Posted: 8/20/17 at 9:53pm
There's no way they're going to go from a state-of-the-art theater and "down play" the design to then have a big reveal on Broadway. That's stupid. And makes zero sense. Sadly, this is the end result and this is what we are getting. Unless the show gets slammed, then maybe they'll change some things.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 9:25am
The more I read these comments, the more annoyed I'm getting at this. While I do find the "castle" setting really nice and pretty, they had a lot of potential to live up to the movie and make something creative. Even a platform or some stairs would've been nice, but Cassie's just kind of there. Singing. She isn't even mimicking making ice. The more I watch the video, I get more disappointed. It didn't even have to be an elaborate set, it just could've been more than it is.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 10:18am
RippedMan said: "There's no way they're going to go from a state-of-the-art theater and "down play" the design to then have a big reveal on Broadway. That's stupid. And makes zero sense. Sadly, this is the end result and this is what we are getting. Unless the show gets slammed, then maybe they'll change some things.
"
Even if it gets slammed, if it still sells tickets, why would they change anything? Look at Charlie.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 11:40am
This thread makes for really interesting reading and I agree with the majority thus far - Disney have some work to do to get this ready for Broadway. I thought 'Let It Go' was poor visually and as an Act 1 closer, this would leave me feeling short changed. I am curious about why the show is currently in the state it is in - I find it hard to believe that there are financial constraints here and both Michael and Rob have won awards for their previous work. The expectations for this musical are huge based on the film and it's fan following, I really hope we see some major revisions in the months to come. The set actually reminds me of a British pantomime set in many respects. I have booked to see this next year but am starting to regret spending $180 per ticket.
Updated On: 8/21/17 at 11:40 AM
Posted: 8/21/17 at 11:43am
Don't know much about this writer, but the site (Awards Daily) is typically a very good and reputable awards blog/site focusing mostly on film... which makes this review rather odd (I don't think I've ever seen a review or discussion on a theatrical piece - especially a musical - except for maybe 'Hamilton'. It is tied to a movie but...). Still, the writer had nice things to say:
http://www.awardsdaily.com/2017/08/20/frozen-first-time-forever/
Posted: 8/21/17 at 12:12pm
I saw this yesterday. Someone upthread had said they hoped the ushers were good about reining in photos. I was in the second to last row orchestra and I didn't see anyone obviously taking photos, but the vast majority of the audience was families, so it may not have occurred to them. I did see an usher tell someone not to take a pic of the stage pre-show and another told someone else to put their phone away shortly before the show started (lights still on and the guy was checking his email, not taking pics).
Posted: 8/21/17 at 12:21pm
There's prob too much money sunk into it now, and you're right it will be a hit for years to come regardless. But I'm assuming Cassie can't do much because of the big reveal, so she has to stand there. Would have been nice to give her some projections or something coming from a trap.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 1:40pm
That review (which should have been published after opening, but I digress) gives me hope and reminds me that we're (myself among the chief offenders) making judgments based on less than 3 minutes total of amateur bootleg video and one or two bad photos. It sounds like a great marriage of Disney spectacle with Grandage minimalism!
Posted: 8/21/17 at 2:20pm
I'm obsessed with the diverse casting, but I wonder what happens when Aisha Jackson goes on for Anna considering both Young Annas are white.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 4:15pm
Zarkana2 said: "I'm obsessed with the diverse casting, but I wonder what happens when Aisha Jackson goes on for Anna considering both Young Annas are white.
"
It's called suspension of disbelief
Posted: 8/21/17 at 4:21pm
Call_me_jorge said: "Zarkana2 said: "I'm obsessed with the diverse casting, but I wonder what happens when Aisha Jackson goes on for Anna considering both Young Annas are white.
"It's called suspension of disbelief "
Exactly - a woman builds a ice castle for crying out loud.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 4:22pm
kade.ivy said: "... reminds me that we're making judgments based on less than 3 minutes total of amateur bootleg video and one or two bad photos."
???? Finally someone has stopped being hysterical and addressed the elephant in the room!
Not that making damning irrational judgments based on the tinest sliver of evidence isn't in vogue right now but did anyone check to ask if anybody who has seen the show is suggesting the NEED to recreate CGI ice castles being constructed onstage? Or making sweeping comparisons to CatCF and demandimg a full redesign?
Personally I assume that for this single number (rightly or wrongly the most famous "Broadway" showtune of this era) this creative team wanted it to speak for itself as far as possible. Justifiably it seems from that bootleg where the single theatrical illusion that does occur results in a mania that then drowns out the next phrase. Comparisons to Wicked seem a little confused seeing as that IT'S Act 1 finale takes place on essentially a bare stage aswell - albeit one where the protagonist is 20 in the air strapped to a forklift hidden by a handily shaped cape.
Whether they have manged to craft a show with enough spectacle elsewhere to allow the audience to "breathe" at this point and let them enjoy them (overly) familiar song in the grand tradition of Broadway showstoppers remains to be seen. But it should be seen within the context of an evenings' entertainment and not on the merits of a 30 second bootleg, surely?
Posted: 8/21/17 at 4:36pm
There is no spectacle anywhere in the show. Nothing like "Circle of Life" or "Be Our Guest." The palace sets are the only big ones and the center portion revolves at one point, but other than that they're just walls and windows. There are no big, flashy group dance numbers.
They're never going to please everyone. As it stands now, if you want the spectacle and an ice castle, you'll be disappointed. If they add that before Broadway, those who would rather just have the song sung well without Elsa having to run about and navigate a complex set will be disappointed.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 4:39pm
ukpuppetboy said: "kade.ivy said: "... reminds me that we're making judgments based on less than 3 minutes total of amateur bootleg video and one or two bad photos."
