We can debate whether it is appropriate to review this show-in-progress, but since apparently Disney invited the reviews maybe it's because they knew they needed it. I do hope the creators are hearing these comments because it needs some serious work. I wonder if 5 weeks is nearly enough time when the problem starts with the opening lines "This is the story of a family". Newsflash: NO, IT'S NOT. It's the story of these two girls who've lost their parents trying to find their way in the world, trying to find their voices. That's a big writing change. And I respectfully disagree with the reviewers comment about the "crystal curtain" as the last element of the castle: it's incredibly tacky. The ice palace suddenly looks like Macy's Santaland with the crystal strands and the star and snowflake. Perhaps they should talk to Cirque du Soleil for ideas on how to make better stage magic. And yes, the voices are great, but the casting choices are suspect: The king of the mountain people looks like Fabio - not to mention that all those characters look like extras from The Lion King in Serengeti outfits with tails instead of like mountain people (you don't run around bare-chested in the mountains, folks) - and Kristoff looks like he'd be blown over in a stiff wind (this should be a big guy who looks like he hauls ice around for a living and lives in the mountains and is a contrast to the lanky Hans). To quote City of Angels (which really WAS a great show), "It Needs Work."
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While I agree with Mary, my wife will be taking our goddaughter to the show. And I am sure she will be singing the songs for weeks to come after.
While I found this review to be informative and wholly appropriate, I believe that Green is underestimating the Frozen demographic when he states that the movie was "a freak of the tween zeitgeist." As I was returning from a walk one day at the height of the Frozen frenzy, a sports car sat in front of a neighboring home almost shaking as its sound system loudly blared "Let It Go." When the song ended out stepped not a "tween" or some little girls and a mom but a tall, burly young man with a beard. People young and old, large and small who would never wear an ice blue gown loved Frozen.
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Jesse Green Is the Grench (who stole Christmas).You are a mean one Jesse Green...
Outside of the Lion King and it's spectacular concept most of the Disney musicals are mediocre and worse than mediocre. .. in many cases... They are mechanical... heartless/soulless... attempts at making money... turning audiences into innocent participants in a 3 card monty game.
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This review is indicative of the scabrous , virulent goings on of the theater mafia. Without the name recognition of Disney or the in place London theater raves how can any play compete with the Broadway cruise ship. This at sea Carnival is now the Titanic. is it any wonder the leader of the free world is a Reality TV star?
Are we still a colony of Britain that anything from there is deemed genius? The notion that NYC is a mecca for theater development is long gone. It has sold out. It is an overpriced whorehouse of movie stars who cant get big money contracts & deem to have their names used above a title. the actors have the warmth of armored trucks. The plays are derivative, PC & like old fashioned Church. The seats are excruciating to sit in. The cost of transportation is exorbitant as well as the dine out around the Broadway area, Much of the subtext of the contrived, arranged plays seems to be anger on the part of the actors. They are furious that they have to do plays as they don t have lucrative TV roles. The Tonys have the gall to cut the playwright winners from the broadcast and state about award presenters "this person started out in theater.' It is no stepping stone. It is a Church. But today the worship is of false gods. And expensive ones. The New York Times is culpable too. It covers Off Off only during torrid August Fringe fests, Silence = Accomplices.
3
The show is being reviewed now because Disney invited 5 or 6 critics in to see it, sat them in seats and asked them to write about it on opening night, Wed. Sept. 13. The news organizations paid their own way. The reviews were all released at the same time - midnight on Thursday night - 24 hours after opening night, per Disney's request. This was orchestrated by Disney and those media outlets that chose to see it and write about this work in progress, abided by Disney's timing requests in terms of release of information and photos. Disney sought these stories. That's all there is to it Normal Katz.
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Do those who allege the Times had a policy of not reviewing out of town tryouts not realize the Times has often reviewed plays headed to Broadway at locations from the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey (Honeymoon in Vegas, Newsies, etc) to London?
I see nothing wrong with reviewing this production in Denver. The critic makes it clear this is a work in progress and nothing in the review will deter ticket buyers.
Although I would rather pay to hear a Broadway star sing a song without being drowned out by kids, it is likely charming to watch the spontaneous mass performance by kids. I just wish the actress would then say: "That was great. Now, please watch me sing it by myself and let me know what you think."
