FROZEN to Arrive on Broadway in Spring 2018- Page 45

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 2:28pm

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "Oh man, I'm cringing 

https://metawitches.com/2017/08/21/frozen-the-musical-in-denver-81917-analysis-and-comparison-to-81817/

"I realized over the weekend what should have occurred to me immediately: The reason for Elsa having a new dress is obvious. All of the little girls already have Elsa’s classic ice dress. Disney needs to put her in a new dress so that they can sell it in the Times Square Disney Store and in the mini Disney Store that will no doubt be part of the remodeled St James Theatre, and then throughout the known universe."

Good point.

I'm less bothered about the consent for nonsexual physical contact that the writer brings up but I'm definitely concerned about shifting the focus of the story from sisterhood to romantic love and making Anna more childish and incompetent.

"He’s a great character, one of my favorites, and I hate that they’ve made him a vehicle for dumbing down Anna’s character. In the movie they argued on equal footing. "

"All of that has been taken from her character and given to Kristoff."

"In the show I saw, these elements, which for me are essential, have been taken away.

In other words, they made the women weak, and that’s not a story I’m interested in."

The lyrics from Elsa's songs also point to unwieldy ideas that as of now, it seems like they don't have a handle on. The messaging really needs to be managed carefully with this show vs. other Disney stage adaptations.

[irishgator1]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 3:16pm

MrsSallyAdams said: "It sounds like the preview draft suffers from some of the same book problems as the second act of Wicked. Elsphaba never gets a chance to be wicked and the bland love plot sucks up too much stage time. 

I'm surprised by reports of the towel clad dance number for Oaken's family. With five principals to develop you don't need to waste time on a throwaway character. If the scene is overly sexual it will be the sort of camp that gets cited in a Ken Mandelbaum or Ethan Mordden book when the show closes. Interesting to see if the number makes it to the New York opening."

They had a chorus girl kind of line with high kicks where the actors appear to be naked, with only leaves covering themselves and moved around as appropriate.

 

[DramaTeach]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 3:36pm

broadwayboy223 said: "I just traveled back to the Alex Timbers departing thread and found this gem by Cinders Golightly who imagined if Scott Schwartz had directed Frozen

"A thin, blonde, white actress walks on stage and stops at center. She looks at the audience, and takes a snowball from the ground. She smears it on her face. Snow falls from the grid. Bells ring. Fifteen white people and two people of color surround her. They, too, smear snow on her face. She puts a snowflake in her hair. She is now Elsa. "

Unfortunately even though I hate what he did to Hunchback this would have been more interesting then what's been described here. 

 

"

This made me laugh aloud.  I loved Hunchback.  We'll see about this.

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 4:02pm

I loved Hunchback too. One of my favorite scores, but the direction KILLED it. That's why I dislike Scott Schwartz so much.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 4:08pm

I know someone who was in the ensemble of Mary Poppins on tour. During Jolly Holiday, she was dressed in a grey, skin-tight suit that was designed to make her look like a naked statue (without anatomical detail). According to her, they received complaints from parents because of the costume. If THAT gets complaints, I'll bet the sauna number certainly will. 

Updated On: 8/24/17 at 04:08 PM

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 4:12pm

^The big difference is that the JH scene had classical statues while Hygge is suggesting that they are actually people who are naked. 

It'll be interesting when reviews for the Denver run come out. I also can't wait for the Broadway run, so more of us can see it and we can see if it's really good or bad

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 4:16pm

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "^The big difference is that the JH scene had classical statues while Hygge is suggesting that they are actually people who are naked. "

 

My point exactly! This sounds more likely to get complaints than JH. 

 

[a-mad]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 6:54pm

Mostly positive review from Micechat (a non-Disney affiliated Parks website):

http://micechat.com/169570-frozen-musical-broadway/

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 7:01pm

Good audience responses so far. When is official opening in Denver? Should we expect some NYC outlets to go out there and review? 

[Musical Master]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 7:31pm

It's going to be a wait and see kind of show for me.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 8/24/17 at 7:52pm

kade.ivy said: "Good audience responses so far. When is official opening in Denver? Should we expect some NYC outlets to go out there and review? "

Oh definitely. I'm sure Bentley/Green would probably be sent for a NYTimes review. NYTimes at least likes to do a pre-Broadway, and Broadway comparison for hotly anticipated shows, usually by the same reviewer. I can't imagine NYPost not reviewing it either.

[Ado Annie D'Ysquith]

Posted: 8/25/17 at 9:46am

Regarding both Young Anna actresses being white, I had a similar reaction when I saw Chuck Cooper and Michael Xavier play Ben Stone in Prince of Broadway. Honestly, I understand suspension of disbelief, but I couldn't help but chuckle that Ben "grew up and changed ethnicities."

Yes, Frozen features cryokinetic powers, but magic is a commonplace thing in that world. The changing of one's ethnic background does not occur in any world, real or fictional. Unless there's some novel or play out there that I'm forgetting about.

