We read about this inclusive musical in an article posted on Yahoo (originating in The Mighty) on July 16, 2019. Though the previews and available performances are over, with no new ones yet advertised, what these Broadway veterans (hearing and deaf) are collaborating on is not only worth sharing but supporting.
The different take on Cinderella is an intriguing use of a very familiar fairy tale to highlight and explore a specific social issue, too; one that not only speaks directly to and for the deaf community, for whom it was created, but for anyone considered 'different'. It's a tale all too relevant and has something for everyone.
Yes - you read correctly: this is a musical for deaf and hearing people to enjoy equally. (Yahoo)
“Stepchild,” (is) a musical that combines songs, spoken word and American Sign Language... (and aims) to make every aspect of the show accessible and meaningful to Deaf and hearing audiences alike.
Here's the premise:
Loosely based on the classic fairy tale Cinderella, “Stepchild” tells the story of Orella, a deaf girl coming of age during the Italian Renaissance. She and her widowed father Massimo struggle to eke out an existence as street performers until their shadow puppet shows attract a wealthy benefactor, the kingdom’s young prince Luca. As Orella’s father seeks out stability by courting Antonia, a widow with two daughters, Orella encounters Allegra, a mysterious fortune-teller who is also deaf and teaches her how to communicate using sign language. Orella discovers a joyous new world, but when she tries to teach others in the community about sign language, she attracts the ire of the ignorant and fear-mongering King, who ruthlessly punishes anyone that dares to embrace what makes them “different.” After an unimaginable tragedy, Orella finds herself fighting for her life, and must find the courage to combat the darkness and liberate her kingdom from oppression.
Interview excerpts (combined from 2 interviews - apologies for the odd-formatting!):
Although “Stepchild” is a fairy tale set long in the past, how does it shine a light on the discrimination Deaf people experience today?
“As we began delving into our research and outreach to the Deaf community, we uncovered a dark and at times brutal history for people with disabilities. The widespread disregard and common violence against many Deaf and differently-abled people is a heartbreaking truth left out of our high school history books. So we set out to create a full-length musical theater piece with the gravity of this dark historical past and the weight of mankind’s propensity for vilifying ‘the other’ as our dramatic base... — David James Boyd and Chad Kessler, Creators of “Stepchild”
“As have other ethnic groups and cultures, the Deaf have had to fight for the existence of and the right to their language. The deprivation of language acquisition is political and abusive. Political because it is about control and abusive because of the severe psychological, emotional and social harm it does to the individual.” — Kim Weild, Hearing Director
Why is the tale of Cinderella the right choice for your specific adaptation?
David: Oh, that’s a good question! I think the tale is oft-told for its primal yearning to be recognized as someone important in society; it’s become a tale about being a member of the elite. But here, in Stepchild, she doesn’t want to be in the highest echelon of society, she just wants to be a part of society. Her goal isn’t to be the Queen, to wear a beautiful gown and glass slippers, but for her kingdom to be able to communicate using sign language. Becoming Queen happens to her because of her hard work and efforts to create communication and understanding between people who are deaf and hearing, so our focus is more social than economic or political. - David James-Boyd - Writer for Stepchild
Chad: We set the story in 1590, on the imaginary island of Costa Bella in Italy, but it’s actually based on the history of Martha’s Vineyard, which was a Deaf colony, once considered to be a kind of “Deaf Utopia,” where everyone was fluent in ASL. When trading, shipping, and, eventually, elite tourism took over the island in the 20th century, the colony died out. But it existed for 350 years as an important Deaf colony, up until the 1950s, and some of the present-day residents still know ASL.
Kim: In our story, Costa Bella is a pious world, where sign language is seen as “the devil’s language” and people can be put to death for using it. So our character is deprived of language until the gypsy Allegra (the equivalent of Cinderella’s fairy godmother) teaches the girl and her father sign language. Her world blossoms, and her relationship with her father deepens, through her new-found ability to communicate.
What do you hope to accomplish with Stepchild? David: To be very clear, we are hearing writers. We do not claim to represent the Deaf culture/experience. Only a Deaf person can truly relay what it is like to be Deaf. We are storytellers, people from our own diverse backgrounds, who wanted to tell a story about how ignorance, prejudice, and fear can divide a family and a community at large – the story of how people’s efforts to communicate with people who are not like them can take steps towards uniting us all. It’s also very rare that a Deaf heroine is featured in a musical; maybe this is the first. Also Orella is not just rescued, but against all odds and obstacles, she triumphs through her own courageous efforts and empowerment. So along with her accomplishments and pride in being a Deaf Queen, there’s also a definite feminist element in her story. “One of the most important things we can do to increase diversity is to make sure that characters who have a disability are being cast authentically and played by actors with those same disabilities. Disability is a lived experience, not a technical skill. But even if a project doesn’t have characters with disabilities in it, creative teams should be open to actors with disabilities auditioning for those roles anyway. We already have plenty of able-bodied actors taking roles with disabilities and then winning awards for it — it’s a slap in the face to us.” — Dickie Hearts, Deaf Actor (Prince Luca)
You may also be interested in this book: Deaf Culture Fairy Talesby Roz Rosen
Description, with front and back covers shown below:
Readers are transported into the enchanting world of fairy tales in this book — with one slight twist: all the stories have characters who are Deaf or sign. Designed for the reader who uses American Sign Language or wants to learn about sign language and Deaf culture, each story takes unexpected and fun turns, always with a lesson in mind. Classics in this book include Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Three Little Pigs, Beauty and the Beast, and many others. Also included are signed songs and poems one can play with in sign language. Original illustrations help make the stories come alive. With such magnificent culture, history, morals, humor, and imagination, this marvelous book will delight readers of all ages.
