I Saw Frozen the Musical!
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- Опубліковано 2 жов 2024
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Begins the video by saying he won't talk about the "Disney Machine." Spends the rest of the video talking about the "Disney Machine." Ugh. I'm the worst. Watch this. It's about Frozen.
Frozen
Music & Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez
Book by Jennifer Lee
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If you're reading THIS comment below with how many times you've heard a middle-schooler sing "Let it Go" - that's how I'll know you read this far. 😉 Thanks for watching!
Oh, and would you click that like button? Love you forever. - Розваги
The trolls? You mean 'plot rocks'?
I think he might have been confused because they aren't being called trolls in the stage version. They have some other name.
Zach T Rock Smurfs!
Is he calling Grandpabbie, the ancient rock troll, "Rafiki" ?🤔
When musical theatre mash uploads my life span is lengthened, my skin clears, and my crops grow.
Laurel Morgan so you turn into daisy Gamble ?
Why can't you like more than once? ToT
Shouldn't his name be...
Rock-fiki?
tttrevor ttturner *grrrroooaaaaaan*
GET OUT
just kidding I love it
Grandpabbie?
They should've put Hunchback on Broadway instead. I'm still salty that they took a beautiful score, an amazing cast, and a heartbreaking and heartwarming story and shit all over it by teasing us like, "oh yeah, let's put this on an amazing two coast tryout and then say oh yeah we are coming to Broadway soon," and then rip everyone's hearts out by just replacing an extremely relevant story and score with a money grabbing shit show that Disney didn't really have to give much thought to because it would've made money even if it was a low budget, tin can lights in a run down roach motel theater. I like Frozen, but it is so overblown and overdone. I'm done 😩 BRING HUNCHBACK TO BROADWAY.
Stephanie Conklin Thank you, somebody said it! I saw it in the Paper Mill Playhouse. It is the best musical I have ever seen. And I have seen 27 Broadway Musicals!
Nolan Maggio I only watched the bootleg because I live in Australia, but it was even amazing in the bootleg I've never been so blown away by a musical.
I'm sorry you didn't get to see Hunchback. A regional theater near me did the Broadway production and it was glorious. You may or may not find the full show on a certain tube for you and I highly recommend you watch it immediately. Papermill version rather than La Jolla.
I think they're launching a tour for Hunchback....
Stephanie Conklin I couldn't agree with you more! Hunchback has one of the most beautiful scores I have ever listened to and its story is just amazing. I have read in multiple places that the reason it never went to Broadway was because they didn't want to pay all the members of the choir. In addition to the main characters and the ensemble actors in the show there was a "church" choir I guess you can compare it to because the score definitely will not be done justice if it doesn't have that big, full sound. Going to Broadway would mean they would have to pay all those excess singers and they didn't want to do that.
I'd love it if you'd make a video talking about The Great Comet (again)! there's so much to adress about it and the fanbase has really grown since you last spoke about it. Let's keep that magical thing alive! :)
w PLEASE
I'm very interested in seeing how this Broadway season turns out. SpongeBob, Mean Girls, Frozen... so many franchise musicals alongside long-running hits like Hamilton, Waitress, Dear Evan Hansen, and Come From Away. (Still sad about Great Comet and Groundhog Day, though.)
Ariella Kahan-Harth It will be interesting to see how The Band's Visit fairs in this highly commercialized season. It could be a breath of fresh air, or it could just drowned out by all of these mega-franchise musicals.
Fun fact: the spongebob musical was on broadway in Chicago like a year ago and I saw it and it doesn't suck so yeaaaaahhhhhhhh
imalreadysorry I see it too and while it doesn’t suck it wasn’t great either. Found it to be mediocre at best. But to each his own, I definitley see why people like it and I see why people hate it.
@@Broadway_Ben It actually won the Tony awards.
I'm glad you mentioned the three act versus two act problem that the musical has. That was one of the first concerns I had about the show when I first heard they would be making it into a Broadway musical.
That three-act vs. two-act thing seems odd to me. Act I of musicals is the longer of the two, yet apparently stage Frozen has the movie's acts II and III in its Act II. Wouldn't it have made more sense for stage Act I to contain Acts I and II of the movie? From a narrative perspective, it seems to make sense, and you'd have less padding to worry about. Maybe throw some of the movie's Act II into stage Act II for good measure.
I feel like your conspiracy theory is probably right. There's no danger for them to hold off - it's not like they're working hard to transfer. This review makes me far more excited to see and examine the show than I was before! Glad you're back 😊
Also, in terms of Tony season, I think we should treat it like any other adaptation. View it knowing it was adapted, and if we're familiar with the source material (which we are), compare the two, but not too critically. Theatre blinders is probably the best way to put it, but perhaps not to the extent you described of viewing it as a wholly new entity.
On the other hand, with Aladdin they finished previews without having a good, working flying carpet, so...
True, but that wasn't an element that was totally missing - just not yet up to par.
It could be that the illusions they want to do for Broadway just aren’t ready yet.
I Agree, it could also be that the stage might have to be considerably adapted to do these illusions... Which would make sense to hold their funds to o it to the actual theater. I believe Wicked did this with Defying Gravity actually. I seem to remember watching a documentary where they were saying the try out stage just simply was not equipped space wise to do the show the way the creators envisioned the final.
