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Post by forevercolours on Sept 12, 2021 19:48:15 GMT
Aah so I really, really enjoyed this show. As danb mentioned, it was quite noisy but to be honest, it wasn’t overly distracting. I have been to shows where phone rings, crying babies and adults nattering on have been a lot worse than what I experienced this afternoon. With a room full of young children, I expected it to be worse. As for the actual show, the young Anna and Elsa really are special. They are such balls of energy and are a great way to start the show, I wish them so much luck going forward in their careers. I am a fan of the film and was quite happy with the familiar lines and several nods to the second film (Samantha?) Speaking of Samantha, she was phenomenal and brought me to tears during LIG. I have been a fan of hers for many years but I have never managed to see her before so this was special for me. Steph was just adorable and such a fantastic Anna, I really loved her performance. Oliver Ormson plays a convincing Prince but I felt like his evil reveal seemed a lot more dramatic in the film than on stage. Obiona’s voice is like butter and if I closed my eyes, I swear Craig could have been Josh Gad. Now, the real selling point of this show for me is the set because oh my god, It is spectacularly beautiful. The way the stage lights up when it freezes with Elsa’s magic is just divine. The ice stair case is just a gorgeous sight. This set deserves every single award. I really couldn’t fault it. For those people claiming that it is a shame that TRDL has been reopened with a ‘show like Frozen’ — do us a favour and shut up. This is a gorgeous show which is a great family day out (or a good solo trip.) The cast are fantastic and it is a wonderful spectacle. I hope it fairs better than its Broadway counterpart. 5* from me!! I certainly won't shut up just because I have a different view. Let's see where this show is in 2023 - I don't see it lasting. Short shelf life, little to encourage return visits. As BurlyBear suggested, this might just be a piece of theatre for rapid consumption. Like junk food, I found it unappetising and left me wanting something proper after half an hour. Can’t really imagine you’d be the target audience for return visits though. You know who is? The hoards of children who will beg their parents to take them back and will keep the show going and spend loads in the merch shop. It’s certainly not going to be running for a decade but it has a few years in it. |
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Post by ceebee on Sept 12, 2021 19:49:54 GMT
I certainly won't shut up just because I have a different view. Let's see where this show is in 2023 - I don't see it lasting. Short shelf life, little to encourage return visits. As BurlyBear suggested, this might just be a piece of theatre for rapid consumption. Like junk food, I found it unappetising and left me wanting something proper after half an hour. Can’t really imagine you’d be the target audience for return visits though. You know who is? The hoards of children who will beg their parents to take them back and will keep the show going and spend loads in the merch shop. It’s certainly not going to be running for a decade but it has a few years in it. I took my two daughters - they found it boring. One return parent lost... Your logic doesn't follow through. |
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Post by ceebee on Sept 12, 2021 19:54:46 GMT
Beautiful refurbished Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Absolutely wasted on "Frozen". This isn't theatre, it's a bombastic theme park ride. Neither for adults or kids - kids around me were bored in the padded bits that weren't in the film, and their mums (wot, no dads?) sat stuffing their faces with tubs of Yorkshire crisps and big bags of sweets which were presumably to keep the kids happy. Weird cos Disney have a good track record with theatre (Lion King / Mary Poppins). Frozen doesn't cut it for me - left me cold. I'll give the show 18 months maximum and then hopefully this beautiful theatre will get a show worthy of its splendour. Those kids must get bored really quickly,because the 'padded' bits as you call it, really dont last that long. This is a far better show for Kids than Mary Poppins, which is probably more padded that Frozen, or The Lion King, which apart from the first 10 mins, is boring. I'm surprised anyone could prefer Cinderella over Frozen (based on your reviews) Yup, saw Cinderella the night before - far better show delivered for half the budget. Mary Poppins at least has some sub-narratives going on. I've seen some superb shows at TRDL over the years - Frozen ranks bottom of the list, albeit behind Miss Saigon, Oliver, Charlie, LOTR, 42nd Street. |
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Post by stuartmcd on Sept 12, 2021 20:05:23 GMT
I do find it strange that the comments seem to be “Well I don’t like it so I can’t see it lasting very long” with no real evidence or reason as to why the show is gonna flop. It’s ok not to like it but I can’t see where this opinion that it’s gonna close in less than 2 years is coming from. It looks to be selling well at the moment and the general popular opinion about the show is pretty positive. It hasn't got legs in my view. Frozen dated quickly as a film and was commercially rinsed - a hugely successful franchise. However, the stage show is emotionally empty. I think Sam Barks is stunning - I love her voice and previous roles. She's excellent in this - I just think she's surrounded by lots of window dressing. Hmmm I would disagree that Frozen dated quickly. Looking at some of the kids I saw in the theatre I would guess that a large number of them weren’t even born when the original movie came out which shows that the movie continues to be introduced to new children and they continue to love it. It still holds up as great animated movie. |
