For almost 23 years, Disney has had great success with bringing some of their classic properties to the stage with Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Newsies, and Aladdin. So it really is no surprise that they are currently developing a stage adaptation of their 2013 animated hit Frozen for Broadway. With the husband-and-wife songwriting team of Robert & Kristen Anderson-Lopez penning new songs to go with the ones they already written for the film and Jennifer Lee adapting her screenplay for the stage. Originally hired to direct was Alex Timbers, whose previous Broadway outings included Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Peter & the Starcatcher, and Rocky, but was recently let go from the project this past summer.
This morning, New York Post columnist Michael Riedel reported that British theatre director Michael Grandage will now take the helm. Grandage is mainly known for his work on straight plays such as Frost/Nixon, Red, and The Cripple of Inishmaan. Though he has done musicals before such as the 2005 West End revival of Guys & Dolls, the most recent Broadway revival of Evita, as well as productions of Merrily We Roll Along and Grand Hotel at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Not to mention that his longtime collaborator (and domestic partner) Christopher Oram will be designing the sets and costumes for the show replacing Disney regular Bob Crowley who previously designed Aida, Tarzan (which he also directed), Mary Poppins, and Aladdin for the Mouse House.
Hiring real theatrical artists to direct big commercial properties. Is it a good or bad idea? It seemed that ever since Disney scored big with Julie Taymor on The Lion King, they tried to bring more highbrow theatre artists on board to direct their products. They gave set/costume designer Bob Crowley his first (and only) directing job on Tarzan, and from the clips I’ve seen of it online, it clearly showed he was a first-time director. They also plucked Francesca Zambello from the European Opera World to direct The Little Mermaid, and didn’t quite find success there either. Disney has lately been more successful with having traditional theatre directors like Jeff Calhoun on Newsies and Casey Nicholaw on Aladdin. Michael Grandage may not be the most obvious choice for Frozen, but he does at least seem to be a more traditional theatre artist.
As of now, Frozen is still on track for an out-of-town tryout in Denver next summer before making its Broadway debut in spring 2018. I’ll keep you all posted if there’s something worth mentioning about it.
This morning, New York Post columnist Michael Riedel reported that British theatre director Michael Grandage will now take the helm. Grandage is mainly known for his work on straight plays such as Frost/Nixon, Red, and The Cripple of Inishmaan. Though he has done musicals before such as the 2005 West End revival of Guys & Dolls, the most recent Broadway revival of Evita, as well as productions of Merrily We Roll Along and Grand Hotel at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Not to mention that his longtime collaborator (and domestic partner) Christopher Oram will be designing the sets and costumes for the show replacing Disney regular Bob Crowley who previously designed Aida, Tarzan (which he also directed), Mary Poppins, and Aladdin for the Mouse House.
Hiring real theatrical artists to direct big commercial properties. Is it a good or bad idea? It seemed that ever since Disney scored big with Julie Taymor on The Lion King, they tried to bring more highbrow theatre artists on board to direct their products. They gave set/costume designer Bob Crowley his first (and only) directing job on Tarzan, and from the clips I’ve seen of it online, it clearly showed he was a first-time director. They also plucked Francesca Zambello from the European Opera World to direct The Little Mermaid, and didn’t quite find success there either. Disney has lately been more successful with having traditional theatre directors like Jeff Calhoun on Newsies and Casey Nicholaw on Aladdin. Michael Grandage may not be the most obvious choice for Frozen, but he does at least seem to be a more traditional theatre artist.
As of now, Frozen is still on track for an out-of-town tryout in Denver next summer before making its Broadway debut in spring 2018. I’ll keep you all posted if there’s something worth mentioning about it.