Broadway superstar Idina Menzel performs in concert

The news had just come out that “Frozen 2” was in the works. Idina Menzel, who played Elsa in the original mega-hit Disney musical, had just gotten the word herself.

Did she have any insider information she could tell us about?

“I can tell you that it’s happening,” Menzel said in a phone interview from her Los Angeles home. “I can tell you that I think they’re going to have us come in during the summer.”

She didn’t have much more information to share.

But Menzel was on the phone not to talk about “Frozen 2” but about her upcoming concert tour. She’ll be at Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall on Saturday.

Besides starring in “Frozen,” the 2013 animated musical that by many accounts is the most popular Disney movie ever made and one of the most popular animated films in history, Menzel is a star of Broadway (she was the first to play Elphaba in “Wicked” and Maureen in “Rent”on Broadway), film (“Rent,” “Frozen,” “Enchanted”) and television (most notably “Glee”).

She’s also a major concert draw and has just started her fifth tour.

Her concerts, she said, focus on songs that mean a lot to to her. That means songs that have helped make her one of the biggest stars in 21st-century entertainment, songs that inspired her to pursue a career as an actor and singer, and songs that just plain move her.

“It’s an eclectic concert, a little bit of Broadway, a little pop, a little rock,” she said. “I feel like every song that I sing has a very special place in my heart. I have always felt that the best concerts I have ever seen are the ones where people let us into the workings of their hearts.”

So she’ll perform songs from “Frozen,” “Rent” and “Wicked,” along with Broadway and popular songs that helped shape her as an artist and as a person. She works with a six-piece band that she’s been with for years, plus a couple of new back-up singers. She’ll start with a fixed set list, but if her muse or the audience seem to want some songs that aren’t on the list, she’ll happily stray from it.

“I like the show to have a spine, a backbone,” she said. “But at the same time, I like spontaneity.”

As for “Frozen 2,” Menzel said that it’s not set for release until 2019, and that’s because the people involved want to make sure it’s done well. They don’t want to disturb the impeccable reputation of the original film by rushing to cash in on its popularity.

She acknowledges, though, that sequels to hit musicals have not usually fared well, either artistically or commercially. But she never gave a thought to whether “Frozen 2” would be a hit or a bomb.

“The truth is, I don’t care,” she said. “ ‘Frozen’ was such a wonderful experience. I just want to work with those people again. I really don’t care whether it will be successful.”

Details: 8 p.m. May 27, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, 777 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. $116-$186. 941-953-3368, vanwezel.org.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Broadway superstar Idina Menzel performs in concert."