About the Cinderella mosaics:
The mosaics are from the Walt Disney World Resort, Cinderella Castle - and yes, they're not the Disney Cinderella you're used to seeing. Walking inside the castle archway, one will find five beautiful mosaic murals telling the story of the fairy tale. The series was designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond and set by a team of six artists led by mosaicist Hanns-Joachim Scharff. Each panel is a 15 feet by 10 feet shaped Gothic arch. Skilled artists took 22 months to complete the murals using over 300,000 pieces of Italian glass in more than 500 colors. The tiles are hand-cut and many are fused with sterling silver and 14k gold. Some tiles are as small as the head of a tack! (Information from DisneyFanatic & Disney Parks Blog) Sources Referenced:
Halle Bailey is to be Disney's newest princess as Ariel in the upcoming Disney live-action "The Little Mermaid"
"It was abundantly clear that Halle possesses that rare combination of spirit, heart, youth, innocence, and substance — plus a glorious singing voice — all intrinsic qualities necessary to play this iconic role," said (Director Rob) Marshall.
Exactly what Disney's live-action Little Mermaid needs to be - right?
Surprisingly Mer-ky Waters Stirred By Announcement
Artist: Alice X. Zhang Halle Bailey as The Little Mermaid (complete with red hair)
The announcement that black actress Halle Bailey (star of Grown·ish, half of the R&B duo Chloe x Halle) is set to star as Ariel in Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid has certainly polarized social media. While multitudes celebrated Disney supporting diversity in their live-action casting of a classic and beloved film, the #NotMyAriel hashtag took off in almost the same moment. In the too-long list of complaints, they appear to center around the change in look and image of a figure people have loved - and identified with - since they were kids. But that's kind of the point. People have seen themselves in Ariel for almost two generations, with the emphasis on "selves". When the disgruntled began to cite culture*, history, and even science (!) it became clear that these objections were actually outing a privileged and endemically racist viewpoint. For those watching, it should be noted that the #NotMyAriel reaction is not coming from kids. Kids across the board are responding with excitement. The disgruntled demographic is embarrassingly specific: 30yrs+ white women. The "original Ariel", Jodi Benson, raised her voice on the matter too:
“I think that the spirit of a character is what really matters," (Benson) replied. "What you bring to the table in a character as far as their heart, and their spirit, is what really counts."
Benson talked about how channeling Ariel's inner spirit is how she herself has been able to step into the role over the years, despite getting older:
"And the outside package — cause let’s face it, I’m really, really old — and so when I’m singing "Part of Your World," if you were to judge me on the way that I look on the outside, it might change the way that you interpret the song. But if you close your eyes, you can still hear the spirit of Ariel. “We need to be storytellers," she concluded. "And no matter what we look like on the outside, no matter our race, our nation, the color of our skin, our dialect, whether I’m tall or thin, whether I’m overweight or underweight, or my hair is whatever color, we really need to tell the story.” (Source: combookmovie.com)
If it really comes down to "a certain look" that about puts it in a n̶u̶t̶shell and then to bed. (See what we did there? OK, sorry - moving on...) Unfortunately, if you look beyond the surface, it's easy to see that is only part of the issue here.
Doing our best to get all sides of the story, our Fairy Tale News Hounds spent a long time reading through multiple responses to the news on various social media outlets and were very glad to find that there are many white voices being raised in support of sharing - and representing - the magic they felt as five-year-olds with children of every color, especially those with dark skin. One response in particular melted our hearts. This is it:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
That was a bit of a roller-coaster read, so we will now have a brief
--Intermission--
with some beautiful baby black mermaids
These lovely little merkids are by illustrator Raissa Figueroa, aka @Rizzyfig on Instagram. She created a series on this little afro-haired mermaid for Mermay one year and so many people fell in love with this little character that she's kept on drawing her and boosted her whole illustration career as a result.
You can purchase a print of these beautiful baby mers on Etsy HERE.
