Other Theatrical Snow Queen Productions (Pt 2): Bonstelle & the ART (American Repertory Theater)

Continuing the recent-and-varied theatrical takes on HCA's Snow Queen round-up, a show that transforms on stage and includes the audience in the telling. Bonstelle Theater's The Snow Queen is an ambitious production with a lot of element to juggle (and a perfect production for serious theater majors to sink their teeth into).

Here are some interesting notes from the Guest Director, Allegra Libonati of The American Repertory Theater (which is where the production was first staged):

There are many elements of The Snow Queen that I found deeply compelling. I was drawn to the incredible landscapes where the story takes place. We travel from a tiny rose garden, all the way to the snow queen palace at the North Pole, surrounded by the Northern Lights. This captured my imagination. I was also really moved by Hans Christian Andersen’s life story. He was told by his mother, after his father died, that the Snow Queen had taken his father away. Later in his life, he created a story of two best friends who are separated by The Snow Queen. We watch as little Gerda, through her blind faith and deep devotion, is able to find Kai at the end of the earth, and save his life. I think there is a deep message in this show, embedded in a fantastical and spectacular world.

My vision for this production was inspired by the experience of listening to a story, and allowing it to transform the world around you. The show begins in a magical attic where a group of children have gathered to hear a story. As the story unfolds, beds become snow drifts, sheets become blizzards, a wagon becomes the boat. The world around you transforms into the locations and characters of the story. The audience is integral to the show.  When you arrive, you create a paper rose and a snow flake, and are asked to help Gerda along the way using these elements.

The production was staged by Bonstelle Theater (Wayne State University's Undergraduate Theater Company) in December 2012. There are tons more photos if you follow the links.

As a bonus, below are some images from the original ART (American Repertory Theater) performances which show great similarities but also great differences:

This professional production also called for audience participation and looks quite delightful.

Many more theatrical Snow Queen posts are lined up to explore some very unique productions, so keep checking back.

"Frozen" Is Heading To Broadway (Fingers Crossed for Rewrites!) But We Already Knew That, So Let's Check Out Other Theatrical Snow Queen Productions (Pt 1)

Idina Menzel (voice of Elsa and Disney's current reigning queen) photographed for GO magazine

It wasn't really a question of "if"but "when". I wasn't the only one to feel that Frozen was "front loaded" with songs - meaning that they had a musical in mind from the beginning and had to write the movie to accommodate the songs. By the looks of it the only thing they were waiting for was to make sure Frozen was making the money-makers happy enough, the fans passionate enough and an Award Winner (first a Golden Globe, next an-almost-guaranteed Academy Award) to throw a ton more green into, what is no doubt going to be, an insanely expensive theatrical production.

The official news:
One day after Frozen won the Golden Globe, Disney CEO Bob Iger has confirmed to Fortune that the studio is in talks to turn the animated hit into a Broadway musical. No date has been confirmed for when the stage version will debut. “We’re not demanding speed,” Iger said. “We’re demanding excellence.”

Yes - don't rush - you have a big job there.. and please revisit some of the story issues while you're there please? Kthxbai.

So the main questions regarding Frozen-the-Musical (ugh - that sounds hokey) are:

1) Will they bow to pressure from almost every source and write more of Elsa, the Snow Queen's story (and thus make it reflect more of the spirit of the original fairy tale - though more of the plot is pretty much a solid "ain'tgonnahappen") or will they just add more songs? 

2) How on earth are they planning to design, pull of a production that can run every night of the week (and sometimes more) that won't let the Frozen fans down in terms of the magical ice and snow stuff (because, let's face it, THIS is what people are going to come to see: Let It Go and the ice castle construction). 

3) They will rewrite for the stage, it's unavoidable - but what will the emphasis be? Will they fix some of those glaring holes the movie has? 

At least the Fixer Upper song will be more at home, as will Love Is An Open Door. They are two examples of just-fine-but-completely-unnecessary-for-the-main-story songs that Broadway is good at using, for getting those tricky backstage mechanical set-ups in place and working in time and for lengthy/complicated costume changes - something fun that the audience doesn't mind get sidetracked with a little because in the back of your mind you're aware that in a very physical sense, they need time to get the next piece of awesome ready (something you DON'T need in a movie by the way because.. it's a movie. :/ )

Apart from ridiculously high expectations on the ice and snow theatrical effects, another main headache for the production will be finding Idina sound-alikes. It doesn't matter if you have a "good voice" - no professional versions of Let It Go (all of which have amazing vocal talents) have come close to Idina Menzel's rendition. She's the one who put a ton of life into Elsa with her performance (quite possibly a lot more than Disney was prepared for, since they stuck with the "Anna is the main character/it's her story" party line) and, especially within the story, the actor-singer playing Elsa who can't carry that song as a true storyteller, is in danger of flattening the entire show. (Of course, if they adjust the writing to include more Elsa this will be less important.. just sayin'.)

Will it be more like HCA's Snow Queen? No. But I know whatever they design and however they create the technical effects of snow, ice and snowmen, it will be both cutting edge and informative for all those people who want to bring a new version of Snow Queen to the stage.