Also, while the costumes were GORGEOUS, they were all almost exact recreations from the movie, which I found super disappointing. I am all for giving each character one of their iconic outfits, but all the costumes for me felt very much "lets just make the movie, but on stage" and very theme-parky.
Ben Lebofsky I thought the costumes were a lot different from the movie. The colors and silhouettes were the same. But the patterns were completely different. I thought they shouldn't change this because their dress patterns are iconic and recognizable.
Peter Pan Skywalker, Jedi Master I'm all for keeping the iconic costumes, it just makes sense. But certain ones like the one Hans wears when he is handing out blankets, just felt like unnecessarily close to the movie's you know? Like no one is going to be like "Omg I can't believe they changed Han's outfit when he is handing out blankets." And don't get me wrong, I LOVED the costumes, they were stunning and I loved the way they combined movie costumes with traditional garments and patterns of that region. I just wish there were a bit more deviation to make it stand apart from it movie and theme park iterations, because they all felt like largely recreations or heavily inspired by the movie costumes. I did however love Anna's new costume that she wears in Act 1. Thought that was a great addition and wish they had done more of that.
Just dealt with a pretty crappy role rejection (A Chorus Line). Watching this guy made me remember my love for theater when it temporarily escaped me. Thanks
Asummersdaydreamer14 Thanks, that's really helpful. Every time I get rejected I go crazy looking for another audition, so hopefully that works out.
It be like that in theatre.
Don't give up, your art contribution matters.
I’m going to see Mean Girls the musical in November in DC before it goes to broadway. I know exactly what you are talking about.
This narrative dissonance you're describing reminds me a lot of the issues I have with Wicked. Like, someone's mourning the death of a family member, and then there's a joke and a humorous catfight. Side-note that's related, I think the only solution to the Let it Go problem would be to write another Act 1 Finale song that you know for 100% certain is going to be a better song. Usually, I would say "that's at least as good", like with "The Wizard and I" and "Defying Gravity", but the difference is that no one but theater nerds went into Wicked knowing either of those songs, so Schwartz didn't have to outdo himself in the same way. Contrastingly, like you said, a whole lot of people go into Frozen thinking Let it Go is the best song of the decade, so any Act 1 Finale song that wasn't Let it Go would have to be a guaranteed knock out of the park.
It seemed to me like he was saying that the problem with Let It Go in the stage adaptation was the lack of props / stecial effects / spectacle related to her using her powers; not the song itself being there.
I think Hunchback of Notre Dame Musical would be better for challenging audiences! I loved the ideas of the Broadway version of Anastasia for nixing the magic and showing what it was like in Communist Russia in the late 1920's. The villain is a Bolshevik soldier who has a tragic past and a Javert like passion to pursue the lost Russian Grand Duchess. They add more songs but keeps all the good songs we remember! This was not the movie put on stage, but new and different and challenging! I desperately want to see it!
There is a fabulous stage version of Disney's Hunchback. I hope this link works.
ua-cam.com/video/VIoxqM4loNw/v-deo.html
nut the La Jolla an the Papermill Playhouse isn't going to Broadway.
"The mossy stone people" ...do you mean the trolls?
Tierney Banco They aren't using the trolls in the show, it's another set of mythical beings.
I think your dichotomy is slightly false, I think it really just comes down to what creatives they pick. I think that Lion King has reached the level it has because of the inherent problem of putting animals onstage. Because Julie Taymor knew just how to handle it, it is what it is today. They tried to replicate this magic with their directing/design choices for Tarzan and Mermaid but fell short. I think Der Gloeckner worked so well because they went all out on a new book writer who turned that show into something new. Newsies worked for me because they wrote as straight-up a musical as you could imagine. I think that they really fail when they try to replicate the Lion King success on shows that need a different strategy.
nicoleloveswalt you just nailed it dude, you are absolutely right
nicoleloveswalt GENIUS
I've always wondered how the creation of Frozen the Musical will come out bringing the animation to the stage! Hopefully they build off of what they have and create something even better!!! Sounds like it has potential (Still waiting on Sister Act the Musical show of the week lol)
Totally agree with you on how Disney does broadway. I as well am not a fan of "theme park" version.
I remember seeing the Lion King the musical when I was a youngling. I was, and still am today, blown away by the theatrics and grandness of it all. Some things separate Aladdin from Lion King in production
(1) Aladdin was put on Broadway in 2011, long after its hype died down. Lion King was put on Broadway in 1997, while the Disney Renaissance was still in full swing. Riding off this hype helped it getting into people's minds early.
(2) Lion King starred animals so the production had to find a creative way of making you see animals and the actors without them being in furry suits. So the costume designer took inspiration from the African culture (masks, traditional garb, etc) and some other ideas like kabuki theater puppets, to make an experience that was different from The Lion King movie. It made you feel like a traditional African story was being told. Aladdin was flashy and paid very little to the source's source (the Arabic culture) except in one-off jokes. It felt like you were watching a live action movie rather than experiencing a new show.
(3) Also Aladdin took all the fun side-kicks out or turned them human. Abu and Rajah are gone and replaced by human posses for Aladdin and Jasmine. They could have easily make them puppets like they did for Lion King. Iago is also replaced by a human but of the same name.
Honestly, those things are what really change the shows for me to make me love one and try to pretend the other doesn't exist. Frozen should do what Lion King did and take inspiration from Nordic culture and their way of storytelling into the musical to make it stand apart from the movie.
