New Broadway musical “If/Then” would be DOA without Idina Menzel. The star holds this ambitious but unwieldy show together.
Actually, she does more than that: She gathers a bunch of messy parts, and gives them life, emerging triumphant in the process.
It’s hard to believe Menzel had only two big Broadway shows under her belt until now — 1996’s “Rent” and 2003’s “Wicked,” in which she introduced that gem of uplifting belty goodness known as “Defying Gravity.”
Sure, guest-starring on “Glee” and singing the “Frozen” anthem “Let It Go” helped her reach a wider audience — as did John Travolta’s mangling of her name at the Oscars.
Now she proves her mettle by carrying a big show.
“If/Then” — from the “Next to Normal” team of composer Tom Kitt and book writer/lyricist Brian Yorkey — imagines possible paths for Elizabeth (Menzel), an urban planner eager to reboot her life.
Based on the idea that each choice leads to a separate life path, the show imagines parallel courses for Elizabeth, with Menzel toggling between two halves of her whole: Liz and Beth.
The bespectacled Liz embodies the character’s romantic side, moving to New York City “to find her one true love,” per her best friend, Kate (LaChanze, in an upbeat role far removed from her grim Tony-winning turn in “The Color Purple”).
Liz is the kind of woman who follows her heart and dates Josh (James Snyder), a handsome war veteran who impulsively asked her out in a park.
That’s not something Beth would do. Elizabeth’s pragmatic side — who may have opted for contacts because she doesn’t wear glasses — has put career ahead of lovers.
Among them is Lucas (Anthony Rapp, Menzel’s “Rent” co-star), a college pal and earnest activist who, like all the supporting cast, straddles both story lines.
“Somewhere there’s a me who never loved that other you/Who liked you fine, I guess/As buddies, more or less,” Lucas sings to Beth, basically describing what does happen in the Liz thread, where he’s dating a handsome doctor (Jason Tam).
If this sounds complicated, it is.
Director Michael Greif (“Rent,” “Next to Normal”) does the best he can to keeps things moving, but the book is overstuffed with extraneous songs and subplots.
Menzel handles the personality switches with ease, making Liz and Beth distinct despite being, after all, the same woman. That she commands the show with such authority is all the more remarkable because she’s constantly running up and down Mark Wendland’s stylish bilevel set, putting on her glasses or taking them off.
Amazingly, she has enough breath left for her many songs — especially since Yorkey and Kitt’s hybrid of pop-rock and musical theater often requires a power belt. The show’s emotional peak is Menzel blasting “Always Starting Over” alone on an empty stage.
Real stars don’t need much more than that.