Will Frozen make it?- Page 2

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 10:50am

I also said I would love to see them do an original show for Broadway, would give them tons of credit if they did try that and succeeded. 

Aida.

[Sauja]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 10:53am

Having watched StubHub fairly closely and seen orchestra tickets occasionally go as low as $40, and with the weak word of mouth? I also think this is another Little Mermaid. It’s not closing in the immediate future, but I think it has maybe a 2-3 year run and will almost surely be outlasted by Aladdin. It’s true that they sold boatloads of tickets off the bat, but as they add more dates, I suspect there will be trouble. Also, they’ve dropped the lowest price seats from $99 to $79 and are quietly selling good orchestra and mezzanine tickets that I suspect they were holding for premium pricing for $127 on show days. It’s still making a ton and will be for at least a few months. Beyond that? I think a steady decline is almost inevitable at this point.

[SarahNYC2]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 11:08am

At age 10 my daughter is an experienced theater goer- phantom and comet top her list. We come to nyc frequently but on the last trip she opted for no frozen. I went to see it. I enjoyed it. I think for children who are not sophisticated theater goers it is a great introduction. I think the biggest issue and most disrespectful is that they are allowing infants and toddlers in. And I’m hearing from friends on fb groups for moms that ushers are not doing anything about talking kids. This is still a pricey ticket abd theater. If you are bringing your child be prepared to leave if they can’t behave.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 12:51pm

SarahNYC2 said: ". And I’m hearing from friends on fb groups for moms that ushers are not doing anything about talking kids. This is still a pricey ticket abd theater. If you are bringing your child be prepared to leave if they can’t behave."

I’d be willing to bet that Disney doesn’t want a repeat incident. 

 

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Theater-Boots-7-Year-Old-With-Autism-For-421953423.html

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 12:58pm

I think Aladdin is the worst show, so why it has caught on is beyond me. I think Disney just oversaturated. Frozen is still going at Disneyland. I think they should have closed that and maybe put in Beauty and the Beast. It’s just too much Frozen. I don’t need to hear Let It Go ever again.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 1:11pm

"I also said I would love to see them do an original show for Broadway, would give them tons of credit if they did try that and succeeded. 

Aida."

Your right, forgot about that but why no try and do another one - lol

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 1:12pm

"Sounds pretty mean-spirited to me."

Your right and I will apologize.

[SarahNYC2]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 1:25pm

trpguyy said: "SarahNYC2 said: ". And I’m hearing from friends on fb groups for moms that ushers are not doing anything about talking kids. This is still a pricey ticket abd theater. If you are bringing your child be prepared to leave if they can’t behave."

I’d be willing to bet that Disney doesn’t want a repeat incident.



https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Theater-Boots-7-Year-Old-With-Autism-For-421953423.html"

I’m sorry this is where as a parent you need to think of others besides yourself. Now trust me on this I feel for a child or an adult who has any sort of issue like this. But should everyone else be disturbed. How about the actors. I know in nyc they have autism friendly shows. A good friend of mine loves them. She has 3 children, 1 has autism and it has been great for her and her family. 

I was at frozen when a baby started wailing. Please don’t tell me the baby had autism or such. It was a baby. Why on earth would the theater allow a baby in. 

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 1:45pm

Dave13 said: "If you look on Ticketmaster, it appears lots of unsold tickets are available up until showtime. Albeit, most of those are secondary. Nonetheless, there are empty seats in the theater."

Yeah, StubHub is the only real place to buy secondary tickets to this, since Ticketmaster doesn't let you resell for under face value.

[DrewJoseph]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 2:12pm

Yeah, I feell for people with autism and other disabilities like that. I understand it’s not easy at all and they deserve all the joy they can possibly get. But if I just had paid 100+ dollars to see a show and someone next to me would keep moving and making noises I would feel disturbed too. I think they should do more ‘autism friendly’ preformances (or highlight a few dates as inclusive so people can decide if they’re ok with it or prefer another date) but I don’t think you can ask and expect other audience members to just cope with it after they paid such high prices to be there and are completely rightful to demand a silent audience.

[BwayLB]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 2:30pm

I have autism and I haven't been attending theatre avidly until I was 14. I'm okay sitting through a regular performance.