(Also if you want to see someone make fun of Disney using Aladdin, then check out Twisted by Starkidpotter here on UA-cam. Its like Wicked where its all from Jafar's prospective. Its great and has some catchy Disney-esc songs and a lot of curse words.)
I saw Hood the musical adventure (look it up) and I hope it goes on to more places because i’d love to see your review on it!!
Anthony Morehead Hood was amazing!!
In the out-of-town tryouts of Aladdin, his 3 friends (babkak Omar and kaseem) narrated the show and opened/closed it. The 3 sang comical arranged versions of Arabian nights. When it opened on Bway, those Arabian Nights reprises were cut along with the boys' narration. And Genie now sings Arabian nights. So what I'm saying is, the moss-people narration will probably be cut
I believe that they did a good job taking the narration out of these musicals because it makes it boring.
OMG ARE YOU SERIOUS??? THAT SOUNDS AWFULL!! glad they cut it, I saw aladdin with the obc and arabian nights just gave me the CHILLS, It was the best song translated to stage version by far
kchrules yeah agreed with the other comments, Arabian nights was a highlight for me so I'm glad they cut the narration!
Not gonna lie id love to see that. Babkak, Kassim and omar are my life
It’s a cautionary tale...
Having seen Frozen touring production in 2019, I am very happy about the things they changed.
Sigh these tix are gonna be like $350 even on tour. No way will I be able to see it.
Nardo218 x it'll probably be on UA-cam a few weeks after the premiere with a title like "this is not a musical about an icequeen, what even is snow?" and it won't be like seeing it live but at least you saw it.
Living Broadway Trashcan is a savior
lou mertens That is exactly what happened with Bette in Dolly. It popped up one evening so I stayed up and watched thinking it wouldn't be there for long. Sure enough it was pulled the very next day. So fingers crossed!
Is that a youtube channel? Boots are getting really good thanks to fancy iphone cameras. :)
lol, yes. I'm very thankful for yt's brave and valiant bootleggers. i wish broadway would cotton on to the idea that they would make a ton of money professionally filming plays and charging the internet to watch them. They do it in england with the RSC and the Old Vic, charge 15 pounds, and make money worldwide.
That Act 1 padding issue is what made Beauty & the Beast only very good instead of amazing. It's a bummer to see that issue continue. (Edit: Beauty & the Beast and Lion King were on Broadway about 3 and 5 years after film release respectively, too.)
i saw Aladdin's obc and it was amazing. and i thought there was a kind of new thing, the theatre is so different than the movie. Aladdin had amazing dance numbers and songs that translated really well to the stage. and i'm actually looking forward to frozen because i think it has a lot of potential
Something Official he is kind of harsh on Aladdin, which I actually thought is one of Disney's strongest endeavors (4th behind Lion King, Mary Poppins and BATB for me). I think they did a great job keeping all the things we wanted to see from the movie while still making something new for the theater. I was so skeptical about turning that movie into a stage show but I thought they really killed it in execution. Unlike with Frozen, the new songs are all great and I especially love Proud of Your Boy. The only thing I didn't really love was the finale, but to be fair the finale of the movie is crazy so I kind of get it.
I saw aladdin with the obc too, I LOVED the cast (I mean JMI is a BEAST) but I was dissapointed, out of the new songs only 1 was memorable (proud of your boy, which was written by Howard Ashman before the movie came out so I don't think it counts as a new song) It also doesn't try to expand on the characters minds/ feelings (except maybe aladdin with proud of your boy, but then again it is not a new song so therefore it's not much of an expansion, its more of an addition) and the ending was extremely, extremely disapointing, I mean I get that the ending is insane but even shreck the musical had a dragon puppet, idk I thin they could have gotten way more creative with it, I mean I loved the show, and I had a great time, but I feel like it is more like a spectacle, rather than being a challenging artistic piece, It's not like with newsies or Lion king where the new content feels like expansion, It's more like little mermaid or beauty and the beast where the additions feel like additions. But hey everyone has different tastes, and I would be lying if I love me some marketing produced disney spectacle broadway shows
12345 Nltsaaegcj oh yeah there were definitely moments that it could have been better. i just think that as a whole it was well put together and the casts did a great job. i love artistic pieces that are different and new, but sometimes you just want to be entertained and i think Aladdin did very well with that
Something Official totally agree, specially when the story is already amazing, you just want a good ol nostalgia trip
12345 Nltsaaegcj i disagree I love all the additions Babkak Kassim and Omar all are such good character's. And I love the songs they had it. Ive been singing High adventure everyday since ive seen it. Also a million miles away added so much to Jasim and aladdin for me at least
This was so interesting! Thank you!
Can't wait to see a bootl... I mean an officially released version, professionally filmed :)))
What Mossy-Stone-People? There are Mossy-Stone-People? In Frozen? Okay, they are not important, if you can't remember them, right?
They're Trolls
I wouldn't say that the Broadway version of Aladdin is a recreation of the animated film. They went back to Howard Ashman's original vision by presenting it as an old-fashion musical comedy with the Genie as this Cab Calloway/Fatz Waller type of person.
18:56 I'd just like to note both Beauty and the Beast and Lion King came to Broadway really quickly while people were still super hyped about them. I don't see how Frozen is that different it's been about three years now.
