Saw this last night. I liked it, I had a good time. Was sad I was missing the GHD final performance especially since I scheduled this trip before they announced the closing, and the comments on BWW about Frozen have been rather scathing. I've been trying to keep an open mind to form some of my own opinions, and here they are as seen from row E of the center orchestra (Spoiler Alert for details below):
The Good:
-This was not simply the movie on stage and I appreciated that. More than half of it felt new or reinvented. They changed some lyrics too and moved things around. Perhaps it's just a bi-product result but it felt like this was done on purpose to avoid the show becoming one giant sing-a-long, which I greatly appreciated.
-Young Anna had the audience eating out of her palm right away. She had some timing issues but was overall adorable.
-Loved when they built Olaf in the bedroom out of some toys. He looked so cute there...
-Caissie- Wow. Slay, queen. Her vocals were effortless.
-Patty- Vocals weren't strong at first but got better. The added comedic lines were really good. Mostly given to Anna, she is even more quirky and became more lovable than in the movie. She reminded me of Amy Adams.
-Hans: Best male voice in the show. Effortless.
-Kristoff: Eh. His voice was nice but his lines felt rushed and his comedic timing was way off. He didn't get any laughs as a result.
-Sven: The audience favorite. He looked great. Was sad he couldn't show his face for curtain call, it looks like a really tough roll to walk around like that and should be recognized for it.
-"The Dress/The Curtain"- Stunning. Both sparkled in a way that wouldn't translate in bootlegs. There is a hole in the curtain though and she should be lifted during Let it Go to be in the center of that hole. No excuses. She must be lifted.
-I can't stand the trolls or "Fixer Upper" in the movie, but the main Mountain Folk woman did a great job on this song.
-That last line of "Let it Go". So glad they went opposite from the movie on that.
The Bad:
-That stage felt small, ya'll. I couldn't believe how tiny it was, and the venue was huge. I can't imagine what it would have felt like to have been in the mezz let alone the balcony at the Buell for this. The stage also felt very constricted width-wise. I think on Broadway when they extend the structure framing the stage out as part of the theater that will help (I hope they do this). Just some columns on either side was massively boring.
-Perhaps this wasn't a crowd that is used to attending theater, but the amount of adults talking to each other was infuriating. I was in the most expensive seats and the yokels around me could not shut up. The kids were mostly fine, some talking and restlessness to be expected. The kids calmed down more in the 2nd act, I couldn't tell if it was because they were asleep or bored. To be fair, it was after 9pm on a Sunday. I've never seen so many booster seats... bway better put more on order.
-Elsa's braid was on the wrong side. Come on. Why change that just to be different? No one else would probably notice that but me but it annoyed me.
-When Anna was frozen you could see her brown wig under her white one and you could see Elsa's hand pulling the wig off when she thawed. Yikes.
The Ugly:
-Olaf. Ugh. The puppet itself was so. Dang. Ugly. And I love Olaf from the movie. The actor who played him was super distracting with the blush on his cheeks and stupid ball on his hat. Just no. My lasting impression was they should just cut Olaf altogether if they can't get him to look as cool as Sven, but maybe they should just cut and sell a few strands of that Curtain to put toward him. And put that actor in all black.
-I couldn't stop staring at the main Mountain Folk guy's crotch. The costume really bulged there and was distracting. Also get rid of the tails on the Mountain Folk. They looked out of place.
-The sauna dance wasn't as bad or as long as I expected. The audience laughed, but this goes in the ugly category for me. This at least should have been a tap dance number?
-That bridge that looked cool in photos? Not so much in person. It looked like Saran Wrap and Press N Seal wrapped around wired. Any ice or icicles in this show looked cheap, cheap, cheap.
Saving the best for last:
-"Love is an Open Door" was really cute with some added choreography. Funny and charming.
-"Colder by the Minute"- WOW. Why couldn't the whole show have been done like this?! Stunning.
Conclusion: This is no disaster, but they have work to do. Looking forward to seeing changes in February.
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