[DrewJoseph]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 4:15pm

BwayLB said: "I have autism and I haven't been attending theatre avidly until I was 14. I'm okay sitting through a regular performance."

Thanks for sharing! I don’t really have people with autism in my circles so this helps me understand some more. What are your thoughts? Is there something producers could do to make you feel more comfortable?

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 4:29pm

I have a feeling Disney is kicking themselves for letting Alex Timbers go (and Bob Crowley, Peter Darling, and Betsy Wolfe). And according to an old Riedel article, I think some of that decision-making was done by John Lasseter and Bob Iger -- so the big Disney execs were involved.

One thing is certain after the Tony nominations: The nominators REALLY didn't like Frozen. To nominate Mean Girls' set and costumes over Frozen??

[Steve C.]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 5:18pm

IMO, Frozen will inherit the curse of Ursula (The Little Mermaid). They took another beloved and heartfelt story/musical and bloated it, over-bloated it and then bloated it a little more...they totally lost the heart of their story/heroine/hero...Will it play awhile? Yeah, but for a production with Frozen's pedigree being totally frozen out (sorry, frozen pun), of every technical and design award nom, orchestrations, choreography...(I can see Murin and Levy cancelling each other out but even they are on thin ice, (oops, another frozen pun!)

I'm sad for the artists but Disney still needs to realize how delicate art and commerce must coexist.

[SarahNYC2]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 10:49pm

BwayLB said: "I have autism and I haven't been attending theatre avidly until I was 14. I'm okay sitting through a regular performance."

I sincerely hope it didn't sound like I meant people with autism shouldn't go. You didn't bring up my comment but I just wanted to make sure. I just think the mom in the Chicago situation should not have brought him or brought him knowing she might have to leave. It doesn't matter why he was making noise.  

 

[BwayLB]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 11:22pm

DrewJoseph said: "BwayLB said: "I have autism and I haven't been attending theatre avidly until I was 14. I'm okay sitting through a regular performance."

Thanks for sharing! I don’t really have people with autism in my circles so this helps me understand some more. What are your thoughts? Is there something producers could do to make you feel more comfortable?"

Nothing in particular that the producers can do. And I didn't feel offensive by the comments. I am very capable of sitting quietly and have not been kicked out of a theatre in the middle of a performance before.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/3/18 at 11:53pm

I will say when I went to get tickets they had a disclaimer on Ticketmaster/TeleCharge that said that "Disney intended this show to...." I didn't read the rest, ah. But sounds like they're at least trying to encourage older children. 

[Great Dame]

Posted: 5/4/18 at 12:09am

yankeefan7 said: "Yes, it was the highest grossing and part of that may be ticket prices are higher and obviously the mass appeal of one song. This was a good movie but it was no "Beauty And The Beast" or "Lion King" IMO. I did not say Disney does not belong on Broadway, I just think they seem to feel any movie they make can be a Broadway show. (exp. Little Mermaid". I also said I would love to see them do an original show for Broadway, would give them tons of credit if they did try that and succeeded. In retrospect, I guess I was over the top hoping it would fail because you hate to see anybody lose jobs. My wife and I took our daughters to the revival of "Kiss Me Kate" as their first Broadway show and they are now big time Broadway geeks - lol. I wonder if kids seeing a Disney show on Broadway will later become Broadway fans because of seeing a Disney show or they just love anything Disney and will care less about theater as they grow up."

The first big Broadway show I remember seeing, in Denver, was Lion King. I'm sure I saw something before that, but it was my first memory of a big Broadway-level production. I was totally blown away. I am convinced it made me a theater fan. Now I've seen all of the big tours that come through town, and have started branching out into local theaters too. I think Disney can totally create fans. 

A new thing that happened for me since Frozen left Denver is I've actually gotten to know the actors' other work. When you live in a city where tours come through for a couple of weeks then leave, it's really hard to get attached to any specific performer. I remember sitting there for Frozen thinking "who the F is that!" Specifically about Caissie Levy. I honestly don't remember ever hearing a person sound that good live, in anything, ever. Hahaha she is freaking magical! And before that night it had never honestly occurred to me to find out what else an actor like that had done. They come then they go, moving on. So in that example Disney helped create a fan of a specific performer, which got me buying cast albums from past shows and frankly helped me to decide to make the trek out to NYC later this month. I've never been before and yes I'm seeing Frozen again because I want to see her and Patti Murin in NYC, but I'm also seeing 5 other things. Disney was the gateway drug for me hahaha!