Hello my friend, I have a musical recommendation for you! It’s called Bare. It’s absolutely fantastic. The story circles around two lovers who are at a catholic boarding school, where love is forbidden, and they have to stay secret. So many other things happen, someone gets pregnant, someone ODs, I don’t know. But it’s fantastic
ua-cam.com/video/VPB5aVXnEjs/v-deo.html :D tada
Both of my musical theatre UA-cam senpais were in my state, without my knowledge.
i think the fact that the songs are known could be treated like american idiot, whereas they're mostly not new songs but 1) they're new to the tonys and 2) there's new orchestrations and staging and such, so it's like it's brand new.. especially if it goes the lion king route, i feel like it could really be treated as a new musical. it's not like it's a revival
I 🥶Loved the ‘Let it go “ number 💎
As a matter of fact the only thing I remember about the Whole Show was Elsa’s Magical Dress Transformation ❄️ I’d go to see
The show again just for That ! 💙
Not sure what memorable number in Act 2 that amazed you ? 🧊
Title: "I Saw Frozen the Musical!"
Me: And it must have sucked balls, considering you made a video about it.
Just kidding. I'm new to your channel so please don't kill me.
god i would love to hear you talk about hadestown
Does anyone know of any youtube personalities or channels that review london/uk musicals and/or theatre. My knowledge is becoming very america-centric, but i live in london! Would love any recommendations!
Frozen broadway: comes out like 4-5 years after the movie
The lion king: out on broadway like only 2 years after the movie
Musical Theatre Mash: “Disney has never jumped the gun on getting something to broadway so quickly”
tangled is a much better musical to be adapted to broadway. it should have been made into a musical waaaaayyyyyyyy before frozen. also hunchback definitely needed to be put back on broadway instead of frozen.
With Disney Broadway musicals, would beauty and the beast be lion king style? Aladdin way? Or somewhere in the middle
Jimmy Wallace I'd say Aladdin they don't really change much the musical is practically the movie.
Laurel Morgan I was in Beauty and the Beast and it wasn't quite an Aladdin type show. There was a lot of change, but it wasn't really all the artistic.
Somewhere in the middle, I think. There were plenty of changes (most notably the addition of the beautiful If I Can't Love Her) but a lot of it was the same too. It was somewhat artsy, but not too much.
Kaija Schmauss I have to agree with you. Also a lot of the throw away characters got larger parts like the Silly Girls and Monsieur D'arque.
But Lion King truly didn't change much either story wise. Yes the have a nice design but the story is still pretty much scene for scene the Disney movie. Personally I'd say Aladdin changed more when it comes to story with taking out Abu and switch to the three friends and making Iago human.
I have yet to hear a middle-schooler sing "Let it Go", but I have heard preschoolers do it. Many many times...
But Katherine Steele said they weren't even trolls.
Frozen The Musical!!??
Aladdin the musical was very different from the movie. It had the basic plot but they added characters and songs and different plot points. It's not just a recreation.
I CAME AS SOON AS I HEARD
Cecelia Olszewski angelicaaaa....
Cecelia Olszewski ALL THE WAY FROM LONDON?
Damn
I am still thoroughly pissed that "Frozen Heart" is not in the stage musical
Whattt????
Yeah, the song was taken out of the musical. I am not happy.
It wasnt really a relevant song tbh
They! Kept! The thing with the Mom! And the Mountain People! Which! YES!!
I really like videos like this! Almost like the show of the week but you go more in depth, I really like knowing all the info I can
I would like Frozen to be at par with Wicked in terms of depth of plot development, probably because Cassie Levy was Elphaba and her standby was also Elphaba, Idina was also Elphaba, but the musical kinda felt short of how it was written in the novel, but it turned out to be ok. I would expect let it go to close act I or they have to write another song that is almost as great as let it go - kinda like "the wizard and I" in Wicked, and Let it go would be the defying gravity counterpart, probably because they emerge as a brand new woman sort of thing. I don't even know why I feel like comparing this show to Wicked.
but there are several 3 act stage productions out there. why wouldn't they just give it 3 acts?
Averybindups children can't pay attention for two acts the best in my experience. Three wouldn't be the best. Frozen is a musical with a child demographic.
I. Remember this video and your really valid issues... Are u going to see the new one
i saw frozen on b'way last evening. everyone was spot on - the singing acting awesome.
DUDE SEE CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY ON BROADWAY (possibly get me free tickets cause I can't afford it for Crap COUGH COUGH)
I hope your theory is right. I saw a clip and it was very overwhelming.
I really do think that Frozen has potential to be a great show and I've been very hyped about it. I really hope that it will be successful because the cast is amazing
When I saw the movie, I could tell immediately Frozen was written for Broadway. They were probably written at the Same time
I saw this musical on opening night and lol, they had technical difficulties
do you have a video on your favorite act one closers?? because I'd love to see that!
So, are we getting our first video for Sondheim September soon, or what?
I really don't like Frozen very much, so I'm not sure if I would see the musical version. I appreciate your review nonetheless!!
Sarah Jackman
Frozen's plot is weak as hell, and the characters are insufferably flat, so they'll need to really change A LOT for it to be an actually good piece of theatre.
Liz Harper: Re- Imagination For sure! That was one of the main reasons why I didn't like it, the characters were so flat and boring I didn't care haha! I hope they make some good changes!
Sarah Jackman I'm of the opinion that Frozen is quite overrated. However I saw the musical today and I was honestly blown away. I was surprised by how emotional it made me. It was so much better than the movie.
