great for the ego," she said.
"But I sucked it up and sucked myself into my clothes, and was excited to work with [creator] Ryan Murphy and be a part of that hit show," she said. And the result was TV gold.
Menzel played Michele's equally talented and overachieving mother to a T. What's more is, over several episodes, the two got to do a duet of "I Dreamed a Dream" from "Les Misérables." Then they also performed a cover of Lady Gaga's "Poker Face."
In a familial turn of events, Menzel was set to star as Fanny Brice in the Broadway revival of "Funny Girl" but got COVID, and Michele famously clinched the role, though not initially. After Beanie Feldstein underwhelmed in the role, Michele -- who had been lobbying for the part since her "Glee" days -- was asked to take to replace her. The result is a bit of Broadway history with Michele getting spectacular reviews and helped turn a sluggish revival into a major league hit.
