Idina Menzel ready for "Glee"-turn

     Idina Menzel says she hopes to return to “Glee” soon to play Shelby Corcoran, Rachel Berry's (Lea Michele) biological mom.
     “It was such a great experience,” Menzel told me last week, as she gets ready for her Lincoln Center debut with the New York Philharmonic on Saturday. “It was great to be a part of that and a part of educating the public about the importance of the arts in schools. It was also amazing to see how hard those kids are working.”
     Menzel says the show came along at an important time for her. “I had just had my son and I was thinking, 'I'm never gonna work again,'” she said. “When they asked me, I was so relieved – not just because it's a character that's more like myself, but because it was so good to feel wanted at that time.”
     “Glee” has made a musical impact on Menzel as well. She's added Lady Gaga's “Poker Face,” which she sang on the show, to her Philharmonic program, along with songs from the Broadway musicals she helped launch – “Rent” and “Wicked” – and songs from her days as a teenage wedding singer from Syosset.