You can also follow her on Twitter and get in-process or glimpses of new sketches HERE.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Intermission Over ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Don't Worry: Classic Ariel Will Not Die - Ever
The level of distress on social media about the live-action casting is downright odd for another reason. Having a new black Ariel, does NOT remove, erase, eclipse, or in any way 'undo' the fact that red-haired, white-skinned Ariel exists. She will always exist. For thirty years this very Western image has represented the Little Mermaid story (thanks to Disney's worldwide influence). If you judged from the outrage evident in response to casting a live-action black actress and singer in the role, you would think these distressed Ariel fans think "their" Ariel would no longer exist, but that will never be. Both characters are Disney. Both are/will be lucrative properties for the Disney marketing department and they're not about to let a proven cash cow of 30 solid years disappear. When assured that the classic Ariel won't disappear, all that's left is that those who are attached to "their" Ariel just want all the new shiny for themselves. Put that way, the negative responses begin to look... well... spoiled. Eep.
Annie Leibovitz photography fro Disney Dream Portraits, featuring Julianne Moore as Ariel
Classic Ariel "In The Flesh"
Parody poster of Mera (artist unknown)
Amber Heard as The Little Mermaid, all grown up
But let's play devils' advocate for a minute and talk about representing the original classic, that is, Ariel with white skin and red hair. What look-alikes do "Ariel purists" have? See below for an "off-the-top-of-our-heads" list (not conclusive by a long shot):
Disneyland & Disney World/s live Ariel character performers (for 30 years)
The Little Mermaid musical - the title role in the big Disney version/s and the school-approved versions
Every Disney Little Mermaid Halloween/roleplay/cosplay costume ever
All the Ariel dolls
Not to mention her image on hundreds of products
The Annie Leibovitz poster photo of Julianne More as Ariel for Disney Dream Portraits (and Queen Latifah as Ursula)
Once Upon A Time's live-action Ariel - a repeat role in the series (played by JoAnna Garcia Swisher) - note that this version is on film and includes many iconic scenes from the classic movie as they fit the story being told
Mera from DC's Aquaman 2018
Wait! Mera isn't even Disney and isn't Ariel! Why is she included?? Here's the reality: even though the character is not owned by Disney, the new live-action Mera looked exactly like (quote) "Ariel on crack", all grown-up and ready to fight and rule by her own merits. In fact, if Disney had decided to use a "spitting image human" of the animated Ariel she would look an awful lot like Mera (although younger and more naive), with the disadvantage that Disney's Ariel would look rather wimpy next to her. Mera is totally badass and a now a feminist icon in her own right. A live-action Ariel who looked similar would always be compared to her. We suspect Disney marketing folks are quite aware of this, just as they were very aware of needing to distance the new mermaid, aka Ariel, being created at Disney Feature Animation from Darryl Hannah's blonde mermaid sensation in the 1984 hit-movie Splash. A Splash sequel )(Splash, Too) was also in the works when The Little Mermaid was pitched and the to-be-animated-classic was "temporarily nixed" as a result: "Too many mermaids!" said the then-CEO, though that decision was later reversed. Eventually, the reasons for giving Ariel red hair, rather than blonde, were a) not like Darryl Hannah and b) because red is a complementary color - that is, opposite - of green (the mermaid tail). Yes, folks - that is the main reason Ariel became a red-head instead of the expected blonde. Red was not chosen for ginger-representation. It was for marketing.
Why did we bother with this list? There are many already-awesome options to choose from, should folks need a human-looking version of the classic Ariel to still feel 'represented'. Truly, there is such an abundance - why is it the 'purists' feel they are 'owed' (not our term!) the new live-action movie too?
Disney's Black Mermaid Trial Run
ABC OUAT special episode promo poster
Tiffany Boone as young Ursula with mer-tail (pre-tentacles) (OUAT ep 4:11)
This seems like a good time to remind folks that Disney already had a successful trial run with a black Ariel-like mermaid**. The very popular Disney-owned and based series Once Upon A Time, was known for looking into classic characters and exploring their backstories, always with a twist on the trope. Villains weren't exempt from the treatment and often the black and white villains ended up eliciting sympathy from the viewers regarding their own difficult pasts and bad decisions (making it very possible for many of them to be redeemed). With Ariel having made an appearance in a couple of episodes, it wasn't unexpected that Ursula would appear too and that fans would learn how she came to be the villain she was known to be. In an inspired twist, it turned out Ursula's story was actually a Little Mermaid tale.
Tiffany Boone as young Ursula on land (OUAT ep 4:11)
The exploration was short and kept within a single episode, which meant it didn't get as much media coverage as a story with a multi-episode arc. As a result, it's a great pity the episode "Poor Unfortunate Soul" didn't get more attention. In the OUAT "twist" Ursula was originally a beautiful young, black mermaid. She's seen with tail and fins, on land with two human legs and eventually transforms into having those classic and villainous tentacles. Fans loved it all. While it should be noted that OUAT included a red-headed, white-skinned Ariel (and her Prince Eric) in their character line-up throughout the series (and in the same episode!) to be on the safe side, Ursula's own mermaid story of a girl finding her feet and her voice was beautifully written, poignant, unexpected and immensely satisfying in its exploration of multiple issues and their resolution. While OUAT was inconsistent on many fronts throughout the series and draws a lot of criticism, it did have many moments where it struck a chord, was truly revisionist and a perfect exploration of the fairy tale in its pop culture era. Ursula's backstory as the "original" Little Mermaid was one of those.
