How would you react after a terrible personal tragedy? Would you slip into a deep depression?

In the new musical “Redwood” directed by Tina Landau at the Nederlander Theater, Idina Menzel’s Jesse rushes to get as far away as possible from her pain. In the show, co-conceived by Menzel and Landau with original music by Kate Diaz, Jesse owns a NY art gallery. She’s married to Mel, a photographer (played De’Adre Aziza). Leaving her partner in NYC, she gets into her car and drives. And she doesn’t stop until she reaches Eureka, a coastal town in far north California known as the home to the giant redwood trees.

Jesse meets two environmentalists, Finn (Michael Park) and Becca (Khalia Wilcoxon) who study the redwoods by climbing them and sometimes pausing on platforms to do research. Jesse begs them to teach her how to climb the trees. At first resistant, Finn finally relents, despite Becca’s strong objections. In short order, Jesse is rappelling up the side of a giant redwood.

Jesse sees the challenge of learning to climb as a way to deal with her anxieties, her guilt and her loss.

Why Finn is so easily convinced to allow Jesse to climb the tree is a bit of a mystery. and he allows her to stay on a platform high up overnight where she talks to the tree that tells her its name-Stella. Becca objects, but finally relents. The fact that she is a Black Jewish scientist is unclear and probably doesn’t matter.

There are two good reasons to see “Redwood.” One, of course, is the incomparable Idina Menzel who created iconic roles in “Wicked,” “Rent” and “Frozen.” The second reason is the focal piece of the play - a giant redwood that rotates into view and dominates the stage. The marvelous set design of the 13 foot wide tree is by Jason Ardizzone-West. Hana S. Kim did an amazing job using video and lighting to show the passage of time and a raging fire that threatens the redwood forest

The voices of the players are outstanding. “In The Leaves” is Menzel’s signature belting solo. But all the voices are terrific. The musical numbers were written mainly for Jesse and she sings in 13 of the 17 songs.

The fun part is watching Menzel and the others climb the redwood.They spend time checking their equipment, calling out all the steps to make sure each climb is safe. When we see Jesse ascend Stella, we are amazed at her athleticism. After practicing and making several climbs, she is confident and takes on the challenge of climbing barefoot. Oh, and she sings hanging upside down as she dances on and off the tree. The training must have been grueling.

The real redwoods can grow to 300 feet high and 14 feet wide. As you look up from the audience, you can imagine yourself dwarfed by the actual ones.

While the storyline is predictable, the music and singing are wonderful. That after a year, Jesse finally decides it’s time to come home and face reality, is not surprising. It’s nice to have a new original musical on the Broadway stage filled with revivals and movie adaptations-but it would have been nice to have it be more compelling.