???? Finally someone has stopped being hysterical and addressed the elephant in the room!
Not that making damning irrational judgments based on the tinest sliver of evidence isn't in vogue right now but did anyone check to ask if anybody who has seen the show is suggesting the NEED to recreate CGI ice castles being constructed onstage? Or making sweeping comparisons to CatCF and demandimg a full redesign?
Personally I assume that for this single number (rightly or wrongly the most famous "Broadway" showtune of this era) this creative team wanted it to speak for itself as far as possible. Justifiably it seems from that bootleg where the single theatrical illusion that does occur results in a mania that then drowns out the next phrase. Comparisons to Wicked seem a little confused seeing as that IT'S Act 1 finale takes place on essentially a bare stage aswell - albeit one where the protagonist is 20 in the air strapped to a forklift hidden by a handily shaped cape.
Whether they have manged to craft a show with enough spectacle elsewhere to allow the audience to "breathe" at this point and let them enjoy them (overly) familiar song in the grand tradition of Broadway showstoppers remains to be seen. But it should be seen within the context of an evenings' entertainment and not on the merits of a 30 second bootleg, surely?
"
^ THIS!
Posted: 8/21/17 at 4:46pm
kade.ivy said: "It sounds like a great marriage of Disney spectacle with Grandage minimalism!
Who was excited for Frozen because they were anticipating a minimalist approach? It's not Chicago. I agree that the show shouldn't be damned on a few reports and some bootleg footage but prospective audience members shouldn't be criticized for expecting some magic and spectacle from a brand built on magic and spectacle.
Zarkana2 said: "I'm obsessed with the diverse casting, but I wonder what happens when Aisha Jackson goes on for Anna considering both Young Annas are white"
I would reframe this question as, why didn't they also hire a Young Anna who isn't white?
Posted: 8/21/17 at 5:04pm
VintageSnarker said: "..prospective audience members shouldn't be criticized for expecting some magic and spectacle from a brand built on magic and spectacle."
You're right. They shouldn't be criticised for their expectations. Just their presumptions to review a show they haven't seen based on the briefest of information taken out of context.
VintageSnarker said:"
Zarkana2 said: "I'm obsessed with the diverse casting, but I wonder what happens when Aisha Jackson goes on for Anna considering both Young Annas are white"
I would reframe this question as, why didn't they also hire a Young Anna who isn't white? "
Congratulations. You appear to have totally missed the point (and theatricality) of colourblind casting. And in both of these issues killed any hope that the world has learnt anything from these endless, endless months of Trump..
Posted: 8/21/17 at 5:51pm
VintageSnarker said: "kade.ivy said: "It sounds like a great marriage of Disney spectacle with Grandage minimalism!
Who was excited for Frozen because they were anticipating a minimalist approach? It's not Chicago. I agree that the show shouldn't be damned on a few reports and some bootleg footage but prospective audience members shouldn't be criticized for expecting some magic and spectacle from a brand built on magic and spectacle.
Zarkana2 said: "I'm obsessed with the diverse casting, but I wonder what happens when Aisha Jackson goes on for Anna considering both Young Annas are white"
I would reframe this question as, why didn't they also hire a Young Anna who isn't white?
"
This is fair, and I will say that every time I've pictured this future production I've pictured an ice palace rising out of the stage. But I'm warming up to the idea of more subtle and/of mature storytelling.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 7:45pm
This has FLOP written all over it, like TARZAN.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 7:46pm
CurtainPullDowner said: "This has FLOP written all over it, like TARZAN.
"
I'm glad I skipped buying this.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 10:06pm
ukpuppetboy said: Congratulations. You appear to have totally missed the point (and theatricality) of colourblind casting. And in both of these issues killed any hope that the world has learnt anything from these endless, endless months of Trump..
I'm rolling my eyes as I type this. What I'm saying isn't that they had to hire a Young Anna who looks like a younger version of Aisha but that it's valid to ask why even when they were open to colorblind casting, they still chose two white actresses to cover this part.
Posted: 8/21/17 at 10:43pm
This has FLOP written all over it, like TARZAN.
Except Tarzan wasn't the property that Frozen is. Frozen is much bigger/popular than Tarzan ever was.
Posted: 8/22/17 at 12:39am
10086Sundays said: "There is no spectacle anywhere in the show. Nothing like "Circle of Life" or "Be Our Guest." The palace sets are the only big ones and the center portion revolves at one point, but other than that they're just walls and windows. There are no big, flashy group dance numbers.
They're never going to please everyone. As it stands now, if you want the spectacle and an ice castle, you'll be disappointed. If they add that before Broadway, those who would rather just have the song sung well without Elsa having to run about and navigate a complex set will be disappointed.
Who on earth does NOT want Elsa to run around gigantic hydraulic amazing cast sets during Let It Go? This is Broadway and potentially the next biggest musical of the decade not a small intellectual contemporary dance piece about Scandinavian tribal culture!!! For my money GIVE ME EFFECTS, FIREWORKS, RAZZLE AND DAZZLE!! (And maybe a cherry picker!!)
Posted: 8/22/17 at 1:21am
I totally agree, but, I think the creative team went w/ the costume change. To do the hydraulic lifts and then do a costume change was probably technically too hard? I'm bummed. I feel like we rarely get a big, splashy new musical, and I was hoping this would be it, but alas. Sounds like Frozen went the Hamilton way. Whey people would spend $300 to see a show they paid $12 at the movie theater for is beyond me.
Posted: 8/22/17 at 2:09am
All I wanted was to see the castle created on stage. That was the moment, the big moment. It was Disneys defying gravity. If they can't find a way to do it they've failed.
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