1
I saw the 2nd performance and pretty much concur with Jesse Green. Frozen still needs a show doctor. Leaving aside what IS working; here's what needs help: The chorus numbers sounded muddy (diction!) and several can be cut or shortened. Also, dialogue scenes can be tightened, especially early scenes with the parents.
Intermittent narration from a fairytale creature of the North people (a chorus of inexplicably half clad folks in a world of snow where everyone is always in danger of freezing to death). Every time they came onstage, I thought we were in a different Disney story: Moana, maybe.
And if you need a character on the fringes of your story pop onstage to fill in the plot, then you are not quite successfully telling it.
The opening number of Act II seems to come out of a Mel Brooks musical instead. A rousing comedy number in the middle of Act II stops the action of the story dead. Plotwise, we are in a high stakes situation, and suddenly everyone is singing and dancing (another number that seems, tonally, and in terms of choreography, to come out of a different musical: perhaps Moana or Lion King, or something else entirely; but there is nothing to suggest the frozen North). To keep this number stomps on the momentum AND the logic of the plot.
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I saw Frozen on Tuesday about eleven rows back in the orchestra section. There is much to praise about this Disney production; that praise has already been discussed. Here are a couple things they ought to work on before Frozen opens at the St. James. (My opinion, I know.....no one asked for it.)
The entire show is too dark. Painful to the eyes. And we missed so much of that intricate, beautiful set. I know it's a dark thematic show...but low illumination isn't the only way to achieve that. The two scenes that were bright and beautiful: Anna and Christof crossing the bridge in winter and Olaf singing Summer.
That satyr-like half-naked hunk at the opening is just out of place. He looks like he escaped from Lion King or A Mid-Summer Night's Dream...there is nothing troll-like about him. Somebody just wanted awesome bods and lots of abs.
Also, this show doesn't need a narrator. Almost every human in the civilized world has either seen Frozen or read all about the story line,
3
A major correction. In the Andersen original, the Snow Queen does not "ensorcel" the little boy. He has been twisted by a tiny shard of glass in his eye from a mirror that grotesquely distorts everything it reflects.
And while we're on Andersen... The Disney "Little Mermaid" is actually closer, plot- and character-wise, to Dvorak's "Rusalka".
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I want to add my voice to the chorus of approvals for reviews like this. I approve of the review and especially of the tone of Mr. Green's critique. It was appropriate for an out-of-town tryout; singling out what worked and what needs polishing and realizing that there's more work to be done before it reaches it's final Broadway home. As a fifty-ish male with no small children in tow, I don't have much of a desire to see this show, but I am now looking forward to the Broadway review.
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"Magical incontinence"!!!
The tone of this piece and these little jewels of phrases just made my morning. Bravo.
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“Frozen is going to have to figure how to make the dark character less of a bore and the light character more compelling."
I've seen the Denver production twice. May I suggest they find a replacement for Ms. Levy before opening for previews on Broadway in February. She had no chemistry with Patti Murin's Anna. No charisma. No stage presence. Idina Menzel passed through Denver a few weeks earlier and those of us that gathered in the lobby during the Frozen intermission discussed the possibility that Ms. Murin was simply a place holder for Menzel. Perhaps that was more fantasy than speculation. It's not the character. The darkness comes from this particular actress.
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I think the "Elsa issue" is manifold: at present, the character is underwritten (esp.compared to the Anna character), so there's little "there" there and Levy isn't a strong enough actress to fill in what's lacking, her lack of chemistry with the effervescent Patti Murin notwithstanding (interestingly, the actress playing young Elsa the night I saw Frozen just didn't register compared to the sparkplug playing young Anna!) [note: 2 child actresses alternate in the roles of Anna and Elsa]. But even Menzel (or anyone else) could fix this until the character is beefed up. Elsa needs more meat on the bone. She is more of a "reactor" to her situation. And she needs a character arc, a journey of her own in this production, a role at least as interesting as Anna's.