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Post by ceebee on Sept 12, 2021 20:09:11 GMT
It hasn't got legs in my view. Frozen dated quickly as a film and was commercially rinsed - a hugely successful franchise. However, the stage show is emotionally empty. I think Sam Barks is stunning - I love her voice and previous roles. She's excellent in this - I just think she's surrounded by lots of window dressing. Hmmm I would disagree that Frozen dated quickly. Looking at some of the kids I saw in the theatre I would guess that a large number of them weren’t even born when the original movie came out which shows that the movie continues to be introduced to new children and they continue to love it. It still holds up as great animated movie. I think the animation is great - but it was kinda zeitgeist and has been surpassed. I love theatre and want every show to succeed, but can't hide my disappointment at Frozen. I actually wished I was somewhere else yesterday, which is really unusual for me. The only other show that had that effect on me was Wicked, which I left at the interval (despite the hype). |
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Post by forevercolours on Sept 12, 2021 20:12:54 GMT
It hasn't got legs in my view. Frozen dated quickly as a film and was commercially rinsed - a hugely successful franchise. However, the stage show is emotionally empty. I think Sam Barks is stunning - I love her voice and previous roles. She's excellent in this - I just think she's surrounded by lots of window dressing. Hmmm I would disagree that Frozen dated quickly. Looking at some of the kids I saw in the theatre I would guess that a large number of them weren’t even born when the original movie came out which shows that the movie continues to be introduced to new children and they continue to love it. It still holds up as great animated movie. Exactly! And Frozen 2 only came out in 2019 and was ridiculously successful. The hype certainly hasn’t died down yet and the kids around me dresses as Anna and Elsa loved it! (They loved it a lot more than the kids around me at Cinderella dressed in blue ballgowns who had no clue what was going on and didn’t seem to enjoy it) |
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Post by danb on Sept 12, 2021 20:56:41 GMT
I have to agree that Frozen is giving families what they want whereas Cinderella is tricking families through the door based on name recognition alone. It really should be called ‘Bad Cinderella’ in line with the song and to indicate the alternative story route it takes.
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 12, 2021 21:57:32 GMT
I have to agree that Frozen is giving families what they want whereas Cinderella is tricking families through the door based on name recognition alone. It really should be called ‘Bad Cinderella’ in line with the song and to indicate the alternative story route it takes. I mean Frozen is a better show in literally every single aspect than Cinderella too 🤷🏻♂️ |
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Post by ryhare on Sept 12, 2021 22:12:14 GMT
This! Particularly snobby, judgemental comments about the types of mums is just so disappointing. Theatre is for all not just those we deem appropriate to join a special club - if we do that it won’t survive. I’ve seen shows I’ve hated, are they still theatre - yes, even theme park shows, might not be high brow but it is what it is. Maybe it was the mums around me - perhaps others were different, but those immediately around me in the stalls were stuffing their faces and sending messages/filming mid-show. Should stick to their local Odeon. And the ‘wot, no dads’ comment? Just cheap remark. |
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2021 0:00:43 GMT
I do wonder whether this kind of show is the type that will really get kids into theatre. As good or bad as it might be it’s just another Frozen product to be consumed. Many smaller kids will have little appreciation for the artistry or the technical wizardry taking place, other than to wonder why it doesn’t look like it did in the film. And few will have any appreciation of the amount of money that’s been spent on their seats. The voracity with which the younger generation gobble up “product” these days astounds me. Yes it might make a long lasting impression on a few but for most it will be “can we go for burgers now Mum?” ⬆️ Spoken with all the the authority of someone who knows nothing about kids but likes tutting at them occasionally 🙂 I saw the Lion King and been hocked ever since |
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Post by inthenose on Sept 13, 2021 0:27:28 GMT
Not seen this yet, but if Shrek can somehow limp along for 18 months, I expect this to run a great number of years. Whilst I personally loathed Shrek, I could recognise the appeal. The difference is that Shrek was never the super child-friendly merchandise selling machine Frozen is. It is an absolute phenomenon of a franchise.
