Frozen's Three Act Structure

Disney's Frozen opened on Broadway last night to mixed reviews. The film's three act structure sits oddly on a two act frame. Let's take a closer look at the screenplay: 

• Act One is the set up. It takes 6 songs to introduce the world, the protagonists, the conflict and the inciting incident. Elsa's powers are revealed and an eternal winter begins. The act ends with "Let It Go."
• Act Two is rising action. Anna tracks down her sister. We get 2 songs to introduce supporting characters and bring the sisters together. The turning point comes with a reprise of "For the First Time in Forever."
• Act Three is resolution. The sisters must overcome self doubt, unseat the antagonists and end the snow storm. Most Disney films run out of songs by this point. Frozen gives us the momentum stopping "Fixer Upper" and a reprise of "Vuele." 

The score front loads the best songs and splits the story between two protagonists. Now what happens when the stage show adds 10 more songs? We get this:

• Act One
• "Vuelie" – Company
• "Anna and Elsa" – Young Anna, Young Elsa and Townspeople
• "A Little Bit of You" – Young Elsa and Young Anna
• "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" – Young Anna
• "For the First Time in Forever" – Anna, Elsa and Townspeople
• "Hans of the Southern Isles" – Hans
• "Dangerous to Dream" – Elsa and Townspeople
• "Love Is an Open Door" – Anna and Hans
• "Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People" – Kristoff
• "What Do You Know about Love?" – Anna and Kristoff
• "In Summer" – Olaf
• "Hans of the Southern Isles" (reprise) – Hans, Duke of Weselton and Townspeople
• "Let It Go" – Elsa
• Act Two
• "Hygge" – Oaken, Kristoff, Anna, Olaf and Company
• "For the First Time in Forever" (reprise) – Anna and Elsa
• "Fixer Upper" – Bulda, Olaf and Hidden Folk
• "Kristoff Lullaby" – Kristoff
• "Monster" – Elsa, Hans and Volunteers
• "Hans of the Southern Isles" (reprise 2) – Hans
• "True Love" – Anna
• "Colder by the Minute" – Pabbie, Anna, Kristoff, Elsa, Hans and Townspeople
• "Vueille (Love Thaws)" – Townspeople
• "Resolution" – Company

Disney is streaming several of the new songs on the Frozen website. We've lost "Frozen Heart" (no tears here), moved "Let it Go" and crammed two acts of screenplay into one act of stage libretto. Act two stretches out the film's finale. The storytelling has gotten a bit lumpy. Does it matter? Not to the target audience. They'll keep it running a year at least. Then the schools will produce it for ages.

Edit: I've now had the good fortune to see this show live. The problem for me was less the structure than the lack of danger. Film Elsa uses her ice powers to throw her sister out of the palace and attack invading assassins. She has to be knocked unconscious before the army can arrest her. Stage Elsa sings she "will not be a monster" and politely surrenders. Frankly she could stand to be a little more monstrous. The show would benefit from higher stakes.

Jamaica

Film star Lena Horne made her Broadway debut in a show that was basically a concert. It didn't start that way. Jamaica was conceived as a vehicle for Calypso singer Harry Belafonte. He would play a Jamaican fisherman resisting the commercialization of the local culture and attempting to keep his NYC loving partner by his side. Some accounts say Belafonte left due to illness. Others say he was unhappy with the material.

Lena Horne had turned down St. Louis Woman in the 40's but agreed to play Jamaica's flighty leading lady. The show shifted focus to her character and the book was cut to ribbons. According to wikipedia she opts to stay in Jamaica after her fisherman beau (now played by Ricardo Montalbán) rescues her brother from a hurricane. Sure. Whatever. It ran a year and a half.

The show is so slight and dated that even Encores won't revive it. Instead they gave Vanessa Williams a handful of Horne's songs in a 2018 revue. Songs like "Push de Button," "Cocoanut Sweet" and "Ain't It The Truth" (cut from Horne's Cabin in the Sky) are worth another listen.

St. Louis Woman

Legends say that Lena Horne declined the title role when the NAACP denounced the character's "easy virtue" as demeaning. The show went through a rocky tryout and a short Broadway run. Encores produced a concert in 1998 starring Vanessa Williams. The recording is uneven but it reminds us that the score is full of gems.

"Any Place I Hang My Hat is Home"
"I Had Myself a True Love"
"Come Rain Or Come Shine"
And Pearl Bailey's 11 o'clock number "It's A Woman's Prerogative"

Love, Simon

Love, Simon is a 2018 film based on Becky Albertalli novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Simon is a closeted gay teen juggling family, friendships, a blackmailer and an online romance. Indie cinema has explored the angst of the closet for decades but Love, Simon aims for the tone of a big studio romcom. Less Beautiful Thing, more 10 Things I Hate About You.

Director Greg Berlanti understands the loneliness, rage and narcissism that can accompany the coming out process. His film doesn’t shy from Simon’s cruel side as he desperately protects his secret and searches for his anonymous paramour. The audience plays detective alongside Simon as he grasps at any odd phrase or lingering glace from his male class mates. We're allowed to share that desperate desire to find someone… anyone… who understands what we're going through.

There are quibbles. Simon is ridiculously privileged. The female characters are treated poorly. The “comic relief” roles are cringey. Still Berlanti and his team have clearly put their hearts into this project. Love, Simon would have made my high school experience a little brighter and I’m glad the current generation of students gets to see it.

… Okay, it’s not a musical. Though there are two musical numbers. If they adapt it to the stage it will fit comfortably alongside Dear Evan Hansen and Be More Chill.

Carmen Jones

A piece of gossip begat Mérimée's novella, which begat Bizet's Opera, which begat Hammerstein's adaptation Carmen Jones. Hammerstein remained faithful to Bizet's plot while moving the setting to WWII and filling the lyrics with 40's colloquialisms. The film is dated and heavily dubbed but it preserves the work of some extremely talented artists including Pearl Bailey and the Oscar nominated Dorothy Dandridge.

Clips:
Pearl Bailey performing Rhythm on a Drum in the 1954 film.
Diahann Carroll discussing her audition for Carmen Jones.
The delightful short All The Great Operas in Ten Minutes