2
Saw the show two nights ago as we agree with this assessment of the Elsa and that Levy should be replaced. She IS a stellar singer. She is not a stellar actress. Let It Go was visually spectacular due to the eye-popping costume change. But the effect of both it and "Monster" was closer to a MTV VMA performances than part of the narratives. Elsa as written--and/or Elsa as performed--needs far more passion and confidence than Ms. Levy can deliver. Right now, she's a one-note character.
"..a freak of the tween zeitgeist"
No, I think this is too old. I'd say a freak of the Kindergarten zeitgeist. I don't know any 10 -12 who would be caught dead in those seat.
"In the screenplay for “Frozen,” though, Elsa isn’t an evil witch but a tormented blonde whose power tends to leak as if she were suffering from a form of magical incontinence. (She wears gloves to hold it in.)" THAT's how you describe Elsa's ordeal? Seriously?
2
I have no problem with an out of town review by the Times. In the current era I think Broadway is making excellent use of media, social and traditional. While you'd have to tie me to a chair to get me to sit through it, I like the idea of seeing how the show will evolve before it hits Broadway. It's part of the process.
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As a DCPA season-ticket holder, I groaned when I learned that "Frozen" was in the line up. (and I really did not look forward to hearing "Let It Go" after practicing and rehearsing it for several months in preparation for an upcoming the Rocky Mountain Ukulele Orchestra concert.)
However, my opinion rapidly changed within a few minutes of the show's opening number. The company did a tremendous job with the set, staging, and adaptation from film to stage. The voices of the principle characters were excellent, particularly the actress who played Elsa. Yes, the nude sauna chorus line was a bit corny, but it helped bridge the changeover between sets and added some levity. As for "Let It Go," I think a reprisal would have been great -- but only so we could enjoy hearing it again.
I know that the play is under revision and the Broadway show will be different from the one that we enjoyed in Denver. However, I am glad that we were able to experience the pre-Broadway version, and look forward to the final version.
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We saw the show in Denver two nights ago. There WAS a reprisal in the second act, with Elsa signing to Anna directly. Lyrics were similar to those in the Demi Lovato version on the film soundtrack. Was this a recent addition, perhaps?
I live immediately next door to DCPA. Every night I see tons of parents with excited kids headed to Frozen and many adults sans kids. Went myself and Let It Go was rippingly good. I appreciate the hunky Norwegian trolls in the neighborhood ;) Friends have very much liked the show. My primary reason for commenting is to respond to the slightly snide observation about little girls being asleep by the end. Should have been put in context. These are 6-12 year old kids who have gotten dressed up, been driven in from the burbs, probably taken out to dinner, walked to theater and then sat through a show that lets out around 10 pm. Their sleepiness is most likely a result of child physics rather than any reflection of the show itself. Pretty nice treat to have such a major show working out the kinks across the street.
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"It seems to me highly inappropriate," says one comment below. No, it doesn't. Out-of-town tryouts are pretty common, at least by local papers. I understand the concern that because it's a Times review it may have a huge impact, but puh-lease! The stage version of Frozen holds few dangers, artistic or financial. The built-in audience of millions will ensure its financial success; unless it's of Lion King-caliber, it will likely end up as just another anodyne, glitzy, forgettable show with little artistic merit. Paul's outsize worry seems odd to me. Are you a producer? An actor? You truly have that much "skin in the game" that a Green review causes such real concern? You're not one of those Disney-obsessed adults who fetishes every aspect of the company and vacays at Disney World every year, are you...?
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Reviewing the out-of-town try-out is an old custom - most famously handled by Elliot Norton up in Boston (though quite a few decades back) . He influenced many shows on their way to NYC.
That said - boy, does this sound like WICKED II.
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Am I the only one who thought "Let It Go" was mindless and boring, a song that sounds like it was ripped from 1,000 other generic versions of the same song, and that in fact "Frozen" (which I saw with female child relatives, not in the theater, of course) is derivative, aimed at children and not necessarily in a good way, and just an overall bore?
It's a children's story, people. It's deliberately designed to sell tickets to those who are to young to buy their own tickets. Except for the billions of dollars involved, there's no need to take it seriously. It's not art.
