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.

See What I Wanna See

Like The Apple Tree, Weird Romance and Little Fish before it See What I Wanna See grouped short stories with similar themes. Michael John LaChuisa adapted three short stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa concerning the theme of "truth." The subject matter earns mixed reviews but the compact cast size makes it attractive to smaller theaters.

More on If/Then

***The following post contains spoilers.***

Revisiting Rent got me thinking about the musical If/Then. The shows shared directors, stars and several plot points, making If/Then a spiritual successor.

As Elizabeth looks back on key moments in her life the show flips between multiple paths she could have taken. Liz pursues Love under red lights while wearing glasses. Beth pursues a Business career under blue lights with no glasses.The songs are stacked in loves favor. Liz only gets half of a song about her job. Still the book tries to remain balanced, suggesting that each path involves some unsatisfying compromise.

Audiences got confused, despite the visual cues. Here I've attempted to chart out Elizabeth's key act one choices.

Chess

Who wins the chess tournament?
What happens to Florence's father?
Who sings "One Night in Bangkok?"
Well... it depends.

The book of Chess has been rewritten for each major production. While the 2008 concert at Royal Albert Hall has been declared canon by Tim Rice, the site TV tropes lays out five possible endings for the show.

Still the big songs and the political themes remain. At the end of the day we're all pawns.

Rent

Rent was a big deal. Like Hamilton big deal. I hope Hollywood gives Hamilton a better movie in 10+ years.

Now Rent is considered silly by some:

            WE'RE NOT GOING TO GROW UP

            AND GET JOBS AND PAY OUR DAMN RENT

            EVEN THOUGH EVERYBODY DOES IT,

            AND SOMEHOW THIS MAKES US

            SYMPATHETIC CHARACTERS! ~ Broadway Abridged

And profound by others:

Perhaps the people who hate Rent see their younger selves in these characters and they don't like that. After all, most of us are whiny and selfish when you're young (and we artsies can be the worst); we still have growing up left to do. Though to be honest, a lot of people in their forties still have growing up to do. It’s not hard to see a parallel to American politics today. ~ Scott Miller

Wicked

Wicked's a guilty pleasure for me. There are fun songs but the book's a mess. Nothing Elphaba does in Act Two lives up to her big boast at the end of Act One. The New York Times called the novel“deadly dull” and the musical "bloated." 12 years later it’s still a hit. When the inevitable movie hits will the screenplay fill the plot holes and show us some of Elphaba’s off-stage activism?

"[Glinda's] lie, on top of the Wizard's lies, made me furious as a kid. And of course I grew up in the shadow of Vietnam, when boys I knew were being sent to kill the Wicked Witch of the Vietcong, by Nixon, who wouldn't come out of the White House and who wouldn't answer questions.'' ~ Gregory Maguire

IDINA MENZEL: Wheelchair Sister, I've been told that you've become a bitch and enslaved the Munchkins.
BITTER WHEELCHAIR SISTER: Yes, I did it because I'm angry that I'm in a wheelchair!
~ Broadway Abridged. 

Edit: Check out this gorgeous collection of Wicked fan art at Playbill.com! 

Dueling Wild Party's

The Wild Party is more existential dread than horror themed, but it has something in common with the other horror musicals I'll be looking at this week. Public domain source material and two competing musical versions.

New York Times on Lippa:
Mr. Lippa's score, dexterously orchestrated by Michael Gibson, has a jittery, wandering quality, conscientiously shifting styles and tempos as if in search of a lost chord. ... Mr. Lippa's book and lyrics have expanded the focus of March's notoriously cool-blooded poem to depict a quest not just for novel sensation but for that funny thing called love.

New York Times on LaChiusa:
This latest version, the work of Michael John LaChiusa and George C. Wolfe, is big on letting its characters suffer, loudly and aggressively, in the spotlight. The suffering is embodied by talented stars like Mandy Patinkin, Toni Collette and the legendary Eartha Kitt.

If/Then

Like Bridges, If/Then has earned adoring fans who were furious the show was not nominated for Best Musical.

The two timeline structure brings to mind Merrily We Roll Along and The Last 5 Years while the ambivalent gay/bi/straight New York Couples and Singles bring to mind Company and Rent. No one knows how long the show will run without Idina Menzel but the recently released cast album will keep this show alive in many hearts.

Nominated for Best Actress and Best Score.