Ursula and Uncomfortable Truths
"Mary Belle and the Mermaid" illustration by Leo & Diane
from Her Stories: African American Folktales, Fairy Tales, and True Tales by Virginia Hamilton
(Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner)
With Melissa McCarthy now confirmed for the role of Ursula, we're already holding our breath for that moment when the white lady takes away the black girl's voice... yikes! But perhaps that's what Disney and Director Rob Marshall are planning to acknowledge and explore. Although women as a whole have had it tough for the majority of written history, when it comes to inequality it must be acknowledged that white women are not completely blameless. It would seem it's a hard conversation to have but that makes it worth having all the more. The negative reaction to the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel by a rather large (and vocal) demographic has been surprising, and uncovered a hidden white-privilege mindset among long-time (mostly female) fans - women who believe themselves to be progressive, inclusive and 'woke'.
That the negative response to Disney's casting of Halle Bailey was - and is - so very emotional and feels personal to those objecting is a clue to just how endemic white privilege is and that's a scary thing, especially seeing it come from intelligent people you know and love, and, let's be honest, in some cases ourselves. To be clear, there is no doubt many of these women are much more progressive than their predecessors but that doesn't mean there isn't still (a lot of) work to do. That this is happening at all should make it clear that this issue needs to be addressed, and attitudes - and assumptions - reassessed. Now. While we will admit we were hoping a wonderful drag queen (with all the singing and acting chops) would be cast in the villain's role to nod to the character's original inspiration (Harris Glenn Milstead, better known as Devine), putting a powerful white woman in the antagonist role opposite a lovely young black heroine is going to resonate... Uncomfortable? Yes. Worth the trouble and ruffled feathers (er scales)? Absolutely.
Congratulations Halle! We are so here for this movie!
Disney's live-action feature film, The Little Mermaid, is scheduled to go into production in 2020.
*A Short Reference List on Mermaids & Mermaid Tales From Around the World
Every country with a coast has their version of mermaid tales but many of those mermaids look a little different than the popular images we've gotten used to. Here are some resources for you to find some different mermaid tales
The Cultural Significance of Mermaids Around the World (Mermaids of Earth - website dedicated to mermaids around the globe - lore, art, tales, influence, enjoyment and ocean conservation)
black Rapunzel (huge hit! though they also had a white version as well)
female Jack (of the famous beanstalk)
lesbian Mulan (& Dorothy - a nice nod to the LGBTQ community and their famed love of the MGM movie)
a maternal Maleficent (which the Disney live-action movie also used)
a Latina Cinderella
The whole season 8 of OUAT had the Latina Cinderella (Jacinda) as the main character, with the premise of the eighth season being that there are multiple versions of the same fairy tale across universes - a valiant effort for inclusivity though a little late in the show's popularity to make a huge difference. Still, it showed that some people were considering the same stories with a different look, and that's a huge step toward inclusivity and diversity.
article from the Washington Post explaining the social media tumult of the black casting of Halle as Ariel and explaining why a strong black mermaid is part of black people's ancient traditions in Mami Wata - Africa celebrated black mermaids long before Disney and #NotMyAriel
Mermaids, of course, don’t belong to one region. The earliest fish-women emerged in southwestern Asia’s ancient Mesopotamia, said Sarah Peverley, a cultural historian at the University of Liverpool in England. “But almost every culture has a version of a mermaid,” she said. “They come in all shapes, sizes and skin color.” When the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen published “The Little Mermaid” in 1837, people across Africa were already swapping tales about MamiWata. (Washington Post)
For the first time, Disney's legendary stage musical, The Lion King, goes where no musical has gone before. The seventh continent. The Lion King has played on every continent except one. Opening on April 1st 2019, in a 2000 seat ice theatre, in Antarctica. Below, watch as the team behind Disney's The Lion King takes you behind the scenes as it plans its most challenging production ever. (BroadwayWorld)
#AprilFools2018
We do love how people get on board with folklore and play with April Fool's Day, adding to the surreal world of possibilities on the one day of the year that people are constantly reminded to check their facts; something we think is important 365/366 days of the year.
That said, a Frozen Lion King doesn't sound completely ridiculous... ;)
Mary Poppins has a lot of those things we love: arriving (and leaving) by unconventional means (umbrella, or, more technically, the East Wind), a magical carpet bag you can fit anything into, a talking umbrella-bird, paintings you can jump into, floating tea parties, sliding up bannisters, having unlikeable people/nannies being blown away (by the wind - natural consequences!), talking to (and with) birds, a mirror with its own personality, dancing on rooftops, and so much more. It's clear this classic takes its cues from fantasy and fairy tales.
The original carpet bag... not made for carrying carpets (though it probably could).
But before we continue, have you seen the new trailer? No?
We'll let you watch before we weigh in:
So we're a little disappointed that she floats in on a kite, although that gives kites yet another magical connection, and it is, after all, the mode of conveyance in the book Mary Poppins Comes Back (the sequel to the first Mary Poppins volume.) The trailer is - obviously - supposed to underscore the melancholy state of, well, everything, without Mary there but there is a lot of that despair on display in this teaser before we get to the sunny breakthrough/arrival of the magical nanny. Generally speaking, we adore all the concepts of and around Mary Poppins, as mentioned above, but...
