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cahwyguy
Disclaimer: This writeup talks about ice, and not chilling version of the substance that has lately been in the news. With respect to that form of the substance, we need a society that is warm hearted and cares about others, for ice should not be chilling our hearts, and we don’t need that form of cold in our farms, factories, streets, cities, or countries. Hmmm, I guess the musical I’m about to discuss is more political than I thought: It’s all about how true love for others can melt the ice that is threatening to destroy us: at home, down the street at farms in Camarillo, and in our nation. That said, on with the writeup.
What’s the difference between refrigerator ice and cocktail ice? Cocktail ice is made with special professional equipment: It freezes from the inside out so that it is crystal clear and perfect. The ice we make in our refrigerator freezes from the outside in, trapping air bubbles and making the cube cloudy. Our drink doesn’t care about these imperfections: It gets cold just the same, and gets diluted just the same. But we’ve been convinced we need the perfect ice, and we’ve been convinced that we need to pay more for it.
Back in January 2020 — shortly before the pandemic hit — I saw Frozen at the Hollywood Pantages. Much of what I wrote then still applies to the show itself, and I’ll take the easy way out and repeat it below. But I’d like to emphasize one thing I said in that writeup, so pay attention to the text I have bolded:
Q: So, when Elsa gets hungry in that Ice Palace™ of hers, what does she eat?
A: Frozen foods.
Are we going out on that joke? No, we’ll do an overdue writeup of a Disney™ animated movie turned into a stage musical first. Will that help? Not much, no.
OK, Stan Freberg aside: Yes, we saw Frozen at the Hollywood Pantages (FB) last Sunday, and this writeup is way way overdue. But it has been a busy busy week in the evenings (which is when I have time to do the writeups), and its not as if this writeup would do much to change the trajectory of this musical, which has its expected popularity with particular audience segments.
The way I’m starting this writeup makes it appear that this was a bad musical. It wasn’t at all. It was essentially the Disney musical on stage, with some adaptations to better fit the limitations of a real, non-animated world. The story was musical to begin with, so there wasn’t the question of whether this should be musicalized. It is clear that Disney intended for this to eventually move to the stage with the structure of the story and songs. The larger question of whether this needed to be on the stage is a different one: is it making an important point or message that isn’t being made elsewhere, or is this a profit calculation. I do think this falls into the latter category — this isn’t a Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, or Hamilton. It is clearly motivated by profit and parents, as evidenced by the length of its sit-down run at the Pantages.
That, by the way, doesn’t make this a bad musical. It is just not one of lasting social importance. But it is revolutionary, in its own way, for a Disney musical. You have princesses wearing pants, for example. But more importantly, you have a princess story where the goal is NOT the princess getting the prince. In fact, the prince is a cad. The true love in this story is the one between the sisters. It is that “true loves kiss” that moves the story forward (and sorry for the spoiler if you haven’t seen the movie). There are some who believe that this story even has a lesbian subtext. I don’t see that — neither sister seems to express a strong sexual desire towards anyone, so this could be asexual at best. But it is a strong story based on the sibling bond, and that’s something you don’t see in Disney that often. That could be one reason why shows like Frozen and Wicked have such a strong following from young women: they center on relationships between women that are/love each other as sisters, and that aren’t centered around the men on the periphery. That’s a message of female empowerment, something that is decidedly not the Disney of Yore.
The stage production is also a technical marvel. First and foremost is the puppetry. There are two primary puppets: Sven (the reindeer) and Olaf (the snowman). Sven is marvelous, with no real hint that there is a human actor inside. Realistic movements, playful, believable. Not at all a cartoon. Olaf, on the other hand, is intentionally cartoonish. You can see the human moving him behind him. But the attachments are such that Olaf really comes to life, and is an equally believable characters. Second and, umm, duomost, is the magic. This is a combination of projection, LED manipulation, stage magic, flying effects. They create Arendale, but more importantly, they create the ice effects and the magical ice palace. They create the magic costume transformations. This magic will make this production memorable for the youth in attendance, and may go a long way to creating lifetime theatre lovers. That’s the good thing. What’s bad? Think regional and smaller productions of this. This will be licensed at some point, and there will be regional and smaller productions of this. How will they reproduce the puppetry and stage magic, within limited budgets? That remains to be seen. Hopefully, the Disney juggernaut has planned ahead for those situations. I’m curious how the productions of Frozen Jr. handle this?
The songs are generally those of the movie, with some substitutions based on the changes in the story — primarily involving how the hidden folk that raised Kristof are presented and integrated in the story. More notably, in terms of music, this is NOT the production that is on Broadway. A new song has been integrated into Act II: “I Can’t Lose You”, which does a great job of showing and emphasizing the sisterly bond between Anna and Elsa. This helps center the story, and foreshadows the conclusion much better. This is as good a place as any to note that the music and lyrics are by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, with a book by Jennifer Lee, who also wrote the Disney animated film, which was directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.
