Count this reviewer among those who, contrary to conventional musical theatre wisdom, never thought there was anything horribly wrong with Michael Stewart’s original book for MACK MABEL, the big, splashy 1974 musical about silent movie director Mack Sennett and the star he discovered, Mabel Normand.
Sequels can seem like setups for failure, especially when the movie you’re writing a sequel to was the highest-grossing animated film of all time and the 16th highest-grossing film in any genre. (And, you won the Oscar for Best Original Song.) Yet Frozen songwriters and co-creators Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez set out to devise a Frozen 2, with collaborators Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, that would be The Empire Strikes Back of sequels—according to Lopez.
“With a musical sequel, our concern was even greater [about singability] because it’s hard to make the same characters that you know sing again,” Lopez confesses. “You have to really have something else to sing about.” The box office indicates they found their sweet spot, since Frozen 2 topped its predecessor as the highest-grossing animated film in history.
But more than a financial hit, the triumph of Frozen 2 emanates from the originality, maturity, and strength of its story and the invigorated sound of its songs that build on the foundation of the first film—without recycling plot points or themes. The team completed intense character investigation and immersive research to arrive at the core of Frozen 2. Director and writer Jennifer Lee took personality tests as Anna and Elsa. “She was taking the Myers-Brigg,” Anderson-Lopez reveals. “She did a whole day with a psychologist as Anna and a whole day with a psychologist as Elsa so that she identified the places where there were still wounds.”
What the team discovered is that Anna had questions about why her family hadn’t told her the truth about Elsa; and Elsa had questions, now that her powers had been accepted by the community, about why she had them. As the team explored these questions, they also physically explored the terrain of Nordic countries like Iceland, Norway, and Scotland’s Orkney Isles and the history of the peoples there.
But what’s most fascinating is that the Lopezes worked simultaneously on the stage adaptation of Frozen for Broadway and the all-new Frozen 2. Much of what they learned via Frozen Broadway informed the sequel, and now, the sequel has inspired revisions in the stage musical.
Ahead of Frozen 2’s home video release February 25, Playbill sat down with the Lopezes to dig into writing a new score for Frozen 2, making changes to Frozen onstage, and whether or not we might see Frozen 2 on Broadway.
READ: Kristen and Bobby Lopez Reveal New Movie Musical
On finding the sound of Frozen 2:
Film composer Christophe Beck had introduced a Scandinavian sound in his finished score for the first Frozen film, which inspired the Lopezes to dig deeper into that cultural richness. “We had done a lot of research for the first film on the indigenous people, the Sámi people, around Kristoff. But when we realized there was a lot more to tell there, about political landscapes and the fight over resources and things like that, we took a much deeper dive into the indigenous peoples of the North,” says Anderson-Lopez. “There was something about that reparations that we were all in discussion about—the way that there’s an entire culture that had to go underground, or go so far North that nobody ever wanted to follow them.”
In Elsa’s “Into the Unknown” (nominated for the Oscar for Best Original Song), the Lopezes honored the Norwegian tradition of kulning, or herding calls used to call livestock down from their daily pastures. The wistful soprano of Norwegian singer Aurora, in contrast to Idina Menzel’s gritty belt, uses the melody of the “Dies Irae” with a kulning bent. Anderson-Lopez says, “It’s the same idea of a shepherdess of some sort calling Elsa home.”
On the animation’s impact on the score:
“Before we had a single song, we were looking at visual development, a mural of that shot of the four main characters—five, if you include Sven—looking over the forest,” says Anderson-Lopez. “That was so expansive and almost like Hudson River School of Painting. Out of that experience bubbles up ‘Into the Unknown’ because you’re looking at it and that’s what that picture is telling you.” As the Lopezes composed, animator Norman Moses Joseph illustrated Elsa seeing things that were going to happen in the forest. “Looking at that and seeing that her powers were coming out actually inspired us to go much bigger with the ending than it was,” Lopez adds, “[The animators] found that idea because there had been a scene called ‘Elsa’s Dream’ where her dreams played out in snow above her head, and Anna saw all those things and all of those creatures. But then it seemed like that scene should really be incorporated into ‘Into the Unknown’ and make her powers come alive that way. That was a moment of inspiration, of taking one visual and marrying it with a song.”
How writing Frozen for Broadway and Frozen 2 simultaneously fed both artistic endeavors:
Frozen 2 rewinds to Anna and Elsa’s childhood and the relationship with their mother—an idea that came to the Lopezes from adapting the first movie for Broadway. “The mother really didn’t have any lines at all in the first movie; she was a blank canvas that we could fill with something exciting, and a secret,” Lopez says. “There was a day when we were writing both the Broadway show and Frozen 2 and we wrote that lullaby [‘All Is Found’]. It was the same character, on the same night [in the story], but in two different media.”