OK. Full disclosure:
We were always more-than-a-little disconcerted by Disney's Mary Poppins. She creeped us out, being so "practically perfect". The books didn't communicate quite that sense at all; she was clearly quite vain. (The references to this flaw in the books are many. Check the link to have an online read of just how many!) We loved Travers' books but the thought of having a '"jolly holiday with (the Disney) Mary" gives us the willies!
The following excerpt is from a very old post of InkGypsy's, (on a very old and defunct blog), from over ten years ago, and still holds true:
The new carpet bag
(can you imagine what that
carpet would have looked like?)
A character that's always bugged me is Mary Poppins. From the first time I saw that Disney film I was disturbed by this apparently perfect, almost emotionless, amazingly powerful woman with an agenda that's never revealed. She seemed alien to me and not at all comforting. If she'd been my nanny I would have had nightmares. As it is I just find her disturbing. Even with all that singing and dancing I was always aware of the ice in her eyes and the strangely perfect precision of all her movements and actions. I felt like Bert was under a spell, and not a good one. Oddly enough her arrival in the sky with the umbrella was like a black cloud appearing and it didn't go away until she blew away too. Despite this, umbrellas - and their potential to fly you away to distant places - are a wonderful image for me, as are dancing on chimneys and sidewalk paintings you can jump into, but my enjoyment of these is greatly disturbed by the shadowy, threatening presence of Miss Poppins. It's the cold perfection that I find completely inhuman and ultimately dangerous. I always felt she was really a personification of the Snow Queen and that the film was only ever Act I of the story. Act II, in which her sinister plan is revealed, was never completed and I was quite happy that we never saw her (that way on screen) again.
And now, behold Act II!
This new teaser trailer, with Emily Blunt as the new iconic and magical nanny, gives us a few of those same vibes... and a 'quick google' has let us know, we're not alone in this!
Even with all the creepy possibilities, we must admit we really are looking forward to this one. With the different awareness of how women are portrayed now, and Disney having done a bit of soul searching to produce the quite decent movie Saving Mr. Banks, we have this on our watch list.
It is interesting to note that, from the brief glimpse we've had, this second movie, does indeed take its cues from Travers second Poppins book (just as the first movie did). We're curious to see how well it follows along with it. Here's a summary of that book from Wikipedia:
Mary Poppins Comes Back, published 1935 Nothing has been right since Mary Poppins left Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane. One day, when Mrs. Banks sends the children out to the park, Michael flies his kite up into the clouds. Everyone is surprised when it comes down bringing Mary Poppins as a passenger, who returns to the Banks home and takes charge of the children once again (though she'll only stay "'till the chain of her locket breaks"). This time, Jane and Michael meet the fearsome Miss Andrew, experience an upside-down tea party, and visit a circus in the sky. In the chapter "The New One" a new baby girl in the Banks family is born to the name of Annabel and concludes the family of now five children; three daughters and two sons. As in Mary Poppins, Mary leaves at the end (via an enchanted merry-go-round), but this time with a "return ticket, just in case" she needs to return.
There are other directions the problems of being "practically perfect" can go, too. While our Newshound was "researching" she ended up on Twitter, discussing two paths, that, interestingly, ended up converging. Here's the conversation thread that began with a fairy tale comparison:
Seriously, that mirror image, in both the original movie and in this teaser trailer, fairly beg to make the comparison. And it's not a stretch to have Snow White say, on her box being opened, "No thanks, just regenerating...". Let's be honest, especially now that The Doctor has finally acknowledged the femme side, the movie we really want is to see is: Mary Poppins: Time Lord
Many years ago, someone edited together a trailer for Mary Poppins, as if it were a horror movie. Although it was a (great) exercise to show the power of editing, it also cuts a little close to being possibly true...
Warning:
DO NOT WATCH if you're not interested in seeing the dark side of Mary Poppins!
(You'll never be able to see her the same way again.)
At this writing, Disney's Frozen has officially opened on Broadway and is in previews. There's no doubt it's going to make a boatload of money - at least initially. (Reports are coming in that it's already made back its production cost of $25-$30 in just two nights). But will it be a good show?
Why is it so daunting to bring Frozen to the Broadway stage?
Michael Grandage - Director of Frozen on Broadway
Frozen has the equally enviable and unenviable issue of continuing to be so ridiculously popular that it's both a guaranteed crowd draw and a great risk to make any deviation from the movie - whether that's costumes, songs, story details or structure.
But Broadway is supposed to be more than 'the movie on stage'. It's supposed to be a true, stand-alone theatrical experience.
