Austin Colby- Hans on Frozen tour (rumor)

[Harpz2006]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 10:28am

Austin Colby is Caroline Bowmans husband. Theyre pretty open about how relieved theyve been this last year to finally be in the same city after many years of their relationships have been long distance. If this rumor is true that hes cast as Hans, do you feel like its totally coincidental or that they really wanted Caroline but she was hesitant to take a tour/maybe had some NY options? Obviously her husband is more than qualified to play Hans; just wondering if this sometimes happens to sweeten the deal for tour actors!

[singer234]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 10:31am

This happens a lot. Casting directors often try to keep families together. Of course, you have to be good and right for the role, but Austin is, so it makes perfect sense.

[BritCrit]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 2:36pm

Austin Colby defintiely looks and sounds the part, but why would anyone WANT such a thankless role?

[singer234]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 3:01pm

Money? To keep your family together? What’s better- being unemployed without his wife in the city?

[BritCrit]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 3:11pm

singer234 said: "Money? To keep your family together? What’s better- being unemployed without his wife in the city?"

I get that. I have no ill will against him at all - I just think that the Prince Hans subplot is the worst part of Frozen by some distance (Love Is An Open Door is a great song though!)...

[Valentina3]

Posted: 8/15/19 at 3:12pm

BritCrit said: "Austin Colby defintiely looks and sounds the part, but why would anyone WANT such a thankless role?"

Ssup, Ben Shapiro?

[BritCrit]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 9:49am

Valentina3 said: "BritCrit said: "Austin Colby defintiely looks and sounds the part, but why would anyone WANT such a thankless role?"

Ssup, Ben Shapiro?"

Now that Austin Colby has been confirmed as Hans, I would like to say two things. 

First of all, I will admit my comment here was bitter and mean spirited. I didn’t intend to insult anyone, but I can see why people found it annoying. 

However, I find the Ben Shapiro comparison really offensive - I’m very left wing, so I hate being compared to a troublemaker like him over one comment. Secondly, I feel like this kind of validates my criticism of the Prince Hans subplot. Whenever people talk about how brilliantly feminist it is, I get the unfortunate implications that it’s OK to deliberately write poor quality, two dimensional male villains in the name of feminism. Misandry is a nuisance at worst and not a deeply ingrained social construct like misogyny, but t still feels lazy and kind of offensive. My issue has never been with the concept of Prince Hans as a villain, but the execution. If they made him a more complex antagonist (misguided rather than malicious) or made his villainy clear at an early stage, he would be a good or even great villain. Frozen fudged it, but gets praised for doing so, which really makes me irritated. Aside from the Prince Hans stuff, I generally like Frozen, but that element leaves a sour taste in my mouth so I have a right to criticise it.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, I’d like to congratulate the cast on getting their roles. I believe Austin will do a good job with what he has. I am also REALLY looking forward to tomorrow’s Frozen 2 reveals...

[JennH]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 10:29am

^^^Wait, what reveals?? I'm guessing at the D23? Ever since that first teaser trailer back in February, I figured much of the sequels' details would be revealed there anyway since it is a D23 year, it's obviously too good of a marketing ploy. And heaven knows I kept forgetting it's THIS week. 

And also-AGREED about the writing of his character. Call me nuts, but he's my favorite Frozen character because of the kind of villain he COULD have been, not for the villain he ended up being. Let me tell you, I've been looking forward to the sequel for one reason alone and I wonder about behind the scenes marketing sometimes...Santino was added to the Frozen 2 IMDB not too long ago when he wasn't for the longest time and here we are, the day before some major sequel reveals and it just so HAPPENS that it's announced that we have a married couple as Elsa and Hans respectively? And Frozen merch marketing for the past good few years has been curious...I'll let imaginations come to their own conclusion for now. 

[BritCrit]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 10:47am

JennH said: "^^^Wait, what reveals?? I'm guessing at the D23? Ever since that first teaser trailer back in February, I figuredmuch of the sequels' details would be revealed there anywaysince it is a D23 year, it's obviously too good of a marketing ploy. And heaven knows I kept forgetting it's THIS week.

 Let me tell you, I've been looking forward to the sequel for one reason alone and Iwonder about behind the scenes marketing sometimes...Santino was added to the Frozen 2 IMDB not too long agowhen he wasn't for the longest time and here we are, the day before some major sequel reveals and it just so HAPPENS that it's announced that we have a married couple as Elsa and Hans respectively? And Frozen merch marketing for the past good few years has been curious...I'll let imaginations come to their own conclusion for now."

I knew that “Helsa” fans would love the casting of Colby, but I don’t think it’s an indicator of any “Helsa” shipping. I think that this would be the worst option for Elsa. As I mentioned above, Hans’s villainous turn is meant to promote and reinforce feminist messages, and pairing him up with the strong and single Elsa would really undermine those. I think that Hans is most interesting when portrayed as an evil counterpart to Elsa (hiding your true nature for selfless reasons vs hiding your true nature for selfish ones), but that’s not an indication that the two are meant to be together...

A lot of Frozen shippers will likely be disappointed by tomorrow’s D23 reveals (I think Elsa will be kept single for now) but if you don’t like the direction they’ll take, just go back to reading the fanfics...

[JennH]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 11:24am

^^^ I'm at the point where whatever happens will happen whether we like it or not, but the marketing for the past few years has been quite curious to me. Also, since it seems Santino is voicing him again, doing a "Villains Revenge" sequel would be incredibly stupid. I'm not even talking about "Helsa" now, I'm taking about merely making him more 3D character. "Villains Revenge" plots are lazy at best and ti ignore him completely seems odd too...but like I said, whatever happens, happens. And hey there are indeed some pretty great fanfics out there  

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 8/23/19 at 11:13pm

singer234 said: "Money? To keep your family together? What’s better- being unemployed without his wife in the city?"

He was in Jersey Boys playing Bob Gaudio up until last week. Had he not gotten this gig, he likely still would be as he was only there for 8 months. 

 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 8/24/19 at 1:04pm

The writing of the role aside, a Disney tour is probably great money, will definitely be a hit on the road, and will likely lead to either or both of them graduating to the Broadway production. It's a win-win-win.

[BritCrit]

Posted: 8/24/19 at 6:04pm

everythingtaboo said: "The writing of the role aside, a Disney tour is probably great money,will definitely be a hit on the road, and will likely lead to either or both of them graduating to the Broadway production. It's a win-win-win."

It’s pretty easy to agree with this. With Santino Fontana winning a Tony and John Riddle getting a lead role in Phantom of the Opera, playing Prince Hans can open a fair few doors, and Austin Colby will certainly take advantage of this...

Whether or not Caroline Bowman and other Frozen tour stars graduate to the main production depends on how long it lasts. If they are hired to take over from Levy and Murin when their contracts expire in Febuary, that could have an adverse affect on the tour, as it will still be at an early stage. They could take over later in 2020, but we have no idea if Frozen Broadway will last that long,,,