Idina Menzel is "so proud" of Vanessa Hudgens for her performance in ‘Rent: Live!’
The ‘Frozen’ star paid tribute to Vanessa, who took on the role of Maureen Johnson – played by Idina in the original Broadway version – for her portrayal and particularly loved her rendition of ‘Take Me or Leave Me’.
Alongside a red heart emoji, she wrote: "Just watched @VanessaHudgens absolutely kill it during take me or leave me. So proud of you Vanessa! (sic)"
And the 47-year-old actress and singer joined Vanessa and the cast of the FOX version onstage at the end to sing its iconic track, ‘Seasons of Love’. Original cast members Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin Vega, Fredi Walker, Adam Pascal, Wilson Jermaine Heredia and Jesse L. Martin also came on stage to sing.
The team at FOX suffered a slight hitch just before the show started as lead man Brennin Hunt – who plays Roger – suffered a broken ankle. However, they were able to make it work by playing some pre-recorded segments.
‘Rent: Live’ director Alex Rudzinski said: "What we do have is a backup recording from the night [before]. The night before we do a full dress rehearsal on camera to tape, so should the metaphorical meteor hit the studio, we can switch to that backup recording, and it’s with an audience, and so there is a degree of backup there. Actually, I think on Grease we lost sound for eight seconds and we switched. I think we had to switch to the backup for eight seconds, and no one noticed."
Whilst FOX said in a statement: "Last night during a live performance of Fox’s production of Rent, one of the actors, Brennin Hunt, was injured. But in the spirit of Rent, everyone – producers and cast, original and current – is dedicated to ensuring that tonight’s broadcast must, and will, go on."
Idina Menzel praises Vanessa Hudgens for Rent: Live! performance