Frozen did $1.29 billion USD in the box office, compared to Shrek's $488 million. In 2014 alone, Frozen sold over $5 billion worth of merchandise. As I say, it's a phenomenon. Disney's second most valuable franchise behind Star Wars. The most popular children's franchise in the world.
The movie came out in 2013, and as the poster asserts above, that would make anyone under 8 not even born when it came out - and I bet the place is packed with them night after night. My two young nieces know all the words to every song and watch the Blu-Ray at least a few times a week. Then, with the sequel being relatively fresh and new, a whole new generation of young fans on top.
Whilst the above is no guarantee of the creative success or otherwise of the show, it certainly shows the insatiable commercial demand for this franchise. There is absolutely no way this will do anything less than a number of years - minimum. I suspect a decade or more.
From the clips I've seen it looks absolutely stunning visually, too. I personally can't wait to see this and it's gone ahead miles of Cinderella on my ticket my internal wish list.
As others have said, it's one thing saying "I hated it, it's saccharin and these are the things I hated...". I think everyone would say fair enough to that, whether they love the show or not. Conversely saying if you loved it and why.
But to write it off as unlikely to run for long because you personally don't like it seems more like wishful thinking, rather than an actual prediction based on anything other personal dislike of the show. "I don't like this. Everyone will/should share my opinion, and the show will therefore close".
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 13, 2021 0:43:21 GMT
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Post by FairyGodmother on Sept 13, 2021 2:11:11 GMT
I have to agree that Frozen is giving families what they want whereas Cinderella is tricking families through the door based on name recognition alone. It really should be called ‘Bad Cinderella’ in line with the song and to indicate the alternative story route it takes. I would never call a show I was putting on Bad anything. You just know that some critics wouldn't be able to resist... |
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Post by Someone in a tree on Sept 13, 2021 6:52:26 GMT
I have to agree that Frozen is giving families what they want whereas Cinderella is tricking families through the door based on name recognition alone. It really should be called ‘Bad Cinderella’ in line with the song and to indicate the alternative story route it takes. And by putting Bad in the title it would help audiences prepare for the poor lyrics, score and direction |
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Post by Mark on Sept 13, 2021 9:45:08 GMT
It’s certainly a bigger production than on Broadway! It looks so beautiful
Very slow start and lots of setup (I guess by having Let it Go as the end of act one meant lots of padding was needed). Aside from LIG, act two is certainly stronger and flows better.
Lots of children in, and mostly well behaved. A little girl behind me kept coughing with the most horrific cough every minute or so - lovely. Also, adults taking photos at certain points. Other than the kids naturally getting excitable and talking at certain points the audience were otherwise ok.