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 “What is the movie onstage? Let us bring that to life.” But our job at Disney Theatrical is to do something different. That’s not that one is not more valid than the other, but our job is to say, “How does this inspire something that’s purely theatrical? (Schumacher interviewed by Playbill, July 2017)
Everyone wants another Lion King success story, of course. What people forget about The Lion King, is that, at the time, it was Disney's most successful movie to date; bigger than The Little Mermaid, bigger the Beauty and the Beast, at that time. It was a monster hit with audiences and critics and the popular and sought-after merchandising added to the very real pressure to keep everything 'familiar'. (In the years since, Princess Culture and its associated marketing have kept the profile of the other two much higher and contributed to a greater 'long term stock' success.) To say "yes" to Julie Taymor's vision for The Lion King on Broadway was one of the riskiest moves the Disney Company, as a whole, made in a long time. The Lion King on Broadway now exists as a separate entity from the movie, and it's argued that this is part of it's continued staying power. Twenty years on, The Lion King on Broadway remains a sell-out show. But it certainly wasn't guaranteed at the time. The Lion King was a risky experiment gone right, and duplicating that success has never happened.
Disney's Aladdin on Broadway, after false starts, and much criticism and worry, is finally finding its feet and is considered a (decent) hit. The Little Mermaid is considered as "not having translated to success" (to put it in company terms) and 'over-produced'. Beauty and the Beast on Broadway, which stayed closer to its source material in look and execution than Lion King but took a few risks as well, is also a "Broadway keeper" but still doesn't approach the success of The Lion King.
Fresh versus Familiar So where will Frozen ultimately land? From all reports to date, Frozen is leaning more toward Beauty and the Beast than The Lion King, in terms of the Broadway experience, but it is still 'early days' and despite having full production tryouts, it's not unheard of for changes still to happen in the first few months.
Here's a reminder of the Disney Company's stance, when it was being developed and being handed over to a Director (twice), which, in some ways, seems to undermine the statement about Disney Theatrical above:
“ ‘It’s a big property for us,’ they said, ‘And we’d like it to not depart too much from what’s out there. But it’s over to you, how to reimagine it.’”
The biggest criticism of the show is that it is "obviously trying to straddle two worlds": that of including all the familiar and beloved elements audiences expect/want to see and that of trying to create a fresh take on the film and make it, its own experience. The problem seems to be that - at the moment - it isn't completely successful on either front, making the Broadway experience a bit of an inconsistent one.
As you can see from the collected images in this post, the promotional material and photos are emphasizing the familiar, that is, the movie brought to life (though clearly with better quality than either the Once Upon A Time experience or the Disney Parks and cruises Hyperion version). The attention to detail and scale of the costumes, sets and puppet construction and manipulation is excellent and very likely, exactly what the audience are handing over their big bucks to see.
There's an in-depth article from Timeout HERE that wonderfully describes in detail how the costumes were approached. We greatly appreciated this comment:
“The costumes from the film are iconic, and so I approached the reimagining of them with trepidation and respect. I was also very aware that this would likely be the first time that a generation of young fans of the film would set foot in a theater, so it was important to me that they had an experience that was both familiar and at the same time new and exciting. Certain looks translated very easily into real fabric and onto real bodies; others took more revision before they found their balance.” (set and costume designer Christopher Oram)
As well as this attention to their own research (as opposed to merely cribbing off the movie's):
“Bunad is the traditional Norwegian dress, and it’s the recurring theme of all the garments in the show. We were able to research it thoroughly through books and by visiting Norway; it’s still how they dress on festivals and occasions, and there are shops that sell contemporary versions of it and museums that have collections of antique versions of it, so you can see how it’s developed and changed. ...nothing is ultimately more useful to any design process then to experience the world in which the piece is set for real. So our trip to Norway, in the footsteps of the original filmmakers, was both a revelation and a reassurance as it confirmed both what the film and my many reference books had suggested.” ...“To experience the vast scale of the fjords, to feel the extreme cold of the mountains and to walk in the crepuscular half-light of medieval stave churches was the ultimate preparation for embarking on this journey. You get a sense of the scale of the place, the ache of the place, and the smells and the quality of light. On the bridge, Anna wears a mountain ensemble borrowed from Kristoff, based on his own Sami outfit. It’s a look new for her, created for the stage show: men’s clothes that are too big for her. When she realizes she can’t carry on in it, she changes into a skirt and cape, her iconic traveling outfit.”
Olaf and Sven
There are some approaches, since The Lion King, that have become, well, standard, for Disney stage-adaptations, specifically, the puppet-actor-hybrid. It should come as no surprise that this is the approach for Olaf, Elsa's snowman-come-to-life (which his far preferable over the Theme Park-like full-character costume, as far as creating an emotional and comedic stage performance goes), and also for Sven the Reindeer (created by acclaimed puppet maker Michael Curry).
Reports are (so far) unanimous that both Sven is even better than the movie.
Olaf isn't getting quite as warm a reception all round, though critics agree the actor-puppeteer does a fantastic job. (Note: there have been productions that have tried the full-body costume approach and it's come off as creepy, and there have been the Olaf-as-projection-special stage-EFX which have felt too removed, so the tried-and-true hybrid-puppet approach for Broadway was generally expected.)
