Tony Award winner to open new Gallo Center season. Her tie to Modesto-bred actress

A Tony Award-winning star will officially open the 2026-27 season at the Gallo Center for the Arts.

Idina Menzel will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19, at the downtown Modesto venue.

Remaining tickets are $108-$158, with limited seats available.

Menzel widely is known as the original Elphaba in Broadway mega-hit “Wicked,” for which she won the 2004 Tony Award for best actress in a musical.

Menzel last appeared at the Gallo Center in 2012, where she was introduced to Modesto-bred actress Lindsay Heather Pearce, according to the theater’s website.

Pearce later went on to also play Elphaba in “Wicked” during its Broadway run.

Menzel — a singer, songwriter and actress in film and TV as well as Broadway — was among the recipients of the 2023 National Medal of Arts, handed out in 2024.

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While “Wicked” stands out, she first found fame in the another hit Broadway musical, “Rent.”

She famously voiced the character Elsa in Disney’s Oscar-winning film “Frozen” and sang the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning song “Let It Go.”

While the Gallo Center began offering shows for 2026-27 in August, Menzel is billed as the season-opening performer.

For more on her show and this year’s season, see galloarts.org.