That One Time Idina Menzel Pulled Me On Stage

Once upon a time, I was a wee baby 24 year old attending an Idina Menzel concert with my bestie, Olivia, like you do when you were raised on musical theater & Disney.

Well as luck would have it, our tickets got upgraded from the lawn of Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, to the 11th row aisle. (WHAT?!) The concert starts, it’s amazing, we’re in awe, etc., then suddenly, she starts talking about the show RENT in which she originated the role of Maureen. There is an iconic duet between Maureen and Joanne in which they belt about each other’s personalities and eventually break up. (SPOILER ALERT. Don’t worry, there’s more to the show.) This duet is vocally DIFFICULT because they both not only riff their faces off but they also belt & hang out at the top of their ranges for a WHILE.

OBVIOUSLY, I know every word and have practiced in the mirror countless times for this VERY. MOMENT, so I can sing along in the audience like a good fan-girl.

Back to the moment in question, Idina starts walking down the stairs from the stage in to the aisle and asks for a duet partner. Without missing a beat my friend Olivia JUMPS UP, and starts SCREAMING & pointing at me. I am half embarrassed half like…well, maybe? Idina passes us by looking for someone who knows the words, and then turns around, and I thought to myself “now or never, McLendon.” My soul left my body as I stood up and shouted “IDINA!”

SHE TURNED AROUND.

I had to look around to see if she was actually talking to me and low and behold, she grabs my hand asks me if I know the song to which I reply, “I know your part” and she pulls me up to the front of the amphitheater.

Full disclosure, I do not remember that walk. I remember turning around as Olivia followed me with her phone (THANK GOD) and trying to hold on to the feeling of IDINA MENZEL HOLDING MY HAND.

She counts off the band and starts feeding me lines, and I went for it. When I say it was a BLUR of a moment, I mean, I could not stop looking at Idina and trying my damndest to pull this off.

So here’s how I did it:

I knew I knew the words, I knew I knew the notes (although, having her feed me the lyrics was WILDLY helpful as my soul had yet to return to my body.) So I took a deep breath and I went for it.

The key to that whole scenario was BREATHING, and focusing solely on the technique I knew I had. In those moments, you can either let your fear take over or, you can use it to fuel and accentuate what you’ve already got! The added practice in the mirror I had as an even wee-er (it’s a word) high schooler didn’t hurt either ;)

Did that stop me from absolutely bawling my eyes out when I got back to my seat….and subsequently when the hubby (then boyfriend) picked me up to take me home.

It’s an incredible adrenaline rush! That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t absolutely go for it when the opportunity arises!

So what’s the takeaway? Practice for the moment…just in case, trust your training, and don’t forget to BREATHE!