Stage Not Screen
When asked, during development, about what differences the musical would explore, that couldn't be done within the constraints of a family friendly-length film, Playbill received this answer:
There’s a lot about origin. Animation is haiku. We can put up simple images on screen and you get it; you know what’s going on. And you accept a very brief statement as fact. [There’s] this notion that fairytale, if you will, sort of hangs over the film. What’s 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, “Holy cow!” I’d like to tell you that was my original thought, but Jennifer Lee pointed that out to me at one point. She said, “One 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.” It’s a big idea to think about. We also ask, “What is the circumstance of Elsa’s power?” It’s another big idea to think about. Also, who are those creatures that they go see for healing? That’s the real story there: Who’s 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?
With all that in mind, there are some major differences between the movie and the Broadway edition, knowledge that potential audiences may be better off armed with before going, than being 'surprised' by them. (We are indicating any potential-spoiler differences clearly, in case we have readers wishing to avoid them.)
**STILL SPOILER FREE**
The Why and How (Director Michael Grandage's Approach)
“It’s a show that’s very much about a family in trauma,” says Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who with her husband, Robert Lopez, wrote the score for the film and added more than a dozen other songs for the Broadway version, which of course retains the Oscar-winning “Let It Go.” ...And it’s a show in which frostiness itself is almost a character. (via The Washington Post)
Enlisting his partner, theatre designer Christopher Oram, to create the sets and costumes, Grandage travelled to Norway to seek inspiration for the frost-bound kingdom. “There was a guy who showed us 100 different kinds of snow!” he said. (via Telegraph UK)
**SOME SPOILERS**
(You may wish to scroll down to where it says SPOILER FREE)
The Differences (summary)
But what are those differences?
A nod to the movie's rock-trolls
Caissie Levy (playing Elsa) and Patti Murin (playing Anna), the leads for the Broadway show think the appeal will be broader than the movie:
“There is something for everybody,” Levy said. “We have discovered so many more layers to examine within this story that can only happen in the theater. A lot of adult themes are explored. It’s not just for kids. ...With the addition of so much new material, we have the freedom to expand and to go deeper than you are able to in a film.” (Broadway Direct)
The opening is also different:
The show is (now) set to open with a group of creatures referred to as “hidden folk,” similar to the Scandinavian folklore of “huldufólk” but with more animalistic qualities. (Playbill)
These “huldufólk” (basically Icelandic elves) apparently have tails too, though how they are played is unclear. (Reception has been mixed - very positive through to "creepy".) How the tattoo design for them, revealed via Director Michael Grandage's Instagram is used, is also unknown.
So there are now no "rock trolls", as they are replaced by the "hidden folk" or “huldufólk”.
The show now has twenty-one songs, more than double the film, including the original favorites, with the new ones all having been written by the original, Oscar-winning husband and wife team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Those songs include "Dangerous to Dream" and the just-released "Monster".
Tryouts program for Denver - Not Broadway final
"There’s a new duet between Anna and Kristoff called “What Do You Know About Love?,” while Anna and Elsa will both have new solo tunes, with “True Love” and “Dangerous to Dream,” respectively." (Nerdist)
There are also some key staging and chorus details that can be gleaned from the interview with costume designer Chris Oram as well:
“We start the show in summer, with the ensemble in their light summer gear, and end it in the depths of winter. So they have a journey that’s physicalized by what they’re wearing. In the final sequence they are choreographed to function as a blizzard; wearing layered, bunad-inspired winter outfits in shades of white (also by Jennifer Love), they become the storm that engulfs the sisters at the climax.”
So gone, too, is Marshmallow, the giant snow-guardian of Elsa's ice-palace, replaced, essentially, by the "Blizzard chorus'.
The wolves that chase Anna and Kristoff (and Sven) are also out.
**POSSIBLE SPOILERS CONTINUED**
Any Differences From The Tryouts In Denver?
In a word: "yes".
In a review of the tryout run of the show in Denver in September, Jesse Green of the New York Times wrote admiringly about some aspects but came away decidedly mixed about the story, by Jennifer Lee*. “ ‘Frozen,’ ” he observed, “is going to have to figure out how to make the dark character less of a bore and the light character more compelling.” (The Washington Post)
*Jennifer Lee who co-wrote and directed the hit animated feature, also wrote the book for the Broadway version.
Broadway audiences will see a show that’s about 30 percent different from what was seen in Denver, Grandage and the Lopezes say. “A character we created we got rid of, we changed the opening, we changed the closing, we changed four huge numbers of choreography. And the whole reason is to make it more poetic, clearer, more precise,” Grandage explains. “We totally rewrote the finale,” says Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Everyone agreed that “Frozen’s” teary wallop of a conclusion — a surprise final twist in the plot — had to land like a haymaker. It’s a statement about looking past pain, to an understanding of what’s most important in life, and remaining open to the possibilities of reconciliation in ways that you’re not always prepared for. (The Washington Post)
What the Critics Are Saying To Date
Rather than repeat what's wonderfully collated elsewhere,HERE's a "round-up" of the good, the bad, the wows and the indifferent comments from critics so far, (possible spoilers if you've skipped those sections here, so be warned).