HOW DARE YOU ALL???!!! (But that's just my opinion; you're entitled to yours...) ☹☹☹
@@Thiti2000the2ndChannel Not you. We're good.
Question: did they fix prince Hans? Because his plan made no sense I the movie and it just felt like they lazily switched the villain from Elsa to Hans mid-production
Letícia Evelyn
This whole PLOT needs a huge overhaul before hitting the Broadway Theatre. It's a god awful plot, and not very coherent. The characters are flat like pancakes, therefore making it very difficult to pull a good performance. Here's to hoping they improve.
Letícia Evelyn actually, that's exactly what they did with Hans. I'm sure he existed, but Elsa was the villain, and it's interesting when you watch the deleted scenes. The trailers showed a villain scene with her in it.
I hope they developed him in a new way, I'd love to see him grow into this villain.
Letícia Evelyn You both. I like you both. But from what I've heard he's still the same flat-as-pancake, wast of a villain as ever was. He doesn't even have to be the typical Disney "Muahahabab take over the world" villain, I've never seen him that way, I always thought there was more to him than that, but it seems we're just getting a production that a mix of the DCA and DCL productions.
i think they make hans just a bit more believable as someone anna would fall for tbh. he has an EXCESSIVE amount of exposition songs. they did well with making him more awkward and more of a person, but he also has, like, 3 songs about how he's the 13th brother. in a way that even if you didn't see the movie, you'd know what was going to happen from the start. there's more buildup but i can't really say it was executed in the best way.
I like Andy's explanation. Exposition is one thing, but every song added for him are all titled the same thing and are just reprise's of the first one. it's TOO much exposition for one character. He's the 13th and youngest brother...ok and? He sings it again. Ok, AND? Like, no real depth.
~Let it Go Stats~
Middle schoolers: probably hundreds.
High schoolers: infinite.
Won't you cover Leonard Bernstein? His centenary is just around the corner.
Wonderful insight! Towards the end of your video, you mention this possibly being the fastest Disney has brought a film to the stage. It is certainly the fastest within the last decade or so, but both Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King were adapted and brought to Broadway faster (less than 4 years). What's interesting is that BatB was basically a slavish recreation of the film, while TLK took the time to really figure out how to make it work theatrically and it sounds like this production is caught in between. Hoping it comes to together as the potential is there!
So I also so Frozen and you did a great job expressing a lot of my same feelings. Also something you didnt mention, but I fee like should be, is the cast is all phenomenal, especially Caissie and Patti as Anna and Elsa. I found the guy playing Kristoff to be a bit wooden (but tbf the character is a bit wooden) and Hans made some choices I didn't totally love, but I still liked the performances and I think they will only get better and more neuanced as the show moves to Broadway. I actually really didn't like any of the new songs (save for Elsa's act 2 solo), they just all felt uninspired and like they were written because Disney told the Lopezes to write a song for this moment, not because the Lopezes actually felt there should be a song there. They were servicable for sure, but I didnt leave remembering any of them. The one place we really disagree is the Act 2 opener, I absolutely hated it and thought it was painful to watch. I just found myself constantly thinking "what is going on?" and it really felt like it was only there because that character is in the movie. Hoping it gets cut or completely restaged for Broadway. I did however love the creativity used in the reprise in front of the curtain, that to me was great but I won't be surprised if Disney cuts it just because it is a bit risqué. Other than that I think we pretty much agree on everything. I loved your analysis on the two competeing ideas in the show, because it really put into words what I was struggling with while watching the show. It is also important to note that Michael Grandage came to the project late, after Disney gave Alex Timbers the boot, which could explain why the project feels a bit half-baked. I wonder how many of these great theatrical moments are left over from the Timbers version, a lot of them felt right out of his playbook. Could also account for the 2 competeing visions for the show. How I wish we could see Alex Timber's full version, he is one of my favorite directors working today.
What happened to to this channel? I miss these videos.
Spongebob, frozen and mean girls, this is going to be a very commercial season...
I am a grown-ass man and it's Friday night, but I just spent 22 minutes watching a video about a musical for little girls just because it was from Tommy and I like "hanging out" with Tommy. What am I doing with my life?
stormbob nah man, anything for little girls is a lie. Enjoy what you like brother!
Little girls don't have a monopoly on anything. Like frozen, like tommy. Like what you like, bruv.
You’re so right. Pabbie’s role as the narrator got cut but not Elsa and Anna’s Mum calling out to the Hidden Folk... because that actually alludes to the fact that... SPOILER! The Mum is part of the Hidden Folk. I interviewed Pabbie (Tim Hughes) on my channel if you are interested to dig deeper.
"Mossy stone people" Lol. The reason no one remembers them is because they didn't make any sense in the movie, and they were entirely unnecessary. I'm not a Frozen fan.
goodsie The reason he says this in this video is cuz in the movie they were trolls but in the show they are not considered trolls, more of mythical mossy people. Idk why they changed tht.
Actually, without thier presense, the explination about Magic's effect on the Heart or Mind, the healing of Anna, and the potential for Elsa's power to be a potential danger wouldn't be there. No, there isn't any other way to handle these explinations, because they are the only one's who have that knowledge. I mean you can re-write it and eliminate them. But everybody will go "This isn't Frozen...."
