Broadway News: On Tuesday night, a new version of “Frozen” will be playing Broadway.
In a step rare for the industry, Disney Theatrical Productions has opted to make changes to the musical, which has been running on Broadway for close to two years. The major changes, which were adopted from the touring production, include a new duet for lead characters Anna and Elsa in the second act, a trimmed entr’acte number (“Hygge”) and the elimination of Anna’s solo, “True Love.”
11 comments:
Interesting. For a moment I thought there was another adaptation of Frozen but they are only altering the current show on broadway. I must say I do like the sound of the changes being made. I say the show this past September and I agree that the changes they are making to the original broadway show will make for better production. I would be interested to see the edited show and see the new cast. I feel like if this wasn’t a Disney show, I don’t think they would be editing the run of the show (its a much bigger decision than just cutting a sew songs) the technical elements also must be changed for the changes and that cost money (and Disney has that money) I do like to hear that the producers of these shows see the production as “fluid” sometimes the first versions aren’t always the best, and things need to be altered (most of the time our first decisions won’t be the best). I would say that frozen wasn’t my favorite broadway show, it was still entertaining and I enjoyed getting to watch the performers and see the tech.
I really liked the show when I saw on Broadway last year, but these changes do seem like they will be good for the overall show and have the show make a little more sense for Broadway audiences. I think it is really cool that Broadway shows like this are adaptable and that all of the creators are still alive and still able to make the changes to their own work. I guess I never realized that shows on Broadway would change in this way before. I always assumed that once a Broadway show opens it is pretty much the same with maybe some minor changes, and then at the revival, it would change. But for shows as long-running as Lion King, it makes sense to change it 10 years into the run. Broadway audiences now are very different than they were 10 years ago. It seems like the reasons they are changing the show are both to make the show artistically better and to draw more audiences during this election year and the winter, but also it is Disney on Broadway, so like they are doing fine.
This is very interesting. I have never heard of a Broadway production being altered so far after its opening, but I do not think it is the worst idea. It seems unorthodox, but Disney is so commercial that it makes sense. The last thing that Disney wants is for their shows to close. And they have the resources and fan base that they can change their shows and aid their pursuit for a longer run. It does make sense, since their shows usually run for a decade or more. Audiences will change within those long spans of time, so it is really interesting to see how they adapt to that. With this ability comes a huge responsibility. Just because they can change the shows does not necessarily mean that they should, and how much change will they allow? Because in a way they could completely rewrite the show and already have the stage to put it on.
Its so weird to hear about a show changing in this way so long after they opened. I feel like it is interesting and makes a lot of sense since Disney has so much money and such a loyal fan base. I think that overall these changes will be good for the overall production. I think that changing ashow this far in should be more of a normal thing, because shows will never be their absolute best on the first try. Plus, it isn't much more different than adding in a new cast member, becuause you have to teach everyone new tracks in that situation anyway. They recently had a new Hans open on Broadway, and Im sure it was easy for him to nail the changes, since he had no concept of what it was before. Disney is taking over the world and has so much money so I don't see why they shouldn't make changes.
I saw Frozen on Broadway last summer. I think the musical Frozen is one of the best film-to-musical adaptations, in terms of fleshing out the story, adjusting the songs, and using technology behind the magic. Moreover, all the changes mentioned in the article seems to have positive effects on the production. Personally, I am not a big fan of the story, to be honest, because how Anna triggers all the mess annoys me as an older sister a lot. However, I feel how the production is trying to focus on further and deeper relationship between two sisters would help eliminate the irritation. Although two years sounds too short to make changes to the musical, I highly respect the production’s positive attitude to continue polishing the musical. And, above all, Frozen is coming to Japan! It will be staged as the opening repertoire of the new theatre owned by Shiki Theatre Company. I am so excited to see the new version in Japanese!
I was wondering how commonplace a change like this is in the industry, but then I read the article and it said “in a rare step for the industry” and I got my answer. The article makes it clear that these developments have been in the works for a little while, but I am wondering what their motivations were behind it. It says that they wanted to clarify the story, but what led them to this decision? I have no issue with the changes mentioned, but I also have not seen a production of Frozen. The idea of changing something in this way after it is supposed to be in a continuous and unchanging run just seems interesting to me. Is this something that they intend to market? Would fans of the original production be drawn back to see it again with these changes? Was this in response to any confusion expressed by other audiences?
Frozen the musical doesn’t seem to be the most artistically nuanced production on broadway. It is meant to be fun for the whole family, not an intellectual event. It's a crowd-pleaser, so it makes sense it would change as the crowd changes. It also makes sense that they would change it now that Frozen II has come out. With each sequel, there is a challenge of re-branding the characters and surprising the audience. Considering the plot of the second movie wasn’t fully created when the first movie came out, they have the opportunity with the broadway show to frame the musical to fit the second movie better. That opportunity doesn't exist in a movie. They are also encouraging the die-hard Frozen fan-base to go see it a second time. The changes are also from the touring production so they may simply mean people liked touring production significantly better and so they changed the broadway production to be more like the touring production.
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I’ll say it: I’m not a fan of Frozen—never really have, never will be (and I don’t think these new additions to the show will change that). That being said, I think it’s really interesting that Disney opted to change the show while it’s already 2 years into its run. I think the intention stated as implementing changes to further the relationship between the characters is really important, especially in finding more depth (that the movie lacked!). However, I do have a hunch that it’s Disney trying to catch up because they rushed to mount the show on Broadway when it was still as hot as it was. With the tour being launched, they had the chance to pick up where they left off. I do also wonder if these new additions are being added now, because the sequel came out relatively recently, so Frozen is on the minds of parents with younger kids (if they’re in New York on vacation, it’ll be the go-to show). With all the new songs and new cast, I wonder if they’ll release a new cast recording.
I think that Disney would be the only company willing to make changes of this scale and manner to an already running production on Broadway. The changes and updates do make sense, since Disney has so many iterations of the same brand/characters/story running everywhere, from theme parks to Broadway shows to cruise line performances to new movies. I wonder if any of the changes have been influenced by the new Frozen 2 movie that came out last year, or if they were purely new discoveries and workarounds created in the new rehearsal rooms and performances elsewhere. This is an interesting precedent to set with Broadway shows, because typically Disney is incredibly consistent with itself and one of the hallmarks of a typical open ended long running Broadway show is that it runs fundamentally the same no matter who the cast is or how long it’s been open for.
I think that - while not unheard of - the fact that these changes are being made roughly two years from the opening date of the musical is interesting. I do think that there’s some waning interest in “Frozen” from the general public, though there is a definite drive for families with young children, as mentioned in the article, to see the show. I, personally, was never a super huge fan of the plot so I’m glad to see that some of these changes include a slight deviation in the story. From what I know of shows making changes after their opening date, I think that I have always found the changes to be productive. I am glad to see that the narrative is becoming more about the two sisters than just Anna’s romantic adventures with a side helping of Elsa’s personal journey and feminism. Unfortunately, I’m not entirely sure what Disney’s motivations are here other than to keep people interested in the show and to keep the revenue flowing.
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