A Very Busy Week - Night Two

So...I actually had a really cheap ticket to another event last night, but when a Tony-voter pal emailed me with a last minute offer to join him at a Broadway show, I admit I jumped at the chance.  I figured I would probably never get to see the show any other way, since it's doing so well at the box office (and won't be on TDF for years), so I gave my really cheap ticket to one of our interns and went with my Tony-voter pal to Frozen.

You may remember that it took me a long time to get to the Frozen movie, but I loved it when I finally saw it (you can remind yourself of my review HERE, and I'm laughing at myself and my last line in that post right now).  I'm glad I didn't have to wait so long to get to the Broadway show.  Of course, I should offer my usual caveat that since I know and love some of the creative team, I was probably predisposed to enjoy myself (especially since I loved the film).  You won't be surprised to hear I had a grand time.

I'd read some of the reviews of the Broadway production and I guess I could've gone into the theater last night with lowered expectations (though I don't think so), but I truly had a great time.  Our seats were great, we were behind adorable kids who loved the show, my Tony-voter pal had a free drink ticket so I got to have a cocktail throughout the second act, and the rest of the audience was just eating everything up.  I had a smile on my face most of the night, except for the times I was crying.  Again, I loved seeing a story about strong women who are able to save themselves, through their own hearts and minds.  Having said all that, I do acknowledge that there are a few rough spots, in my opinion, that happened in the transfer from film to stage.

photo credit: Deen van Meer

The rough spots certainly do not include the cast - everyone was really fantastic.  I was the tiniest bit disappointed at the pre-show announcement that we would be seeing the standby Anna, but I thought she was spectacular.  Just so joyful and effervescent and filled with emotion.  She was fantastic and her name is going on my "see in anything" list.  But, really, everyone was excellent.  There was terrific singing, dancing and lots of heart. 

photo credit: Sara Krulwich

The animated film had seven songs and the stage musical has maybe triple that number.  I thought the new songs were really terrific, especially the opening number of the second act, "Hygge," which was tons of fun after the excitement of the first act finale/intermission.  The new songs for Elsa were really good and really smart, since her character is mostly trying to conceal and hide herself, so these songs opened her up to us.  I liked the duets for Anna and Kristoff, to flesh out their relationship, and I thought Kristoff's "Lullaby" was gorgeous (as was he, but that's another story).  I liked the tweaks to the top of the story, too, where the parents really react badly to their daughter's 'ability' and their reaction informs the rest of Elsa's and Anna's lives.

So...rough spots.  For me, of course.  I'm no expert on direction, but I feel as if the directing of Frozen was a little...um...stately.  I think it could've used a little more whimsy or oomph or a lighter touch or something, since the show itself deals with magic and unexplainable things.  And talking snowmen, hello.  I mean, the show moved well, the pace was good and everything was crystal clear, but I guess I thought there would be more magic.  Some of the special effects were take-your-breath-away magical and some just weren't.  Sometimes you could see the big Disney budget on that stage and sometimes it felt a little cheap.  I don't know.  The rest of the physical production was first-rate, especially the lighting.

cocktail

"Let It Go" has been moved to the end of the first act and even though I understand, intellectually, the necessity in doing that, I thought it hurt the show a bit dramaturgically.  Suddenly, after the big crisis where Elsa freezes the town and she runs away to the mountain, then maybe twenty minutes go by when we don't see her at all, because we have to wait for the song, and there are four other songs before it.  The context of the song in the film is terrifically moving and here it's not quite as moving.  At least not in the same way, though the number itself is spectacularly staged and very exciting.  And, again, I intellectually understand why Elsa had to go so far upstage to sing part of the song (so she could be in the right spot for an amazing special effect, I'm guessing), still, having her all the way upstage instead of down and sharing in our face made me tilt my head.  Oh, and the PG13 costumes of the "Hidden Folk" who take the place of the rocks who turn into trolls in the movie made me blink, too.  Though everyone looked really good in those costumes.

It seems silly to quibble about a production I enjoyed so much, but I guess I do feel that the show could've soared even higher.  Though, if it had, the audience may have spontaneously combusted, because they LOVED it!  Even filled with kids, it was a great house, quiet and respectful during the performance, eager and excited during the applause and curtain call.  For once, they made a fun evening even better.