Frozen or Anastasia!? Or neither? ??

[BroadwayDream2]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 10:03pm

Hello all, I’ve never been into Broadway My first time will be next month and I’m so excited!!!!! It will be a dream come true! I live in another country and I wont have the opportunity to go again any time soon...so I want this to be the best experience!! I’m a sucker for annimated movies, so now I’m between Frozen and Anastasia. Anastasia’s Broadway soundtrack is beautiful, but Frozen is one of my favorites. Which should I choose? Or if you think neither is good, which musical would you recommend (for a first timer)? 

Updated On: 10/29/18 at 10:03 PM

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 10:07pm

Anastasia

[Bwayfan292]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 10:07pm

Anastasia

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 10:14pm

Anastasia Anastasia Anastasia Anastasia 

[dramamama611]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 10:40pm

I was pretty bored at Anastasia, and have no desire to see Frozen....so I'd say neither.

[IloveNYC2]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 11:30pm

dramamama611 said: "I was pretty bored at Anastasia, and have no desire to see Frozen....so I'd say neither."

Have not seen either but Cursed Child?

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 10/29/18 at 11:33pm

Is there no other show you're interested in?

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 12:08am

Neither

But if u have to pick one, choose Anastasia

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 12:41am

Anastasia.

Don't know if you haven't seen any of the other musicals on Broadway. If not, I would go for WICKED or PHANTOM. JMO

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 2:22am

If you MUST pick between these two, Anastasia.

However, being this is not only your first time seeing a musical in New York, but also might be your only time seeing one for a long long time, these are both rather MEH picks to have the honor. If these are the types of things that interest you, I think you're time and money is spent trying to see Wicked which is a significantly better choice when it comes to the spectacle of a Broadway musical. Both Anastasia and Frozen are severely underwhelming in that category. They have moments but overall both are a feeling of they could have been so much better with the set and staging.

[johnmichael]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 3:22am

frozen.

it is an infinitely better crafted, and staged show than the naysayers on here would have you believe. Musically it sounds phenonimal. Caissie and Patti bring whole new life to the characters you think you know. The sets and costumes, are beautiful. Its not a slavish recreation of a movie, its a entirely its own thing, and that is a proper broadway musical.

[Br0adway]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 6:42am

Neither. But if you’re picking from those two, Frozen.

If you’re open to suggestions, I’d say Once On This Island or Wicked. They’re neighbors so maybe do both.

[Anakela]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 9:25am

BroadwayDream2 said: "Hello all, I’ve never been into Broadway My first time will be next month and I’m so excited!!!!! It will be a dream come true! I live in another country and I wont have the opportunity to go again any time soon...so I want this to be the best experience!! I’m a sucker for annimated movies, so now I’m between Frozen and Anastasia.Anastasia’s Broadway soundtrack is beautiful, but Frozen is one of my favorites. Which should I choose? Or if you think neither is good, which musicalwould you recommend (for a first timer)?"


I always despise these kinds of 'which should I choose, A or B?' 'I vote C' replies to these questions, but for a Broadway first-timer, spectacle, animated films lover, etc., I'd send you to The Lion King over either of these. 

[Michelle Birnbaum]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 9:44am

Lion King!

[52889j]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 10:08am

Frozen by a long shot. I don’t want for your first Broadway show to be 3 hours of projections.

Updated On: 10/30/18 at 10:08 AM

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 10:49am

Anastasia, absolutely. Both shows suffer from an overlong first act, but to me, Frozen felt more like "here's this blockbuster movie, how can we make it as similar as possible and just add padding?" whereas Anastasia felt like it actively tried to tell its own story separate from its movie. You say Frozen (I'm assuming the movie) is one of your favorites, so frankly, I'd say just watch the Frozen movie again because I also loved the Frozen movie and found the musical incredibly disappointing. I also loved Anastasia the movie growing up and absolutely adore the musical version, despite its imperfections. 

If you end up choosing neither, I'd say Wicked. Like both of these shows, it's a fairytale-tinged show with strong female leads and big production values.

[GreeneStreet]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 12:07pm

If you have not seen Wicked or Lion King, I would go for those, they may be “touristy” shows but they are a great intro to broadway.

[Catsbroadwayfan]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 12:21pm

Neither.

But if you HAD to choose, Frozen.

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 1:17pm

I'm gonna say Wicked. It's the best introduction to Broadway and this cast is the best they ever had...IMO.

[MadsonMelo]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 1:21pm

I would agree that if u are open, Wicked is the best enter for a Broadway show.

Has the spectacle side and the singing side with a well crafted production.

