Idina Menzel Dishes on Long Island Roots

It’s been a busy year so far for Syosset graduate Idina Menzel.

The “Frozen” star whose name was mangled by John Travolta at this year’s Oscars (Adele Dazeem, anyone?), now stars in “If/Then,” a new musical that opened Sunday at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

But the Tony winner – she took the prize in 2004 for her role as Elphaba in "Wicked" – hasn’t forgotten her roots.

“I have a – what's the word I want to use? -– a complicated relationship with Long Island,” she told Newsday. “On Long Island, as kids, we tend to all want to fit in. There's a lot of money where I grew up . . . and my family didn't have a lot of money. So my perspective was . . . off. And yet the education I got was fabulous. And I'm still close with many of my teachers.”

Still, the star with the powerhouse vocals – she is, after all the voice behind the Academy Award-winning song "Let It Go" from “Frozen” –  continues to return to Long Island. In 2011, she headlined the Tilles Center for The Performing Arts gala at LIU Post, from which she received an honorary doctorate. It was Menzel's third performance at the theater at the Brookville campus.

And while her personal life may be somewhat tangled, as she’s recently separated from husband Taye Diggs, her star power seems to continue to rise.