Saturday night, we were out in Thousand Oaks for the second production of the 5-Star Theatricals season: Frozen: The Broadway Musical. Like my original writeup, this one has been delayed from my usual schedule, simply because we were travelling on Sunday. Also, like my original writeup, this one won’t change the trajectory of the show, as it closed Sunday night. Such are 5-Star runs. Further, like the original production, the audience was filled with little girls dressed as Elsa and Anna (and the occasional boy as Olaf … for some reason, they never dress like Sven or Kristoff); for many of whom, this was their first taste of live theatre. It is clear that older adults like us are not the audience of this show.
But what I would like to focus on is the bolded text. This production was one of a wave of the first regional productions of the show. How did they do with preserving the Broadway magic? A reviewing colleague of mine was slightly disappointed, comparing the production to a recent one from a company with more budget and resources. I think each production needs to stand on its own. In this respect, I think 5-Star did well. The puppets were professional and effective, although credit for that belongs to Theatre Under the Stars in Houston TX, source of the puppets. The magical projections here, however, were home-grown. Read the credits: The projections weren’t rented or provided by MTI (the licensing organization) or Disney: they were locally created by Nicholas Santiago. Understanding that, they were remarkably effective, especially considering the budgetary limitations that 5-Star must be working under [from having 3 productions in the larger Kavli theatre, they’ve gone to two in the smaller Scherr Forum, and only one in the big house — and that house was only about 40% full at our show … 5-Star has never recovered from the pre-pandemic highs]. Further, the primary audience of this show — the Disney lovers and the kids — won’t notice the difference. This show, for what it was, was effective.
What made this show special was less the production, and more the talent. That’s where 5-Star has traditionally excelled: they cast exceptionally well, especially for what is a large quasi-community/quasi-professional company that has limited AEA (æ) spots available. In this case, the Elsa and Anna were spot on. Monika Peñaæ (Elsa) we saw as Nancy in 5-Star’s Oliver, in the cast of the Deaf-West American Idiot at the Taper, as Lizzie Borden in Lizzie at the Chance. Ella Smithæ (Anna) was the lead (Bonnie) in the recent Bonnie & Clyde at the Rubicon. Strong singers, and strong performers. These two made the show.
The supporting folks were equally strong. Notable here was Frankie Zabilka, who we’ve seen in a number of 5-Star productions, notably their versions of Newsies and Something Rotten. Zabilka has a humor and charm that shone through as Hans of the Southern Isles, making the ending twist even better. Sawyer Pattersonæ, the third AEA actor, made a strong and effective Kristoff, and Landon Starkman puppeted Olaf well.
Also notable were Catherine Last and Amy Sorensen as the young Elsa and Anna, respectively. Sorensen was so cute as her headpiece kept falling off, and the two of them couldn’t hide their childish playfulness.
The show had a few flaws: I think the second act opener, “Hygge”, suffered from being overplayed and having poor enunciation, making the lyrics hard to hear in the back of the orchestra. That’s less a problem with the actors, and more with the direction. But other than that, I think the show served its audience well. This is not a deep show. It is a show designed to entertain little girls and Disney-lovers. It is a trifle. It doesn’t have the long-term lasting depth of other Disney shows, such as The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast, both in terms of plot or quality of the songs. But it succeeds for what it is.
Should you go see it? Here is where I get off easy: You can’t. It closed Sunday. Knowing 5-Star’s track record, you should consider seeing their production of Hairspray in October, which will be directed by Marissa Jaret Winokur (the original Tracey on Broadway), in the smaller Scherr forum. I’m curious to see how Hairspray works in the smaller theatre that doesn’t have the fly space or the wing space. I’m also unfamiliar with Winokur’s directing experience. But, in general, 5-Star productions are strong so it should be good.
Cast and Crew
Frozen: The Broadway Musical. Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez. Book by Jennifer Lee. Directed by Yvette Lawrence. Choreography by Cheryl Baxter. Originally directed on Broadway by Michael Grandage. Based on the Disney film written by Jennifer Lee and directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee. Originally produced on Broadway by Disney Theatrical Productions.
Cast (æ indicates Actors Equity): Monika Peñaæ Elsa; Ellie Smithæ Anna; Landen Starkman Olaf; Sawyer Pattersonæ Kristoff; Frankie Zabilka Hans; Sebastian Guerro Sven; Travis Joe Dixon Weselton; Javier Garcia Oaken, Ensemble; Ceron Jones Pabbie, Ensemble; Jodi Marks Bulda, Ensemble; Eleen Hsu-Wentlandt Queen Iduna, Ensemble; Richie Ferris King Agnarr, Ensemble, Casting Director; Amanda Aceves-Lopez Ensemble; Melissa Musial Ensemble; Aaron Michael-Rees Camitses Ensemble; Jeff Garrido Ensemble; Luc Clopton Ensemble; Angelikah “Jelly” Chun Ensemble; Chloe Johnson Ensemble; Lielle Kaidar Ensemble; Matthew Smith Ensemble; Micah Nicholson Ensemble; Rasha Willes Samaha Ensemble; Catherine Last Young Elsa; Amy Sorensen Young Anna; Charlee Marie Youth Ensemble Ava Giselle Field Youth Ensemble; Conner Noson Youth Ensemble; Madison North Youth Ensemble; Sophia Sedik Youth Ensemble; Zander Chin Youth Ensemble.
