Idina Menzel gets in the spirit of Pacer benefit

Idina Menzel understands the PACER Center. Probably more so than any other entertainer who has performed at the annual benefit for the Twin Cities organization that helps children with disabilities and combats bullying.

On Saturday night at the Minneapolis Convention Center, Menzel, the Broadway star of "Wicked" and the voice of Elsa in the smash hit film "Frozen," talked about how inspired she was by the evening's speakers and the efforts of the PACER staff. "I'm going to go back to my team and tell them we've got to have a silent auction with 350 different things," said Menzel, who explained she has a music camp for inner-city girls.

After opening with "Nothing Compares 2 U" (but not mentioning that it's a Prince song), Menzel got empowering on "Defying Gravity," got into the PACER spirit with a reading of Radiohead's "Creep" and brought tears of joy to nearly everyone in the room when she was joined by about three dozen children — many with disabilities — at the foot of the stage to sing "Let It Go."

Jon Bream