Menzel earned a Drama Desk Award nomination for her performance as Kate in the Manhattan Theatre Club's 2000 Off-Broadway production of Andrew Lippa's The Wild Party.

[30] Menzel played the role of Florence in the 21st-anniversary concert of the musical Chess at London's Royal Albert Hall, from May 12 to 13, 2008, alongside Kerry Ellis, Adam Pascal, and Josh Groban.

Menzel reprised the role of Elizabeth (along with original Broadway cast members Lachanze, James Snyder, and Anthony Rapp) on the first seven stops of the show's national tour from October 2015 to January 2016.

Also, in 2007, Menzel's powerful singing voice led her to be asked to accompany the baritone British X Factor runner-up, Rhydian Roberts, on his debut album, duetting on the song "What If".

[23] Although rumors of a Rent movie had persisted for several years before it was green-lit, Menzel did not consider herself eligible because she assumed A-list Hollywood actors would be preferred if a film version ever materialized, until Columbus approached her directly.

[85][86] Despite her limited screen time, she considers Vera one of her favorite film roles, citing her character's lack of singing and difficulty overcoming difficult situations as essential to demonstrating her versatility.

[90] In 2007, Menzel appeared in the musical fantasy film Enchanted as Nancy Tremaine, the fiancée of Patrick Dempsey's character Robert and Giselle's (Amy Adams) romantic rival.

[91] Despite being a musical, Menzel famously does not sing in the film;[92] several songs composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz had written for her character were ultimately omitted from the final version.

[95] Enchanted was a critical and commercial success,[96] but The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt and Jim Lane of the Sacramento News & Review felt the film underused Menzel's talents.

While introducing her performance, actor John Travolta mispronounced her name as "Adele Dazeem"; the mispronunciation was widely ridiculed by fans and the media, and subsequently became a viral Internet meme.

[124] At the 87th Academy Awards the following year, Menzel presented Best Original Song with Travolta and jokingly introduced him as "Glom Gazingo", who finally pronounced her name correctly upon joining her on stage.

[133][134] Due to her typical avoidance of revivals and fondness for the original film, Menzel was initially hesitant to star in the project, but ultimately embraced the remake as an opportunity to introduce a classic story about female friendship to a younger generation.

[138][139] CNN's Brian Lowry said "the lure of providing Menzel an opportunity to let loose on these familiar tunes is more than enough to qualify as a win for Lifetime, even if the movie itself ... never achieves liftoff".

Club, Linda Holmes of NPR, and MaryAnn Sleasman of TV Guide each found Menzel's acting adequate but lacking the conviction and humor Midler brought to the role, resulting in a less compelling version of the same character.

[143] Directors Josh and Benny Safdie cast her based on her performance as a similar character in Skintight, and Menzel drew upon personal experience for the role, having grown up around confident women like Dinah in New York.

[148] Despite admiring actresses who had played the villainous role prior, Menzel wanted to eschew "the archetypal kind of idea of the straight-ahead evil nemesis" in order to uncover the trauma behind the character's cruel nature.

"[185] Describing Menzel as a loud soprano similar to Broadway actress Ethel Merman, Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote "The sound she creates when she belts ... is a primal cry embedded in her being that insists that we listen and pay attention.

"[188] Describing Menzel's voice as "husky ... which sometimes veers toward shrieking until she effortlessly reins herself in or, amazingly, kicks it up another notch," Melissa Ruggieri of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution believes she possesses "a superior instrument" both live and in-studio.

[65] Velasco cited her rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XLIX as an example of Menzel sacrificing excitement and inspiration for technique, yet delivering an adequate performance nonetheless.

[194][195][196][197][198] Menzel's vocal style has drawn comparisons to singer Barbra Streisand, whose song "Don't Rain on My Parade" she often covers, including in tribute to her at the 2008 Kennedy Center Honors.

[180] Menzel was particularly inspired by Streisand's performance in the film A Star is Born (1976),[200] and cites singers Franklin, Billie Holiday, Etta James, Chaka Khan and Sarah Vaughan among her vocal idols.

[204] Upon becoming a wedding singer, Menzel was eventually exposed to a wide variety of musical genres, ranging from jazz to rock and Motown,[204] and would often experiment with new arrangements of traditional songs.

[191] She credits her wedding singer background with training her to improvise new vocal arrangements, which in turn helps her ad-lib alternative versions of songs when she is feeling unwell or her voice is tired.

"[188] On her stage presence, The Denver Post critic Ray Mark Rinaldi wrote that Menzel delivers "the kind of self-assurance that can only come from beating out Kristin Chenoweth for a Tony.

"[191] She cites Joni Mitchell and Annie Lennox among her musical influences, describing them as "singer-songwriters who had these amazing voices but also were incredible storytellers and lyricists", while expressing admiration for musicians Bono, Sting and Seal.

[211][197] Bailey Flynn of The Heights believes the album demonstrates several trademarks for which Menzel has become known: "power ballads that give her huge vocal range and mind-blowing control all the chance they need to show off.

[231] Jenny Singer of Glamour declared Menzel one of history's greatest musical theatre vocalists,[232] while Valerie Complex of Deadline Hollywood called her an influential performer who has "left an indelible mark on the industry".

[110] In a 2014 article, Billboard theorized that Menzel's crossover success "bodes well for Broadway's would-be stars", believing "Let it Go" "kicked open the door for future composers of stage and screen".

[241] When Menzel returned to Broadway in 2014 shortly after the success of Frozen, Suzy Evans of Billboard observed that audience reception was more akin to that of a "rock star" than a musical theatre performer.

[253] Michael Heaton, a critic for The Plain Dealer, noted that some parents have expressed concerns about the "blue humor" Menzel uses in her typical concerts in an attempt to appeal to both her adult gay and young fans.