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If you read, rather than listen to, the lyrics of "Let It Go" perhaps you will sense a bit of why it is so popular with girls (who probably can't yet articulate why) and women (who, from experience, can). A girl (then young woman) has a talent a power, a uniqueness which she is told to suppress. Samantha in Bewitched and Jeannie of I Dream of Jeannie are precursers to Elsa. While Merida's dragon to defeat is forced marriage and Ariel sings of just being allowed to participate in the world at all, Simba struts that he can't wait to be king. Let it Go resonates because girls and women are conditioned to not only accept being put down, diminished, and to not be arrogant emough to self-promote their talentts, but women are also taught from childhood to diminish themselves. The song opens a door to questioning why girls are so often told they are inately less valuable than boys and that they should hide their abilities, pretend they are weaker, and disappear when they marry. Let It Go is a support and perhaps a new thought to girls that they are allowed to question what is considered "normal" in society because "normal" may be wrong.
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To jack Spann: And which of the current Broadway shows and plays can be classified as art? It's all entertainment.
1
Seriously,
Are young girls still being treated this way? I though things had changed for the better. If what you say is so, that is the most depressing thing I have heard in a long time (and that's saying something).
Fabulous review, Mr. Green.
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Hate to criticize the critic, but - if the little girls are singing along they don't much care about other stuff. And moms will bring them nevertheless.
There are plenty of other productions to propose theatrical improvements. Let the little girls have their day!
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For $200+/ticket we deserve more than a sing-a-long.
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I love the image of the girls singing along and standing up to show off their Elsa dresses! Disney just may have done more to create a new generation of theatre goers than all the cats on Broadway...
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Guess there wasn't much point in going out of town if the Times, which once had some integrity, is going to review the show. Evidently, Mr. Green imagines himself a show doctor. His suggestions might be more persuasive if he'd ever actually done anything in the theater.
1
This show needs a show doctor; and I do hope the creators are willing to revise it before it gets to NYC. I saw it on the 2nd night and feel almost exactly the same way Green does and the same way another Denver theatre goer did. The costumes are a mess of time periods, in muddy colors, (and sometimes invoke locales other than the Frozen North); and Act II doesn't work yet with songs that seem to come out of different musicals and stop the plot dead in moments of life and death -- or just when it needs to kick into high gear and soar straight to the finale.
3
Out of town, some shows are exactly what comes to Broadway. This is rare, however. Shows either preview for an extended period or go out of town or both in order to "try out." Some shows which go to become classics were in deep trouble out of town e.g. A Funny Thing Happened On The Way to the Forum. That show only needed a new opening number to set up the evening, Other shows need more invasive surgery. Hello, Dolly needed a lot of help getting to the Harmonia Gardens.
Sometimes, the work is for naught. Sometimes, a show which seems to be in great shape out of town, comes in and bombs.
The tone of the review is appropriate, but is the review appropriate?
Since we no longer have Kevin Kelly in Boston and Frank Rich is no longer a undergrad writing for the Harvard Crimson, is it, perhaps, now the function of a New York critic to play their roles? Clearly, Jesse Green's piece does fit that mold. However, Denver was chosen, I suspect, because it is not a traditional tryout town (if there are any anymore).
Yes, anyone can post anything on line. Well, "no girls, no gags, no chance" was one comment about an out of town show that became Oklahoma! So reports from out of town are not new.
Yet, this change of 'official' policy by the Times requires, I think, justification and discussion
1
Denver was chosen for Frozen because, evidently, the Buell Theatre is Disney's venue of choice for out of town tryouts. I just hope the creators don't believe their work is done merely by getting 6 weeks of performances under their belts. I read that some things have been changed prior to Denver (a voiceover narration was changed to a narrator that comes onstage to fill in missing bits of plot. But that doesn't work, either -- so I hope they jettison this as well). I'm not the only Denver audience member (including Mr. Green) to note this -- and as my grandfather used to quip, "When 3 people tell you you're drunk: lie down."
Someone once said a good way to punish the nazis would be to send them out of town with a musical. This is an addendum to that quote. Send them out of town with a musical ...and have it reviewed by the Times.
In Denver! Absolutely absurd.
Interesting ideas expressed in posts below re/ whether a NY Times critic should review an out of town tryout of a forthcoming B'way musical. In this case, FROZEN will have a built-in audience with ( I assume) a huge advance ticket sale, primarily because of families who will come to see the show regardless of the pre-Broadway reviews, and just buy tickets in advance anyway.