Also, unlike other leads in other shows, Jessica will be there to blown ur away!

[downhillskier]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 5:10pm

WICKED Period!

In my opinion, Nothing else compares for a 1st visit to Broadway!  Nothing else compares period!

Anastasia was nice, and  I haven't been impressed by the clips I have seen of Frozen. Stick with the animated versions.

Lion King would be a good choice for a second show.

[HumanHeart]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 8:25pm

Hello! Long time lurker here. I actually made an account just to answer this question. 

I loved the Anastasia movie. I've been going to Broadway shows ever since I was a little kid (around age 5-6 is when I started) and the movie was out by then. The Broadway version came out after I had hoped for it to come to Broadway for nearly twenty years. 

Did it live up to my nearly 20 years of waiting and hoping for? Nah.

I had no issue with them making it more historically accurate by taking zombie Rasputin out of the picture. It was just lacking something. I was sorely let down by "Once Upon a December" because I was expecting it to be very lavish and grand. There's one scene where I got very motion sick (the train ride - which didn't even really look like a train... at all). The costumes are very grand but the tone of the music is very different from the movie's tone. I had seen 11 Broadway shows in a visit last year and Anastasia honestly wasn't anywhere near my top 5, even though I had waited for it to come to Broadway for nearly two decades. 

That being said, there are people on the board who will disagree with me and will argue that it's amazing. 

I, like everyone else, suggest Wicked as a first time show. Wicked is incredible. I've seen over 200 shows now, both on Broadway and on tour, and Wicked is always a show I go out of my way to see if it comes anywhere near me on tour or when I'm in NYC. 

I'd also suggest Once on this Island, but, it's a short 90 minute show. Ideally, if you could go on a matinee day, that has one show in the afternoon and one in the evening, I can't imagine a better first time Broadway experience than seeing Wicked and Once on this Island in one day. 

Updated On: 10/30/18 at 08:25 PM

[Itonlytakesajourney]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 9:12pm

I know Anastasia is one of this board’s hated shows, but I personally think it’s a great introduction to Broadway. The story is sweeping, the production values are grand, the score is quite good, and the leads are very talented. For all of its pacing issues and vague writing, it’s very entertaining; I’d rather stare at atmospheric projections than LED snowflakes anticipating a castle when there is none.

Another option would be Wicked or OOTI. Both are fairytales with eye candy everywhere (sets, costumes, among others) and amazing performances by everyone in the cast. They’re also neighbors, so maybe see them both.

[rbredheed]

Posted: 10/30/18 at 10:56pm

1st vote to neither, 2nd vote to Frozen. Avoid Anastasia at all costs.

[HumanHeart]

Posted: 10/31/18 at 1:54am

I also forgot to add that Once on this Island is very much heavily based off of the original "The Little Mermaid" story! There are no mermaids, but, the story is similar. Keep in mind that I said the original story... not the Disney version.

So, Once on this Island is definitely something I think you'd love. It has a VERY strong animated movie vibe, even though it's not. Really wish someone would animate it and turn it into a movie, though!

Once on this Island, Wicked, or The Lion King would be AMAZING. 

For your first show, I'd suggest Wicked or The Lion King, and if you could do another show on a matinee day, I'd strongly suggest Once on this Island. 

For one, Once on this Island is an experience you can only get in NYC in Circle in the Square theatre. Even after the Broadway production closes and the show goes on a US tour (I know you don't live in America, I'm just making a point here), the show still won't be the same on a national tour as it is on Broadway. Circle in the Square is an arena style 360 degree theatre and there is no "stage", just a giant sand pit. It's quite incredible!

I am so sorry that everyone has strayed far away from your original two top choices. I didn't hate Anastasia by any means, but, it had a number of flaws. The backgrounds are pretty much nothing but projections. Some scenes are very underwhelming, as well. It didn't have the same tone as the movie or the same pacing. The pacing is completely different. The timeline of events that happened in the movie vs how they happened in the musical is so different. For example, "Once Upon a December" in the movie happened at the abandoned palace and that's when Anya met Dimitri. In the Broadway version, Anya and Dimitri already know one another and they're sort of just standing against a projection of a random outside street, when Anya just goes into song in the middle of a street, with Dimitri watching her, and then "Once Upon a December" unfolds before you. There were a lot of instances like this where everything happens so out of order from the movie and it just feels very scrambled. 

That being said, though, I stand by my recommendation of Wicked as a first show or The Lion King, and maybe squeeze in Once on this Island if you have the time. I don't think you'd regret it by any means.