They changed it because they can't readily replicate the Trolls as seen in the movie. Any attempt to match the look of the movie will be overly cartoonish, plus they can't easily make them turn into boulders and back . They also now don't have to provide you the whole clan like the movie. Gran'Papi would be sufficient, at least until "Fixer-upper", even then you could play with it like voices for the clan and Gran'Papi does the action.....
Yup! Totally agree with Disney on Broadway. The Lion King, and even the original Beauty and the Beast production were amazing! Now it's a lot of 2D shows put on. Sort of annoying, considering they even 2D-ed recent productions of Beauty and the Beast. Too bad.
So disappointed to learn about Let It Go. When I first heard they were putting Frozen on Broadway, I just rubbed my hands together and thought, "Imagine all of the money and great minds of Disney working together to create the greatest spectacle Broadway has ever seen, and that will be the creation of the palace in Let It Go." You'd think that would be their number 1 priority...
3:27 holupholup HOLD THE FUCK UP. ALADDIN IS NOT A THEMEPARK MUSICAL!!!! It's so freaking good! I'm a fan of you, but I can't agree with you on that. Little Mermaid was 1,000% a themepark musical tho lel
I know it has felt faster, but it was about the same if not less- for Beauty and the Beast (1991 movie/1995 Broadway) and The Lion King (1994 movie/1997 Broadway). Frozen was released in 2013... maybe it just has been more present because Disney has capitalized like crazy on it all this time :P
What I hope to get out of Frozen is not a recreation of the movie, but a piece of musical theatre. I can't say right now if I'm gonna love it or hate it or maybe something in between, but I'm not gonna lower my standards because this is Frozen. I'm still expecting good musical theatre that touches my heart in some way. I'm really hoping I'll get that with Frozen, but ya never know!
You could be right with your conspiracy theory. But, Caissie Levy just slays Let It Go - the "magic" is in her singing. When I saw this, the audience was absolutely buzzing as soon as she finished. The cheers were strong and genuine. Yeah - it could be even more magical and wow. But, sometimes, just a great vocal performance is all you need. See, e.g. The Story Goes On in Baby. What the show needs - as all shows need - is a bigger tap number! (In Summer would be my pick to add in a tapping ensemble). Also, Sven is a really great puppet performance as good as Lion King. Elsa's Act Two number, Monster, is the best number in the show, in my opinion. And the freezing of Anna in Act Two is that wondrous stage magic that takes the audience's breath away (which you hinted at).
Couple Things:
Three Act Structure: the 3 Act structure is prevalent in western drama and has been since Aristotle. The idea that the dramatic acts in the 3-act structure are the same as act breaks in plays is a common misconception. Shakespeare wrote in the 3-act structure and most of his plays have five acts. The 3-act structure is dramatic beats -- not necessarily bringing down the curtain and having an intermission. Generally, the third act in 3-act structure is shorter because that is the bit that is leading us to the climax and denouement. It usually starts after it looks like the hero/protagonist has lost all hope but takes one final drive at achieving their want/goal/objective. Again, this is all a common misconception but it is important to note because pretty much every show on Broadway follows this.
Let It Go: I think they may have added to it since this review was posted. Variety had a review dated Sept 14 (only a week later, but....) which opened talking about the magic in that number: " In its live rendition of “Let It Go,” the signature tune from the 2014 Oscar winner, the musical wows adults as much as kids with a brilliant spectacle - as poignant as it is jaw-dropping." variety.com/2017/legit/reviews/frozen-review-musical-pre-broadway-denver-1202558998/ I saw The Producers in its pre-b'way run in Chicago. I remember some of the sets were definitely incomplete. I went back later in the run and there was definitely more stuff. So, I wouldn't worry about Let It Go being a let down.
How long will it run: Our dear reviewer poses an interesting question. But one which has a wider impact on Broadway. Again, Variety recently had an article about how the Hollywood Blockbuster mentality is impacting B'way. Yes, it means that revenues are up and even long running shows (like Lion King currently at $7.9 BILLION) are still raking in big bucks. But it also raises the question of whether this is sustainable. It basically means that plays can't make a good run on Broadway. It means that Broadway may be pricing itself out of the general market (the cheapest tix for Hamilton are $250 going up to nearly $850 in some cases). This should concern all of us because we are less likely to see really inventive and creative musicals like Fun Home or even something like Groundhog Day in the near future. Let's face it, B'way is the epicenter but like expanding ripples in a pool as long as shows move on, then that feeds regional, community and high school programs. If the only shows are long running, then where does the new material come from? Is this a bubble waiting to happen? This worries me. It should worry all of us. variety.com/2017/legit/columns/broadway-blockbuster-obsession-hollywood-frozen-harry-potter-1202578471/
Say what you will but I love a good Broadway movie musical. Aladdin, Little Mermaid,Beauty and the Beast, Heathers, Legally Blonde bring it on.
I think that the problem is that Disney, having SO MUCH power and SO MUCH money, they can send stuff to Broadway whether it deserves to get there or not.
It used to be that ONLY the very best would get to Broadway because of the exorbitant costs involved.
Same with their movies now...lots of money, lots of power and way too much attitude...Thus they cast Meryl Streep in singing parts and Shrek and Frozen get to go to New York
None of which should be foisted pon an unsuspecting audience dragged along by their kids...