[JennH]

Posted: 8/25/17 at 11:20am

Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Regarding both Young Anna actresses being white, I had a similar reaction when I saw Chuck Cooper and Michael Xavier play Ben Stone in Prince of Broadway. Honestly, I understand suspension of disbelief, but I couldn't help but chuckle that Ben "grew up and changed ethnicities."

Yes, Frozen features cryokinetic powers, but magic is a commonplace thing in that world. The changing of one's ethnic background does not occur in any world, real or fictional. Unless there's some novel or play out there that I'm forgetting about.

 

"

This is probably the best explanation of this I've seen. I'd even argue that magic isn't all that commonplace for that world considering how afraid people seem to be of Elsa, or maybe it's JUST her and not necessarily magic in general. But as for P of Broadway, considering that's a revue show, and not the actual musical itself, I didn't really care all that much about that as a revues' only purpose on this planet is to pay homage to some famous person through the music and that's it.

[Notreallysilent 2]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 10:13am

I just noticed that they added a performance for march 14th. That was one of the dates open for opening night, so I guess once they decided it was going to be the next week they added a performance. It's a Wednesday at 2 PM, but it has a good amount of seats left. Thought I'd just bring it up for anyone who wants to see it in previews as it's mostly sold out for that first month.

Updated On: 8/26/17 at 10:13 AM

[Sondheimite]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 10:16am

If you can suspend believe enough for talking fvcking snowman that's attached to the pelvis of a man, you can deal with performers of two different races playing one part at various ages.  jfc

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 10:28am

Les Misérables employed young actresses of all races for Young Cosette/Éponine for years, not to mention their adult counterparts. And let's be real: people's problem won't be that Young Anna is white; it'll be that real Anna is black.

Can't wait to see the standbys perform. I'm here for a black Anna and half-Japanese Elsa.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 8/26/17 at 1:20pm

I think the transition from Young Anna to Anna will be fine with the wigs. I would include the outfits but I think she changes outfits (unlike, for instance, Princess Fiona). (Yes, I have not let go of Hans not being a ginger.) 

I'm here for Aisha Jackson too because if I see the show anytime soon it's not going to be with Patti Murin. Though if they don't work out the book problems and their female characters I might not bother. 

Posted: 8/26/17 at 2:11pm

honest question. 

 

Do we really think reviews will matter?

 

"Aladdin" is a sequin pile of cow poo and that's going nowhere. Is anything going to stop the mega train that is "Frozen". I don't doubt the problems, but will ANY of it matter? 

[deltatee]

Posted: 8/27/17 at 11:35am

Saw Frozen last night, and here are my two cents:

I thought it was in pretty decent shape but definitely in need of some work.

The show curtain was actually way cooler than I expected.  It was a projection of the Northern Lights that was surprisingly mesmerizing.

The first 10-15 minutes seemed pretty clunky,  Personally, I loved their use of the hidden folk and thought their costumes were really great.  It felt a lot more grown up than the rock creatures from the movie and added a sense of mystique to the show.

I would not describe the production as minimalistic.  I thought the sets were pretty elaborate and impressive.  They also had some really effective and cool projections.  A lot of the projections reminded me a lot of what they did in An American in Paris.  I thought the way they froze Anna at the end was breathtaking.  The audience definitely agreed and it was the biggest moment of night.  Unfortunately, they went a little ham crazy with the projections at times.  This was particularly evident during LiG and the battle at the ice palace.  They definitely need to tone down those projections and find some other creative ways to depict what is happening.

Let it Go:  pretty anti-climactic honestly.  The staging was really pretty (I want that crystal curtain), but it went overboard with a lot of cheesey projections and didn't have the awe that the rest of the show had.  The audience's response seemed pretty muted also. 

I didn't feel like I was watching the movie or an amusement park production of the show.  It definitely evoked the imagery of the movie with some of they costumes, but it did not feel like it was as much of a literal translation as Beauty and the Beast or Aladdin.  It felt much darker and more mature. 

Finally, Cassie Levy is fierce!!!  Patti Murin is really good and looks pretty young.  The Sven costume is awesome.  And Olaf remains the worst part of the show. I know Disney can't cut him because people apparently like him (count me as an exception), but if they cut him out of the show it would definitely take it to a whole new level.

[kade.ivy]

Posted: 9/3/17 at 1:25pm

Anyone have a Denver opening night date for this? Interested to see reviews...

 

ETA: I see on the Buell webpage that there is a "Frozen Gala" on September 15, so I assume that is the official opening. 

Updated On: 9/3/17 at 01:25 PM

[broadwayboy222]

Posted: 9/3/17 at 2:24pm

Anyone know if Alyssa or Aisha have gone on yet?? 

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 9/4/17 at 1:17am

Anyone know if changes have been made to the show?

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 9/4/17 at 4:49am

I heard that Monster has new lyrics and the kick line in Hygge is shorter. That's it

[rosscoe(au)]

Posted: 9/4/17 at 4:59am

Still sounds like a train wreck 

[Notreallysilent 2]

Posted: 9/4/17 at 10:26am

I have a question but how pre Broadway's work. Besides the reviews the show gets, does Disney talk to the audience members and look for their reactions to see what they should change? Or is everyrhing they change just based on what the people involved with the show see is wrong?