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Post by max on Sept 13, 2021 9:54:20 GMT
It looks visually stunning, when I saw the production pics I thought it looked like a work of art. Having watched a naughty video of Act 2 on 'that channel' I was surprised those beautiful visuals can be made a bit ordinary by direction - and to some degree by the designer making everything so centre-placed-symmetrical. The proscenium arch in 'Frozen' isn't just a frame beyond which we see that magical world, it's one of those proscenium arches that announces 'it's the wings, after this' which for me makes the magic crash to the ground with a clump (like the mention of an IKEA shower curtain in 'The Lion King'!). So when a man gets slapped/punched by one of the heroines, he falls to the ground and crawls off 'into the wings'. It feels that the magic world isn't there and limitless, but self-consciously presented on a stage, including some very old-fashioned cloths flown in. I guess that's the inherent/comforting stagecraft of Disney? A bit reminiscent of the school play. Makes it durable for touring? I just expected more daring from Michael Grandage.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2021 11:01:25 GMT
I don't recall cloths being flown on on Frozen. When did that happen?
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Post by jennapatchell on Sept 13, 2021 12:14:01 GMT
I don't recall cloths being flown on on Frozen. When did that happen? Almost every scene! |
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Post by MusicalTalk on Sept 13, 2021 13:15:51 GMT
I don't recall cloths being flown on on Frozen. When did that happen? Almost every scene! No… don’t recall. They have the led digital backdrop and the front scrim which features projection - but a majority of the scenes feature real set pieces. There’s the crystal curtain which comes down… maybe I’m wrong? |
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Post by Being Alive on Sept 13, 2021 13:30:37 GMT
Another vote for not remembering cloths being flown in. Like MusicalTalk say, high use of video/LED screen but no cloths...
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Post by Deleted on Sept 13, 2021 13:38:59 GMT
I don't recall cloths being flown on on Frozen. When did that happen? Almost every scene! Hardly. There were a few cloths used in Let It Go and they were half clothes used to give height and depth to her ice castle, around the top and sides, and looked to he mainly made of crystals. And even those clothes you didnt see fly in and out as they were already on stage when the scene started. Where are the others? max Watching a bootleg, recorded way up in the gods, in portraite mode, trying to see past someone's head, really isnt the best way to see the show or have a really informed opinion in how a show looks or feels. |
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Post by jennapatchell on Sept 13, 2021 13:41:38 GMT
Hardly. There were a few cloths used in Let It Go and they were half clothes used to give height and depth to her ice castle, around the top and sides, and looked to he mainly made of crystals. And even those clothes you didnt see fly in and out as they were already on stage when the scene started. Where are the others? There is a cloth flown in before every Ice palace scene to allow for the set to be moved in place. Also at a few points the top masking flies down for set moves in the back. It's subtle but does happen! This is not a bad thing at all though, I have no issue with it. Just pointing out cloth is flown |
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Post by Jon on Sept 13, 2021 15:14:16 GMT
If people don't like it then fine, but saying it isnt real theatre is just snobbish, elitist and to be honest a bit ridiculous. Theatre is all sorts of things, even the much derived Thriller was theatre. If a theatre is full with people enjoying a live performance then great. And as has been mentioned, a massive venue like Drury Lane being full of kids possibly falling in love with theatre for the first time is critical for theatres survival. I only found Frozen okay but I do agree that we shouldn't be dismissing it as real theatre given it's directed by Michael Grandage and features a lot of theatre heavyweights in this cast and creative team. |
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Post by mrbarnaby on Sept 13, 2021 15:15:42 GMT
The crystal curtains used in the Ice Palace are NOT cloths. There is a gauze that flies in downstage which then reveals the beaded curtain extravaganza (?) that is Elsas gaff.
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Post by theatrefan77 on Sept 13, 2021 15:27:35 GMT
I saw it on Thursday for the second time and enjoyed very much. Both leading ladies are truly excellent.
Pity about some people's behaviour. A family from hell was sitting fortunately not too close to me, but even so I could hear them chatting, passing sweets, opening cans of drinks and so on all the time through Act 1. Somebody must have told them to stop and then the mother shouted 'You cannot tell me if I can or cannot talk, I will talk as much as I like' or something similar. At the interval, two managers went to talk to them and there was a heated debate. At least 10 people around them were moved to house seats, at least that's what one couple said they were offered. The family was allowed to stay but they were quiet during Act 2.
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