I think whenever something does well, it's nothing but good. It creates jobs, creates fans, creates tax revenue for NY, creates touring opportunities which does all that for other cities, and so much more. And a show like this made by strong women, about strong women, played by strong women... I hope it crushes it for years! It's a charming story during a less than charming period of American history. We need more stories like Frozen :)

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/4/18 at 12:24am

Agreed with what you said, but it's directed by a man and co-written by a man... so.... but yes, I agree to your point. And I don't think it's going to "fail," but just might not be the giant hit people were expecting. It is still making tons of money, but I think the qualms come in the fact that maybe Disney over-saturated the market. I mean, when is the last time you saw Aladdin? So, I could see why that would be popular, or The Lion King for that matter. But, Frozen is still so recent and still so in the public eye that maybe people just aren't clamoring for tickets. 

[Great Dame]

Posted: 5/4/18 at 2:05am

RippedMan said: "Agreed with what you said, but it's directed by a man and co-written by a man... so.... but yes, I agree to your point. And I don't think it's going to "fail," but just might not be the giant hit people were expecting. It is still making tons of money, but I think the qualms come in the fact that maybe Disney over-saturated the market. I mean, when is the last time you saw Aladdin? So, I could see why that would be popular, or The Lion King for that matter. But, Frozen is still so recent and still so in the public eye that maybe people just aren't clamoring for tickets."

Lion King opened on Broadway only 3ish or 4ish years after the movie came out and Frozen was 5ish years later, so I don't think it's so much the timing. Although I totally agree with you that it's way more saturated than Lion King was, largely because of Let It Go. It will be really interesting to see what happens over the summer when kids are out of school. I imagine that is peak tourist season for families. 

OMG you are so right about Aladdin! I hadn't seen that movie in at least 15 years I bet. The tour was just here and I loved the show! It was so fun and energetic and made me remember how much I liked that movie. 

[Great Dame]

Posted: 5/4/18 at 2:14am

Wow, tell us how you really feel. Why are you such a bummer?! Do you live in Denver? Because I do and it did just fine here thank you very much. I saw it four times and it was a packed house every time... with more than 1,000 additional seats than the St. James by the way. Everyone I knew that saw it really liked it and was thoroughly entertained. Maybe you should quit being such a snob and be a better human. 

Updated On: 5/4/18 at 02:14 AM

[BwayLB]

Posted: 5/4/18 at 9:43am

^^ I haven't seen the movie of Aladdin in its entirety in about 10 years. And it's one Broadway adaptation of a Disney film I want to see. It'll be in Costa Mesa next Spring

[Dolly80]

Posted: 5/4/18 at 6:14pm

CallMeAl2 said: "Will Frozen make it? It's already made it. It recouped before it even opened. They don't even have to be good, as long as they show up and perform the initial set of shows they will be banking those pre-sold grosses.

This still leaves two problems for Disney. First, howto sustain bothAladdin and Frozen together - parents will take their kids to one or the other. Parents will have a fondness for Aladdin from their own childhood. The kids will probably want to see Frozen.

The bigger challenge for Frozen is Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Harry is giving families a fresh story while Frozen is a rehash of what they have already seen. Lucky for Disney Harry is selling out, so Disney shows can be Plan B."

Where are you plucking your information from? It is AGES away from recouping! Jeez. 

[trpguyy]

Posted: 5/4/18 at 7:04pm

DTG projects are projected to recoup after one year. The likelihood of Frozen (or any other show) recouping sooner than projected is not great.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/5/18 at 12:38am

I don't think Harry Potter is competing with Frozen. They're two different beasts. One is a straight play that no one would (or should) bring a 10 and under kid to. Secondly, having seen Frozen tonight, there were WAY too many children who were just too young to sit through a 2 1/2 hour musical. I get that it seems like family entertainment, but if your kid is 6 and under, they're going to be restless. Leave them at home. They aren't ready. 

I just think the world has had too much of the story and songs, and none of the new songs are good, so then what's the point? The only decent new song was "Monster" and even that had some terrible direction in it. I just think this whole production was a bit of a miss. It didn't feel fun and fresh.