The rules for Tony Award for best Score indicates that as long as, I believe either 50 or 75% are new material (on the side of 50%), a score can be eligible for the Best Score Tony. Tried finding it in the official rules, but theres so much jargon, I gave up looking. But Aladdin is the quintessential example of this occurrence. (Though Beauty and the Beast, Lion King and even Little Mermaid all received Best Score nominations as well) Excluding Newsies here as its kind of in its own category in this debate.
Love the videos. Don't always agree, but keep 'em coming.
You absolutely don't have to end act 1 on Let it Go, though. For one thing, it's the massively wrong tone for the end of the act, it's presented as this positive piece when in fact it's much more conflicted and leads into most of the story's conflicts (nuances the song roundly fails to recognise, unlike its analog in Wicked). But also, you can keep the energy from that big popular moment simply by having it lead into the finale, as long as you keep the energy up; see 'Soliloquy' in Carousel, or 'Hell Fire' in the staged Hunchback. I'm sure there are other examples, but that's how you have the high emotion sequence going into the climax but finish act 1 by pushing the story into act 2.
So, whats everybodys favorite "Based on a disney movie" musical? And dont say Lion King, cuz thats cheating. I must admit, I actually really liked Little Mermaid, althou that might just have been the songs. There are elements of Beauty and the Beast I like more in the stage version than the actual animated movie, but other I feel the film did better (and it was nice some of those broadway elements made it into the Live Action version, I liked that one too). Mary Poppins is nice, and has some elemets from the books that mesh very well on stage, and some of the efforts so build on Mr and Mrs banks characters I fell they pulled off very well. Althou the second act feels very "break neck speed". Newsies is amazing, because Jeremy Jordan is the actual best, but jesus no wonder it ran for only two years, that choreopraphy was going to kill someone! I was told there was a Tarzan musical... and thats all people could tell me, ha!
I think youre right, theyre totally waiting for NYC to reveal their Let It Go set piece, its gonna blow minds away I bet. Looking at the songs list, it looks like they didnt pick any of the cut songs from the movie, which is a shame. Althou I understand, those songs were nice but they were written when the plot wasent sent in stone. Like you really cant put "Lifes too short" in there because that dosent make sence. Early on, the movie was going to have this "prophecy thing" and I wonder if that should have been in Act 1 to make it more concise. Well, best of luck to Frozen The Musical!
I'm so glad that The 5th Avenue in Seattle is putting on The Hunchback of Notre Dame next summer .I don't think that Frozen is bad but I was really disappointed that they decided to put it on Broadway instead of Hunchback :(
I wonder if a way to fix the whole awkwardness with the 3 Act movie --> 2 Act Musical could be helped if Let It Go was put after some of the Anna scenes from the movie Act 2, like still end on Let It Go, but allow for some plot points with Anna and Kristoff to be thrown in, like her first meeting him, Oaken's cabin, the wolves, etc. That may be the way it really is, can't see it yet, but I feel like that would help maybe...
oooh I have a feeling you may be right with your theory! I was hoping it wouldn't be just like Frozen Live at the Hyperion (at Disney California Adventure) for exactly the reasons you said about not /just/ wanting to see the same story recreated onstage, though that show also has some little differences and additions and re-imaginings here and there, to its credit. and to answer your question, I've been teaching musical theatre camp for grades k-8 every summer since 2012 and have been a princess character performer since last December and despite how often I've heard middle-schoolers sing Let it Go, which is a number I can't count but it's pretty high up there, somehow I never get completely sick of it- I know, it's weird! but hey, Disney basically owns my soul at this point, so maybe that's a side effect? 😂 also fun fact: I auditioned for this show! and another fun fact: nobody from my audition (it was a non-Union call), not one person from the couple hundred who showed up, got cast! that was where I first found out about the whole mountain people/Hidden Folk change to the troll characters that was made for this production. they gave us the character descriptions and breakdowns for every single major character, as apparently these calls were for casting the main characters even though it was non-Union and they ended up casting Union folks for the mains anyway? it was a weird audition, we were all told to come in prepared with sheet music and then they made an announcement when we got there that we didn't need our sheet music anymore and most people ended up singing a cappella because there was an issue with time (because there were soooo many people) and some select few Equity folks auditioning who had appointments during our call had to have an accompanist or something like that, it was... peculiar. and not very polished in that Disney way that I've seen in their other auditions for the Parks and Cruise Line and whatnot. I really went for the experience (as you do) and made some great friends along the way, so all in all it was a fun time, but so strange!
I hate corporate musicals. If it were a stage musical first then an animated movie maybe I would have been more accepting.
I also hate musical reinvented from live action musicals: haispray, mary poppins, etc. Although, hairspray was a pretty good score and wasnt a movie musical. Same with little shop of horrors. Both of these are more pleasing to me.
I dislike musicals that re-use modern music set to a story when its original was never intended to be linked. Mama mia, moving out, etc.
I like the music as is...
Do you feel bad about how you feel about a musical when the musical has had a fan-cult following, is Hamilton. I just so dislike the music.
How do you feel about...
Come from away. Saw it. Loved it.
In transit. Love the score. Too bad it bombed. I liked the concept of all acapella production.
this is unrelated but.... sometimes your voice, in my opinion, sounds like Alex Hirsch's voice.
I love it. cuz you kinda look like him too.
but anyway.. i love your videos. theyre informative and hilarious :)
Thanks for this. The art vs themepark issue that you speak of is something that already bothered me in the movie. Olaf feels completely at odds with the rest of the film - in terms of characterization, tone, and physical animation style. (He also read to me like a racist caricature. Just me??) I know kids love him, but I would have cut him from the film.