When I was a teenager in the mid/late sixties in Philadelphia-- a great pre-B'way tryout town, it was a well kept secret that Broadway producers would have critics from other tryout towns come to see their shows and privately offer critical notes on the productions on ways to improve them before arriving on Broadway. Those critics, whose travel expenses were paid by the producers, were the great critics such as Ernest Schier of the Phila. Bulletin, Kevin Kelly of the Boston Globe and Richard Coe of the Wash/Post. In this particular case, was it ethical or proper for this review to appear where it might cause people to hold off on buying tickets in advance. It's a difficult line to draw--but I don't think so. In any event, this show, as reviewed, is obviously one of quality and this review should assist the creators in improving the final result for Broadway.
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"A Whole New World" is a book relating how the Disney show "Aladdin" evolved with major changes from suggestions during its pre-Broadway run. Producers want feedback. What Mr. Green has done is helpful to the producers of "Frozen" in that they can consider what changes might or might not work to better the production. I for one would hope that the Times will do this more often.
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Agreed, and in that regard the Chicago Tribune's Chris Jones review is even more helpful.
2
Broadway's Aladdin is the "evolved" version? Yikes. Took my kids, 6 & 9 to see it for their birthdays, they were unimpressed. My 9 year old promptly proclaiming that she "didn't like it." Eventually she agreed that it was okay, but not as good as Matilda which we saw the year before. I'd say it was too Disney-esque. Seemed like Frozen, the movie was written with the intention of making a quick transition to broadway. 12 new songs? Don't try so hard. Just stick to the story and don't try to compete with a cartoon.
2
Saw "Frozen" at California adventure and was disappointed unlike the Aladdin that had performed years previously which was amazingly good, Frozen lacked charm and fun. Would I spend the money to see it on stage I think not.
1
The show you saw was entirely different. This is a full-length Broadway musical in development.
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This is still a work in progress, but the review described the potential for greatness, and provides a helpful critic's perspective on how the production might improve. After this, I'm especially looking forward to the Broadway show.
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Thousands of people are already buying tickets for Frozen. Unlike most shows, Frozen has a huge built-in audience whose parents are willing to pay for something sight unseen.
Bravo for the Times for upending this Broadway tradition that people should pay hundred of dollars before they have some idea what they are getting.
12
I absolutely agree with Norman Katz's post below. The whole point of taking a show out of town is to work on it before it gets reviewed by the New York Times.
And frankly, Mr. Green's review seems weirdly more like a list of creative suggestions than a review. The NY Times has disproportionate power in the world of theatre. Do the show's creators now find themselves thinking "The New York Times suggested we do x, y and z. Will we get a bad review if we don't take these suggestions?"
It seems to me highly inappropriate for Mr. Green to insert himself into the creative process.
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Your criticism of Mr. Green might hold more water if producers didn't charge $150/ticket for dress rehearsals called previews. Green and the NYT are here doing what good reviewers should: consumer protection.
1
Could someone explain why this show is being reviewed now. It is obviously a work in progress. Why don't we review every show coming in from out of town or in previews.
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This isn't a review, it's an appraisal. "Frozen" the movie is deeply embedded in cultures around the world. Its stage rendition is coming our way. Mr. Green is working on our behalf and on behalf of the New York theater scene, his beat, in order to let us know what we might expect. And to give the show's creators a sense of how things might or might not be working. Provisionally. The show's grand design remains firmly in their hands.
It seems to me that everything he writes here is an observation. None of it strikes me as a judgment, certainly not a final one. It's all subject to reversal, up or down. He's doing a critic's due diligence, and letting us read what he could have simply kept in his notebook. Not every show is this huge, or will last, good or bad, this long on Broadway, i.e., remain among us all for a long time.
I see no reason a seasoned observer like Mr. Green shouldn't let everyone know what ingredients seem to have been selected and how they sit next to one another -- for now. The stew isn't done yet by any means.
36
poppycock. a review and appraisal are the same.
3
"Appraisal" is nothing if not a very close — perhaps the closest — synonym to "review."
1