(And, honestly, it would be a fantastic project to work on! I wish those employed to do so, the very best.)

While this news tends to send Frozen fandoms into ecstatic comas of joy (or worry, since Idina probably won't be involved), I thought it would be fun and inspiring to have a look at a few recent and very different Snow Queen productions that most definitely ARE fairy tales after Andersen's story (and I'm going to stick with theater and not even delve into ballet & dance because that's a whole other set of posts for another time!).

I'm going to start the round-up after the jump and then continue in upcoming posts (otherwise this would be as long as a football field with all the lovely pics! :)
✒ ✒ Click the "Read more" link below for the first highlight in the Theatrical Snow Queen Round-up ✒ ✒

Here There Be Dragons... Specifically Maleficent

While everybody still seems to have Frozen-fever, once Maleficent gets close to debuting in the theaters, I have no doubt we're going to see a lot of Sleeping Beauty emphasis, themes, products, marketing tie-ins and who knows what else. I'm actually looking forward to it, hoping they get creative and mine the tale in fresh ways and I don't care if it seems foolishly optimistic - I live in hope... ;)

We've seen the first poster and trailer - both of which have people ridiculously excited and as a taste of things to come, Walt Disney World have unveiled a steampunk Maleficent dragon that will be part of the spectacular new Festival of Fantasy Parade for Magic Kingdom this year. (Source)

(By the way: Steampunk + Disney = awesome! More please.)

Although Sleeping Beauty herself, named Aurora in the Disney film, is THE most passive of any princess or gonna-be-princess Disney has ever put on the big screen (argh!), I like many other things about this film. Apart from being an incredibly beautiful film - mostly due to Eyvind Earle's design contributions, Prince Philip is a hard-to-beat Prince, his horse Samson is just about perfect, Maleficent is both dark fairy and demon (and hard to beat for scariest villain ever), her raven is wonderful (her goons are not - they're ridiculous and hurt the film), the castle falling asleep is wonderful (and the best use of the ridiculous fairies), the original hundred year sleep is referenced as Maleficent mocks her captor, the thorn barrier is truly intimidating and awe-inspiring, the final battle is perfect (apart from the fairies, I think Philip would have done fine without them) AND Disney added physical transformation which is a stroke of genius.

Already intimidating Maleficent turns it up to 11 when she resorts to dragon form (I say "resorts" because it actually shows a measure of desperation on her part to pull out every last "big gun" she has against this hero. I'm always reminded of the GK Chesterton quote:

I love that this dragon is not only massive and awe-some (in the original sense of the word) but that kids will see this gigantic structure and quite possibly remember it for the rest of their lives (hopefully with positive associations). I remember seeing things as a kid that, because they were in front of me, made a huge impact whereas more incredible/technically better objects and characters were easier to dismiss if they were in books or on the TV. Take a look at some more close-ups. Although Disney has had giant Maleficent dragons in parades and displays before (the one at the link has been "retired"), this is something rather special looking (and possibly more real? Sometimes steampunk has that effect for some odd reason). You'll see this will be a pretty hard sight to top, especially if you're in the front row.

Pretty nice work, yes?

The Festival of Fantasy Parade is set to debut at Walt Disney World sometime in Spring (apparently, March 2014).

Though dragons in fairy tales aren't actually the norm (that's more a romantic medieval conceit and based around popular legends of St. George and the Dragon etc), evil women changing into serpents or other sinuous creatures are more common, so once Disney's Maleficent showed her inner-self, dragons became more popular as fairy tale staples too. It's a little example of how society's view of fairy tales changes with pop culture by the way, something that's about to be reinforced big time in 2014.

Fairy tale bonus of the day: "Philip's trophy"

Unique commission by Dan Reeder

Although I'm anti-hunting, and therefore trophies, I did see this and think it was something that might have happened in the era Disney's version was set in (it helps that it's papier maché, of course). Pretty cool and besides, being magic, I'm not convinced she's as dead as she appears. Fairy tales forever have heads being reattached and forms restored - usually good people and creatures but sometimes bad one s too... And by bringing a whole head into his house philip might just be asking for trouble (and a sequel) because, well, there's a lot a head can do, even all by itself.. ;)

More Images from G1988's "Fairy Tales: A Print Show"

Stitching Starflowers by Shannon Finch

Just a quickie post today, expanding on my previous entry HERE on this show at Gallery Nineteen Eighty-Eight...

What the Doormouse Saw by Misha

The Beast by Matt Kaufenberg

The Ugly Duckling by Marcus Marritt

I tracked down a few more illustrations from the G1988 (West) Fairy Tales print show. Apparently there were under 30 prints so this might just be the rest of them. (Kind of weird to have less than thirty pieces on a subject like fairy tales, no? You think they'd be hard pressed to narrow it to one hundred).