Music Department; Anthony Lucca Music Director, Conductor; Dave Metzger Original Broadway Orchestrations; Stephen Oremus Original Broadway Music Supervision and Arrangements; David Chase Additional Broadway Dance Arrangements; Gary Rautenberg Flute, Piccolo, Alto Sax, Soprano Sax; Darryl Tanikawa Clarinet, Tenor Sax, Orchestra Contractor; Christopher Maurer Trumpet 1, Flugelhorn; Bill Barrett Trumpet 2, Flugelhorn; Matt Evans Tenor & Bass Trombones; Melissa Hendrickson Horn; Cody Cadena Acoustic & Electric Guitars, Banjo; Chris Kimbler Keyboard Synthesizer 1; Benjamin Ginsberg Keyboard Synthesizer 2; Lloyd Cooper Keyboard Synthesizer 3; Shane Harry Electric & Acoustic Double Bass; Satoshi Kittahama Set Drums, Extra Percussion; Joe Martone Large & Hand Percussion; Tanikawa Artists Management LLC Orchestra Production.
Production and Creative: Yvette Lawrence Director; Cheryl Baxter Choreographer; Lorelai Snow Bishop Asst. Choreographer, Swing; Cameron J. Turneræ Production Stage Manager; Gavin Lattimeræ Asst. Stage Manager; E. K. Dagenfield Production Manager; Jonathan A. Burke Sound Design; Julia Pinhey Assoc. Sound Design; Isa Underdahl Sound Mixer; Brandon Baruch Lighting Design; Alex Choate Prop Design; Luis Martinez Wig, Hair, Makeup Design; Nicholas Santiago Projection Design; Front Row Theatrical Rentals Scenery; Olney Theatre Rentals Costumes; Theatre Under the Stars Puppets; Jack Allaway Technical Director; Jacob Holcombe Crew Chief; Richie Ferris Casting Director; Michael Donovan Casting Director; Elzer/Demand PR Publicity; Fresh Interactive Marketing Team.
Thoughts on 5-Star Theatricals
We’ve been subscribers at 5-Star Theatricals, or its predecessor Cabillo Music Theatre, for over 20 years (since 2001), except for one year. This may be our last year. There are some clear and simple reasons why, none of which are the specific fault of 5-Star. More, most are the fault of Thousand Oaks and the management at the Bank of America Theatre.
- First: Parking. Parking at the Kavli has gone up to $16. Expensive parking I can understand in a place where there isn’t a lot of available parking, such as near the Pantages. But when LA County can do $10 parking at the Ahmanson, there’s no reason for $16 in the empty structure at the Kavli. $9 was acceptable. $16 is not.
- Second: Security. At the Music Center — a much higher profile target being downtown near the LA City hall — there is little to no security. No bag inspections. No scanners. At the Pantages: There are metal scanners and sometimes bag inspections, but they are reasonable (and my wife can bring in her knitting). But at the Kavli? It is worse than going to the airport. Empty all the pockets. Empty all the liquids. Knitting needles are verboten. There is no solid reason for this: The threat profile is negligible there. It just serves to annoy the patrons.
- Third: Prices. This I blame on the venue, not the company, because prices at the B of A Theatre are high for all Thousand Oaks productions, be it 5-Star, Broadway in Thousand Oaks, or their concert series. This turns away audiences.
- Fourth: The shows. Not the quality, but the selection. In order to survive, there is greater dependence on retreads and family-friendly shows, such as Frozen. For all the hassles listed above, there’s not a lot of attraction when the show being presented is one I’ve seen many times before, or don’t really care to see again.
When we started with Cabrillo, prices were reasonable, parking was reasonable, and there weren’t security worries. Today, there’s so much friction to attend a 5-Star show it takes away the joy. This shows in the audience size. When once the orchestra was full, the mezzanine was full, and the balconies were reasonably full, today, everyone is down in the orchestra, and the mezzanine and balconies are closed. Shows have moved from the big theatre to the small forum. I wonder if this company will survive, given these problems and the continuing leadership changes (I still miss the announcements from the stages, and the kids hawking raffle tickets before the show and at intermission).
There’s a good chance we’ll move this subscription to the Rubicon in Ventura. It’s about the same drive, for a smaller theatre with more adventurous shows. Free parking. No security. Tickets are about the same prices, alas.
Administrivia
I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; The Soraya, and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.
Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).
- August: ♦ Some Like It Hot at BIH/Pantages; ♦ & Juliet at CTG/Ahmanson
- September: ♦ Shucked at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish at The Soraya; ♦ Eureka Day at Pasadena Playhouse
- October: ♣ Fly Me to the Moon at The Soraya; ♦ Hairspray at 5-Star Theatricals
This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Refrigerator Ice vs Cocktail Ice | "Frozen" @ 5-Star Theatricals by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.