“All Is Found” had been embedded in their original opening number “Anna and Elsa” in the out-of-town tryout, but was cut in tech for Broadway. “In that moment, you went inside the mom’s head about worrying about Elsa, about knowing there’s something different about Elsa and ‘what I wouldn’t do to help make her life easier,’” says Kristen. “And we love that character,” Lopez interjects, “and the lullaby was an attempt to really strike out a new tone for Frozen 2. We listened to a lot of Scandinavian folk songs and lullabies and they’re all in this minor key and they’re all very mysterious. It’s haunting and it feels epic in a way. And the lyrics point the way to the adventure and the secrets that they’re going to discover.”
More than a song and tonal inspiration, Broadway’s Frozen helped clarify Kristoff as the duo considered his trajectory in Frozen 2. “We did get to find a lot more of Kristoff’s humor while working on the Broadway version—where the sweet spot for Kristoff is as this sort of modern Marlboro Man,” says Anderson-Lopez.
The team also discovered a useful tool in the writing process. “We had to really whip the score up very fast for Frozen Broadway,” Lopez recalls. “We would sometimes say to Jen, ‘For the coronation, in your mind, how is she feeling?’ And Jen would write a page of inner monologue, a free-write as Elsa.” Adopting that process for Frozen 2, the Lopezes wrote Anna’s ‘The Next Right Thing’ based on a monologue crafted by Lee and Kristen Bell, who voices Anna.
On making changes to Broadway three years in:
Frozen launched its first national tour November 10, 2019. Audiences who experienced the Broadway show first may have noticed a few changes—which were then incorporated to the Broadway production February 18. Anna’s Act 2 ballad “True Love” has been cut. But rather than shorten the musical, that allowed the Lopezes to insert a song in Act 1 that they had always intended to write.
“We had always planned on writing a song called ‘I Can’t Lose You,’” says Anderson-Lopez. The songwriting duo wanted the duet to come when Anna finds her sister locked away in her ice castle, where the “First Time in Forever” reprise previously landed. The moment demands more.
“Anna is saying, ‘I can’t lose you again like I lost you in my childhood,’ and Elsa is saying, ‘I can’t lose you; I can’t let you die following my quest,’” explains Anderson-Lopez. For the first time, the Lopezes had the breathing room to write that song.
“[Disney Theatrical’s Tom Schumacher] found us at the right moment when we were wrapping up our writing work on Frozen 2 and we were starting to feel a little bit scared and sad that it would be the last time we’d ever get to write for Anna and Elsa, and he gave us this assignment and we were like, ‘Oh thank God, yes! We want to keep doing this,’” says Lopez. Anderson-Lopez adds, “We wanted to take the sister relationship that much deeper.”
WATCH: Frozen‘s Ciara Renée and McKenzie Kurtz Perform ’I Can’t Lose You’
On the possibility of Frozen 2 coming to Broadway:
Though there are no plans announced for a musical stage adaptation of the sequel, the pair won’t rule out the possibility. “I’ve always thought it could be fun to do it like Harry Potter. To do a night one and night two,” says Anderson-Lopez. “But in a decade.”
“We did a little concert on the Disney cruise we took,” Lopez adds. “Some of the performers who are in the Frozen show on the cruise ship sang, and [the songs] did work well on stage.” It could be the next right thing.
Missing “True Love”? Watch how the Lopezes wrote the now cut song for Broadway’s Frozen:
Armie Hammer is set to make his return to Broadway in Tracy Letts’ The Minutes. BroadwayWorld is giving you a look back at Hammer’s major screen and stage roles leading up to the present day
Lea Salonga became a theatre phenomenon when she landed the role of Kim in the hit musical Miss Saigon in 1991, for which she won Tony and Olivier Awards. She was recently back on Broadway as Erzulie in the Tony-winning revival of Once On This Island at Circle in the Square Theatre. Salonga, who celebrates her birthday February 22, has also appeared on Broadway in Les Misérables, Flower Drum Song, and Allegiance.
FROM THE ARCHIVES: How Miss Saigon’s Lea Salonga Achieved Overnight Stardom at 20
Look back at her stage career below:
1879 John Wellington Wells deals his magic and spells for the first time on Broadway with the American premiere of W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan‘s The Sorcerer at the old Broadway Theatre.
1928 A killer octopus threatens a group stranded in a lighthouse in Ralph Murphy and Donald Gallagher‘s oddly-titled thriller Sh, the Octopus. It runs 47 performances at the Royale Theatre and is later filmed.
1938 Wine of Choice proves bitter for a woman smitten with a dedicated Marxist who has no time for love. The Theatre Guild produces the S. N. Behrman comedy, with a cast that includes Alexander Woollcott. It runs 43 performances.
1958 Legendary flop musical Portofino gives the first of its three performances at the Adelphi Theatre. Helen Gallagher stars in the show, written by Louis Bellson, Will Irwin, Richard Ney, and Sheldon Harnick.
1961 The Changeling by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley is revived for the first time since the 17th century. London’s Royal Court Theatre production stars Robert Shaw, Mary Ure, and Zoe Caldwell. Tony Richardson directs.