Jack and the Beanstalk by Marcus Marritt

 “The Golden Stair” by Jeremy Berkley

Hansel & Gretel by Marcus Marritt

I finally found - and updated - the missing credit from the last post - the graphic looking Sword in the Stone piece. It's titled The Once And Future King and is by Ryan Brinkerhoff. And Dave Quiggle's The White Stag which I liked so much, was apparently inspired by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

The Crane Wife (I only had the artist sneak-peek view before) by Deborah Bencosme (of castlepöp)

Oh - and did anyone notice the wolf in Red's cloak in the print that was also used for the poster? (See below.) I didn't till today... *rubs tired eyeballs*

Gregory Maguire Talks "Wicked", Teases Nutcracker... (Drosselmeyer!)

Broadway hit Wicked (which is nearing it's 10th anniversary!) heads to Manila this month, debuting on January 22nd with an Australian cast (you can see a slide show of the Australian production HERE).

As part of promoting the new production there, Gregory Maguire was recently e-interviewed (it's an official thing now) by Philippine newspaper The Star about, not only his thoughts on seeing his book head to the stage (and quickly become "a commotion"*), but also about his writing life and upcoming book plans.

Wicked Elphaba by Laura Mossop

The article also included an excerpt from the Auckland, NZ, show program for Wicked last year which, if you haven't read before is pretty wonderful:

...(Maguire) noted in the souvenir program for the Wicked run in Auckland, New Zealand (which The STAR covered late last year): “When Stephen Schwartz approached me with the notion of turning Wicked into a musical play, I needed much less persuading that I let on,” adding that “… from the opening anthem’s foreboding figure of notes… the score for Wicked respects the book’s tensions and ambiguities” making the figures who once lived solely in his head seem more real,” he added.

To have your book turned into another (professionally produced) art form is pretty fantastic but to feel that the people doing that understand your vision and "get" your work? That's on the rare side and completely thrilling.

Here are some excerpts from the recent e-interview:

Can you recall the exact moment when the idea of Wicked first came to you? 

“No. But I do remember the moment when I realized that the information we did have about the story was incomplete. In one of the songs from the MGM film (The Wizard of Oz), the Cowardly Lion sings, ‘What makes the Hottentot so hot?’ Even at the age of eight, I knew that Hottentots were from Africa, not from Oz: So how could the Cowardly Lion use such a reference? Similarly, when Dorothy sings to the Tin Man, ‘You could be another Lincoln…’ he doesn’t stop the song to ask, ‘What’s a Lincoln?’ They are not telling us the whole story, I said to myself, and scrunched closer to the TV to see what else was going on.” 

You’ve said in interviews that you don’t write anything that doesn’t ask big questions. What’s the biggest question and message readers will take away from Wicked? 

“What is the true nature of evil? Is evil determined by culture, by history, by God or by spirits, by the accident of birth or the behavior of individuals? I can’t say I provide an answer, but this is a question we do well to ask ourselves over and over. It is never an old question.” 

Wicked by Tim Shumate

What’s your daily writing life like? 

“I try to write about five pages a day when I am writing a new novel, and a first draft is usually done in a couple of months. The older I get, the more time I spend on revisions — my newest book has gone through eight drafts. It is out next year. (I’m working on) a book called Egg & Spoon, a fantasy set in Tsarist Russia about the time of Dr. Zhivago, more or less.”

(By the way - the projected date for that book's release is still "sometime during Fall 2014".)

And now for the news that had me probably more excited than I should be, especially since it's still in the "vague idea" stage:

If there’s another classic tale you’d want to give a “wicked” treatment, what would that be and why? 

“I have been playing with the idea of writing a book called Drosslemeyer, about the godfather who gives Klara the Nutcracker in the story of the same name. I don’t know why I would want to write that. Writing it would give me the answer.”

!!!!

Drosselmeyer by Artuš Scheiner

Nutcracker (and, in particular, the character of Drosselmeyer) has so much potential to me. Unfortunately it often feels like Clara (Klara?) reaches the Kingdom of Sweets and people fall into a sugary malaise of... nothing.

Only two (that I can think of) interpretations come to mind that attempt to mine Hoffman's story for retelling potential (remembering that this was a whole, literary work, by the way): one is Graeme Murphy's Nutcracker: The Story of Clara for the Australian Ballet, about a Russian dancer, migrating and growing older (available to view on DVD). The other (at almost the opposite end of the scale) is a video made for a college assignment by a student who used Britney Spears' song Toy Soldier (What? Yes - right there with you!) and blended the choreography with images and symbols from the traditional Nutcracker ballet in an attempt to empower girls instead of have them waiting to be rescued. It's actually more successful than it sounds. Yes I was surprised too. (You can click HERE to see it on YouTube if you'd like. It's a much better than average amateur video, especially once it gets started on the song/choreography portions.)

It's bizarre because I always thought Nutcracker could be quite epic. Drosselmeyer is a completely fascinating character, the music is wonderful and well known and it's a tradition for many people to go see Nutcracker at Christmas time so there's an audience already built in.

Nutcracker by Natasha Tabatchikova

But I digress.

You can read the whole fascinating interview HERE (note: sometimes the website has difficulty loading but keep trying, it's worth it). While it's not very lengthy, it packs a lot into a page.

What do you think of Maguire's next fairy tale-based novel consideration?

* Wicked fans will get my reference. :)