How Disney Is Transforming Frozen Into an All-New Musical for Broadway

The Broadway-bound stage adaptation of Disney鈥檚 animated blockbuster Frozen is just weeks away from making its world premiere at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where it is slated to run August 17鈥揙ctober 1, prior to a 2018 Broadway arrival at the St. James Theatre.

Co-authored and directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, Hans Christian Andersen鈥檚 The Snow Queen was reframed as a fairytale for modern audiences to present young women with a story of empowerment, loyalty, family, and sisterhood. The film鈥檚 success was propelled by the breakout anthem 鈥淟et It Go鈥濃€攁 cultural phenomenon in its own right鈥攚ritten by husband-and-wife songwriting team of Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. (The duo won an Oscar for the original power ballad, making Robert Lopez an EGOT winner.)

Frozen is arguably Disney鈥檚 biggest screen-to-stage transfer to date. Released in 2013, the film broke box office records week after week as it swiftly transformed into a global juggernaut, ranking as the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and earning Academy Awards for Best Animated Picture in addition to Best Original Song.

Within months of its cinematic release, Disney revealed that it was in the early stages of developing Frozen for Broadway, with Lee on board to write the book, and the Lopezes expanding their score from the film.

Fans and Broadway insiders have kept a watchful eye on the show鈥檚 development over the past several years, charting the entrances and exits of cast and creative team members throughout the workshop process.

With Tony winner now at the helm, a new take on Frozen will premiere in Denver with Caissie Levy and Patti Murin starring as Elsa and Anna, respectively.

Disney Theatrical Group president Thomas Schumacher, the guiding force behind nearly every one of Disney鈥檚 Broadway musical ventures, spoke with 半岛体育 about the decision-making process that goes into adapting a high-profile work like Frozen for the stage. He also offers a glimpse inside the writing process that has led to the expansion and deepening of the now-beloved tale.

You said previously that you knew early on Frozen was meant to be stage musical.
Thomas Schumacher: I sent John Lasseter [the animated film鈥檚 executive producer] a text after an early screening of Frozen in the Disney screening room. The film was in a final rough cut, but not fully animated yet, and I said, 鈥淲hen are we starting?鈥�

What were your initial instincts when you began envisioning Frozen for the stage? Do you let fan expectations play into the creative process at all, or do you start from scratch?
You have to try to make something new. You have to start from scratch. The theme parks and the cruises have an obligation, in a sense, to do a beautiful book report of 鈥淲hat is the movie onstage? Let us bring that to life.鈥� But our job at Disney Theatrical is to do something different. That鈥檚 not that one is not more valid than the other, but our job is to say, 鈥淗ow does this inspire something that鈥檚 purely theatrical? And you can look at any of the work we鈥檝e done onstage when we鈥檝e adapted film material, it doesn鈥檛 look like the film.

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You decided to adjust course on Frozen last year, and brought in a new director, choreographer, and production designer to work alongside the film鈥檚 original writing team. How has that impacted the show鈥檚 trajectory over the past several months?
When you look at the Frozen team, it鈥檚 pretty remarkable. You have Jennifer Lee, who co-directed the movie and wrote the screenplay. She鈥檚 got a real clear idea of what this is because the film went through such an extraordinary journey. The entire story changed when they were making it. Then you have [songwriters] Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez, who are just whip smart and so gifted. They also have a very strong idea of what this is. Then [director] Michael Grandage and [scenic and costume designer] Christopher Oram came to us and said, 鈥淗ere鈥檚 this 颈诲别补.鈥�

We all have different entry points into the story, and everyone鈥檚 is very valid. What we can鈥檛 do is worry about the wrong stuff. We have to worry about why we tell this story. We have the chance to stand on the shoulders of the movie. But we also have to look at the movie and see what didn鈥檛 make sense. We have to ask ourselves, 鈥淲hat would we like to know more about? What could be different?鈥� It all evolves.

Can you share a bit about Frozen鈥檚 evolution from screen to stage? What will the musical explore that couldn鈥檛 be done within the constraints of a 100-minute film?
There鈥檚 a lot about origin. Animation is haiku. We can put up simple images on screen and you get it; you know what鈥檚 going on. And you accept a very brief statement as fact. [There鈥檚] this notion that fairytale, if you will, sort of hangs over the film. What鈥檚 interesting about Frozen now is this idea that Anna is living in a fairytale world and Elsa is living in a mythic world. You think about it and you go, 鈥淗oly cow!鈥� I鈥檇 like to tell you that was my original thought, but Jennifer Lee pointed that out to me at one point. She said, 鈥淥ne of them is in a fairytale and one of them is in a myth, and these two things have to crash together at the end.鈥� It鈥檚 a big idea to think about.

We also ask, 鈥淲hat is the circumstance of Elsa鈥檚 power?鈥� It鈥檚 another big idea to think about. Also, who are those creatures that they go see for healing? That鈥檚 the real story there: Who鈥檚 connected to all of that? How does that exist? But the biggest idea is about love and loyalty, and love versus fear. Can you let go and love? Can you exist without fear? What if your whole life were simply controlled by fear?

You鈥檙e taking Frozen to Denver for a pre-Broadway try-out in August. Do you feel a different kind of pressure with Frozen because it is such a worldwide phenomenon?
Ultimately, we have to do it in full view of an audience, and you don鈥檛 know what you have until that moment. Any number of things that in the lab everyone said, 鈥淥h, it鈥檚 a sensation!鈥� and then you get it in front of a real audience and you go, 鈥淥h my god, what happened?鈥� We don鈥檛 know. We exist in this public arena, and you can feel very exposed. Some people thrive on that and some people want to stay private for as long as possible.

Has the model of fine-tuning a new Broadway show out of town been diminished by the prevalence of social media and online chatter?
[Director] Julie Taymor spoke often about the difference between doing Spider-Man and Lion King. There were many differences in the material, but they were both met with great skepticism in the beginning. But we did Lion King totally in private. If you had come to the first preview in Minneapolis, the theatre was half-filled, we had never run through the show from beginning to end [before that]. Many things we dreamt would work didn鈥檛 work, but the essence of the show was there. So we could see it, and we knew what we were doing. And then we got that response from the audience.

Yes, you can lose control of the story with social media. But for the most part, it doesn鈥檛 nearly have as big an impact on what we do as people think.

What you have to do is watch the audience watch the show, and then sit with your collaborators and trust yourself. I find it very valuable to get the real audience鈥檚 opinion. You sit in the theatre with them and watch them, and you go, 鈥淲hy did that get a reaction? Why are they making noise? Why are they quiet here?鈥�

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