Folks will be glad to know the "Let It Go" sequence doesn't disappoint.
The sets, lighting and visual effects throughout the show seem to be getting thumbs up all around.
**DEFINITELY SPOILERS AHEAD**
Audience Criticisms To Date
Hopefully some of these issues will be reworked or reconsidered in the near future, but for now, these are the issues getting the most negative attention:
There is a much-touted addition of a Danish concept (and a song all about it) called 'Hygge', (pronounced HUE-gah) which translates as "enjoying life's simple pleasures", and has a 'burlesque' (!) chorus, which some audiences are finding ingenious while others are just baffled by it. Anna joins Oaken's family in their sauna (all having towels!) and gets into the 'Hygge mood'. (Kristoff does not - he stays on task.) Hygge, acting like the 'Hakuna Matata' of this musical seems to be key to the message and themes of the Broadway show, and while it's getting critical thumbs up for the music, it's not quite working for all audiences, possibly because of the burlesque staging (towels!) and dischord (so to speak) with where the story arc is at, at the time it's sung.
The issues might be more explicit than audiences expect, such as Elsa's exploration of her insecurities being so deep she appears to contemplate suicide during the song 'Monster' (something which the staging and performance apparently indicate).
Elsa's pantsuit (below) has been advertised as making her "more powerful" - that hasn't gone over well.
Elsa has a new - white - dress because, er... oh right: ka-ching!
Anna has climbing leathers, at least for a while, but there are some concerns about consent, in how Anna is (apparently) manhandled into getting out of her party dress and into these travel clothes, then dragged around and treated like a complete klutz and only accidentally competent, all played for laughs and during a great song... hmm. There is concern emerging from audiences so far that Kristoff takes away Anna's agency in many different ways, treating Anna as little more than a spoiled girl, with her being more a match for Olaf (essentially a child) than himself.
It would also seem the biggest 'moment' is more about the Anna and Kristoff kiss at the end than any note belonging to the sisters, which is a shame. There is barely any interaction between Anna and Elsa, post Anna-thawing. To top off this odd emphasis, the closing song reprise/medley is a Love Is An Open Door/True Love (new song) combo. This is one spot where we would have expected a joyful variation or reprise of Do You Want To Build A Snowman. Currently, this seems to be a missed opportunity.
One of the subtle and odd differences is that in exploring Elsa's insecurity in more depth and in beefing up Anna's comedy in the manner they have, the women in the show now seem 'less',, in other words, weak. This might be the biggest and most worrying difference we've heard rumor of to-date - worrying also because the differences are subtly enrobed in what has been a girl-power and sisterhood 'anthem' to many, from the moment the movie hit screens. The sadly insidious and weakening differences may very well slide by unnoticed to the very people who should be planting that flag even more strongly for this 'new generation of theater-goers'.
**SPOILER FREE ONCE MORE**
The Official Trailer
Here's the official trailer for the Broadway Show which gives a nice and non-spoilery overview of the production in rehearsal (please note, this was made before the allegations against the President of the Disney Theatrical Productions [DTP], Thomas Schumacher, so he makes appearances throughout the video):
Would We Go To See It?
YES!
While it doesn't sound perfect (and has some issues that are quite concerning to us), it looks and sounds like an amazing, high-quality show and a different enough experience from the movie to make it, it's own thing. We hope it continues to evolve and refine itself as it begins its run, but there is a lot of beautiful work here in so many ways and on so many levels, we would support it. And then let you know what we truly thought. ;)
(Below are the first offical curtain call photos Disney has released:)
The different take on Cinderella is an intriguing use of a very familiar fairy tale to highlight and explore a specific social issue, too; one that not only speaks directly to and for the deaf community, for whom it was created, but for anyone considered 'different'. It's a tale all too relevant and has something for everyone.
David: Oh, that’s a good question! I think the tale is oft-told for its primal yearning to be recognized as someone important in society; it’s become a tale about being a member of the elite. But here, in Stepchild, she doesn’t want to be in the highest echelon of society, she just wants to be a part of society. Her goal isn’t to be the Queen, to wear a beautiful gown and glass slippers, but for her kingdom to be able to communicate using sign language. Becoming Queen happens to her because of her hard work and efforts to create communication and understanding between people who are deaf and hearing, so our focus is more social than economic or political. - David James-Boyd - Writer for Stepchild
What do you hope to accomplish with Stepchild?
The mosaics are from the Walt Disney World Resort, Cinderella Castle - and yes, they're not the Disney Cinderella you're used to seeing. Walking inside the castle archway, one will find five beautiful mosaic murals telling the story of the fairy tale. The series was designed by Imagineer Dorothea Redmond and set by a team of six artists led by mosaicist Hanns-Joachim Scharff. Each panel is a 15 feet by 10 feet shaped Gothic arch. Skilled artists took 22 months to complete the murals using over 300,000 pieces of Italian glass in more than 500 colors. The tiles are hand-cut and many are fused with sterling silver and 14k gold. Some tiles are as small as the head of a tack! (Information from DisneyFanatic & Disney Parks Blog)