I'm sure they'll have to keep him onstage, but I'm really hoping he gets a total redesign....I would love to see his costume go the Taymor route!
The whole tree analogy goes back to George Kaufmann and his 1930s screwball stage comedies: I believe he coined the concept.. Just FYI.
Such an interesting analysis and I hope I can see it somehow someday (I’m going to be in the country next year, but I might just wait for the West End or Madrid productions).
I have to say, though, that Disney has indeed jumped to the stage versions this quickly (and even more quickly) other times. Frozen the movie premiered on November 2013 and the musical is going to premiere on Broadway This year, 2018. The Lion King the movie premiered in 1994 and the musical started in 1997. Beauty and the Beast premiered in 1991 and the musical premiered in 1994 so, if Anything, Frozen is going to take 5 years to hit theatres when other musical movies took only 3. It is very true, though, that the success of Frozen has been so big that it hasn’t been overshadowed by anything else, and they’ve kept doing short films (like the horrendous Olaf’s Frozen Adventure) and selling an inmense quantity of toys, which is something I don’t know if had happend in those other two cases (I was too young to remember).
Appart from that, for what you say it must be a very interesting Disney-theatrical experience. I don’t know, though, if its made to last as much as The Lion King. Part of the success of it was, I believe, that people was not expecting such an artistically valuable product based on a Disney cartoon, and that element of surprise is part of what made it so famous, but now that people can expect that from Disney (I was quite disappointed actually when Aladdin wasn’t so) they cannot count with that element of surprise, so maybe its Broadway run won’t be as long. I might be wrong, though, I am not the best at predicitons.
I agree with you about the two types of Disney Broadway shows which is why I don't watch much because I love animation. Do u think Mary Poppins and beauty and the beast musicals are more lion king or more Aladdin
Ps...we don't need a Greek chorus of mossy stone people ugh😭
I take it you didn't see Aladdin. If that were the case you'd know it has enough new/recycled material to be its own thing. Your research on this show and Norse mythology in general leave a lot to be desired.
I just saw the Broadway Musical in New York a few weeks ago, and if you haven't seen it yet, yes you were correct that the narrator role was cut from the show. They did, however keep the background on their mother being raised by the mountain people and so that is why she calls on them through the window after Anna was struck. I don't know if in the out of town try out they explained that the mother used to be in the mountain folk tribe and was fallen in love with by the father who was king bound, so she then became royalty too. I liked that. It was the only reason I didn't find the call thing stupid. As far as the mix between direct translation from the movie with Olaf and then the loose translation from the stone-troll people to the mountain folk, you can see that in Lion King too. Pumba and Timon are pretty much the same kind of cartoony puppet trick as Olaf, but all the other characters are very broken down and abstract. Just like in Lion king, it worked for Frozen. There is no way they could have removed the Olaf character, just like Julie Taymor didn't want to deconstruct Pumba and Timon, which are all essentially the Shakespeare clown role of the show. I really enjoyed the stage adaptation in New York and would be interested to hear what you think seeing its final version after seeing the out of town version!
Grand-Pappy Troll. At least, in the movie, that is his name.
I have two children under the age of five. I know waaaayyy too much about Frozen :p
After the Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella costume transformations, no other transformations amuse me. Thank you for the review. Sounds just like I thought it would
I wonder where a show like Mary Poppins would land on that spectrum between "Lion King" and "Aladdin". It has many things similar to the movie, but there are many things extrapolated from the original source material of P.L Travers books. Not to mention that musically, the composers took the music to new levels and used it to tell the story more so than the movie did.
Ever seen Arrivals and Departures? If not, check it out. There are two plays called by that same name. I don't know anything about the other one, but just choose the one involving the main characters Esme and Barry.
please make a video of you watching the tv version of "christmas carol" musical with kelsey grammer, jason alexander, and so many others! i think it would be gold.
I know it's unlikely and not a guaranteed, but I hope Frozen wins the Tony Award for Best Musical.
I know the internet can make time seem so much shorter, but just pointing out that the time period between Beauty and the Beast movie and Broadway was 3 years. Same with The Lion King. 3 years. Frozen's gap is 5 years. I was just noticing how you made a point about this being too relevant for Tony voters, when Lion King and Beauty and the Beast were the most successful Disney shows, both in the length of their runs and the attention they got from Tony voters.
I heard the “plot rocks” referenced as “the nomadic people of the North” in the video I saw. Also Olaf is still played by the guy (josh gad) from the movie I think
I kinda wanna see the musical version now that I've heard your thoughts on it.
Initially, I was going to give it a hard pass--
Of course I'm going to have to do a lot of saving up for my next New York trip first. Haha.
As for how many times I've heard a middle-schooler sing "Let it Go,"
let's just say... way too many for a person to stay sane.
Several of Disney's screen-to-stage adaptations have been Tony nominated for Best Original Score before.
Beauty & the Beast (which had 6 new songs when it opened) was nominated, lost to Passion.
The Lion King (which had 6 new songs) was nominated, lost to Ragtime.
The Little Mermaid (which had 11 new songs on Broadway) was nominated, lost to In the Heights.
Newsies (which had 6 new songs on Broadway) was nominated and won.
Aladdin (which had 4 brand new songs along with 3 others that were previously cut from the film) was nominated, lost to The Bridges of Madison County.