1972 Moonchildren beam into the Royale Theatre in New York. Michael Weller captures the Flower Power sweeping America’s colleges. This production closes after only two weeks.
1976 Actor Frieda Inescort dies at age 75. After a British debut, she appeared in sophisticated Broadway comedies such as You and I by Philip Barry.
1991 Neil Simon preserves his stronghold on Broadway as Lost in Yonkers opens at the Richard Rodgers Theatre. The Tony and Pulitzer-winning comedy/drama stars Mercedes Ruehl, Irene Worth, and Kevin Spacey.
2002 Elaine Stritch opens her solo show Elaine Stritch at Liberty at Broadway’s Neil Simon Theatre. The show wins the 2002 Tony Award for Best Special Event.
2008 The Menier Chocolate Factory’s hit London production of Sunday in the Park With George comes to Studio 54 with London leads Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell. Directed by Sam Buntrock, the production is notable for the use of animated drawings (designed by Timothy Bird) to illustrate the progress of the painting that forms the show’s centerpiece.
2019 Joel Grey directs a revival of the musical Fiddler on the Roof—performed entirely in Yiddish—Off-Broadway at Stage 42. The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene production began life in an extended run at the the Museum of Jewish Heritage in lower Manhattan. Steven Skybell stars as Tevye, opposite Jennifer Babiak as his wife Golde, and Jackie Hoffman as village gossip and matchmaker Yente.
Today’s Birthdays: Sacha Guitry 1885. Rue McClanahan 1935. David Geffen 1943. Tyne Daly 1946. Alan Rickman 1946. Christine Ebersole 1953. Kelsey Grammer 1955. Andréa Burns 1971. Corbin Bleu 1989.
Watch highlights from Christine Ebersole’s Tony-nominated performance in the 2017 musical War Paint:
Dear kindly Ivo van Hove,I often like your work,But when you stage revivalsYour concepts go berserk.Your symbolism’s clunky,Your edits are too thick.West Side Story doesn’t need your schtick.
Fresh off of their third Oscar nomination for Best Original Song for Frozen 2’s “Into the Unknown”, Kristen and Bobby Lopez are wasting no time jumping back into the movie musical arena.
Playbill has learned exclusively from the Lopezes: “Our next movie musical project is with Marc Platt and it is a musical version of a graphic novel called The Prince and the Dressmaker.”
The team is working with Pulitzer Prize finalist Amy Herzog (4000 Miles) to adapt the graphic novel by Jen Wang.
Set in Paris, the story follows Prince Sebastian, whose parents are scouring the country for a bride for their son. But Sebastian leads a secret life. By night, he dons spectacular dresses and goes out as Lady Crystallia, a Parisian fashion icon. His best friend, dressmaker Frances, is the only one who knows the truth, and she doesn’t want the credit for her creations to be secret anymore.
The novel hit shelves February 13, 2018. No timeline for this musical movie adaptation has been announced.
Together, the Lopezes have written the scores for the full length features Frozen, Coco, and Frozen 2—all for Disney. They again collaborated on bringing Frozen to the Broadway stage, co-writing music and lyrics. They won the Oscar for Best Original Song for Frozen’s “Let It Go” and Coco’s “Remember Me.” They were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score in 2018 for Frozen on Broadway.
READ: Go Back to Where It All Began For Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Anderson-Lopez co-conceived and co-wrote the book, music, and lyrics to Broadway’s first-ever a cappella musical In Transit, which bowed at the Circle in the Square Theatre in 2016. Lopez made his Broadway debut as the composer-lyricist of Avenue Q, which he also co-conceived. He also co-wrote the book, music, and lyrics for the long-running The Book of Mormon. Lopez is a three-time Tony Award winner: for the score of Avenue Q, and for the book and score of Book of Mormon. He is a two-time EGOT winner, having won two Emmys, three Grammys, two Oscars, and three Tonys.
Herzog was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play 4000 Miles, which first premiered at Lincoln Center Theater. The play also earned her a 2012 Obie Award. She is also the author of such plays as After the Revolution, The Great God Pan, Belleville, and Mary Jane—the latter two of which each earned her spots as a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. In 2008, she won the Helen Merrill Award for Aspiring Playwrights. In 2011, she won both the Whiting Award and the Lilly Award for playwriting. Last year, she was honored with the Horton Foote Playwriting Award.
It was just announced that 4000 Miles will play London, starring Timothée Chalamet and Eileen Atkins, directed by Matthew Warchus.
The trio are actively working on the musical, produced by Marc Platt, who most recently produced—in the movie musical realm—Mary Poppins Returns, Rent on Fox, and the live-action Aladdin. He also has the movie musicals The Little Mermaid (live-action remake) and Dear Evan Hansen on his slate of upcoming projects.
Patina Miller will star in the upcoming prequel spinoff of Starz’s series Power. According to TV Line, Miller will star inPower Book III Raising Kanan, and the serieswill follow the early years of Kanan Stark.