Idina Menzel Makes the Best of Exposed Underboob at Live Show

Idina Menzel has done it all. A Tony Award winner, she originated the Broadway roles of Elphaba in Wicked and Maureen in Rent. To today’s kids, she’s the Ice Queen Elsa in Frozen (2013) and Frozen 2 (2019). Most recently, she reprised her role as Nancy Tremaine alongside Amy Adams in Disenchanted (2022), the Disney+ exclusive sequel to Enchanted (2007).

Now a Disney Legend for her contributions to The Walt Disney Company, Menzel is in the midst of promoting Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage (2022). This concert documentary follows the star on a grueling 16-show tour and is streaming now on Disney+.

Idina Menzel on Disney+ — Credit: Playbill

Last week, Menzel spoke to The Chicago Tribune about her “worst moment,” taking part in a series of columns meant to show the human in all of us. “I welcome mistakes,” Menzel said. “And I find that they are usually a window into who you really are and an opportunity to learn something — and an opportunity for other people to learn something about you. Especially when it happens on stage.”

Menzel’s worst moment was a wardrobe malfunction at the iconic Radio City Music Hall in 2015. While going through a divorce and filming seven days a week in If/Then on Broadway, Menzel threw together a concert at the last minute.

James Marsden and Idina Menzel in 'Disenchanted' (2022). Credit: Disney — Credit: Disney

“I decided I wanted to do this funny thing where I make a quick (costume) change. I had my dresser Joby with me, and she’s one of my closest friends. She’s done every show with me, so she knows how to get me in and out of a costume very quickly,” Menzel recalled. “So I just thought, we’ll be able to do it, Joby and me.”

Menzel rushed off stage to change into a sequin, open-front dress, and a black leather bra. “It was classy but also rock ’n’ roll,” she said.

Bell Menzel Hollywood Hall of Fame Star — Credit: Jerod Harri/ Getty Images

Her microphone pack fell off her back and had to be fixed, making an already quick costume change even faster. She flew back on stage and began singing but stopped because the audience was yelling and pointing at her.

“I hear the audience saying, ‘Idina! Idina!’ and they’re pointing at me and I don’t understand what they’re saying. And I realized my boob is halfway out,” Menzel remembered. “What is that called? It’s not bottom boob. All the girls wear their bikinis like that — underboob, that’s it! But it was really exposed. So I go, ‘Oh! My boob is out!’ And I fix the bra.”

disenchanted trailer header — Credit: Disney D23

Menzel said she would’ve been embarrassed about such a mistake in the past, especially at Radio City Music Hall. But she took it in stride – even joking, “F**k it, they’re real,” after Joby ran to help fix the bra.

“I’ve learned over the years, when things happen, it just endears you to your audience,” Menzel said. “So I fixed it and continued on and it didn’t plague me for the rest of the night. I was able to laugh it off and make jokes about it for the rest of the show — and it ended up making the show better and funnier.”

Disenchanted poster featuring Idina Menzel. — Credit: Disney

While Menzel knows the moment is up on social media (multiple angles are available on YouTube), she doesn’t let it get to her: “It used to really bother me. But as years have gone by now, you just let it go (laughs). So now I’m used to it.”

Menzel wants her fans to learn from the moment and learn to laugh at their mistakes. “They almost always give you an opportunity to show a side of yourself that other people may not see,” Menzel concluded. “Imperfection is more beautiful than perfection.”

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Idina Menzel Makes the Best of Exposed Underboob at Live Show - Inside the Magic