New Stage Adaption of Frozen Presents a Darker Vision with More Music

New York professional Janina Casey has an extensive background in equity research and sales and appeared in a number of commercials and theatrical productions as a child actor. To this day, Janina Casey maintains an interest in the theater and current Broadway productions. 

A recent New York Times review brought focus to a new “pre-Broadway tryout” production of Frozen at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Following in the footsteps of successful Disney film-to-Broadway productions such as the Lion King, the musical is based on Frozen, a $1.3 billion behemoth that stands as the world’s highest-ever grossing animated feature. 

One major change is that a dozen songs written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez have been brought into the theatrical production. These songs were not included in the movie, which featured seven of the songwriters’ compositions. This results in a “nearly sung-through” first act that uses music to flesh in characters and relationships that were not delineated in as many fine strokes in the movie. 

As reviewed, the adaption faces struggles in capturing the magic that seemed effortless on the screen. In another change, the movie presents a darker take on the central narrative, with gloomy sets mirroring the harsh Norwegian landscape and the inner turmoil portrayed.