Columbia College pals Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey saw their first Broadway collaboration, Next to Normal, win three Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for drama. Its 2014 follow-up made an equally auspicious bow; it was the first cast album debut to reach the top 20 of the Billboard 200 chart since 1996’s Rent. The new show follows its freshly divorced professional woman/protagonist (Idina Menzel in her Broadway return) through two alternate story lines forged by one crucial life decision. “Every day we make choices,” Kitt explains. “Sometimes they’re just small choices, and sometimes they’re bigger ones. But we often wonder about the power of those choices. If you find that person whom you love, are you meant to find that person no matter what road you take?” Menzel found inspiration in the nuances of Kitt and Yorkey’s songs: “It’s nice that I’m not belting at the top of my lungs the whole time. There’s a lot of intimate, personality-driven, sweet singing, as close to how we speak as possible. I do get to do the crazy high notes, of course. But that’s also a part of me. A vulnerable side and a side that wants to kick ass!”