Frozen Live at the Hyperion was a full-scale theatrical production of the Disney hit Frozen at Disney California Adventure. It was a wonderful show that was cut short, never getting the run it deserved and having a tragic ending for those involved.
Frozen had been a surprise hit for Disney, leading to a mad rush to get into the parks as fast as possible. This led to a variety of temporary offerings at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World as well as Disney California Adventure in Disneyland while permanent attractions were prepared on both coasts.
In Walt Dinsey World this meant Frozen Ever After, and in Disneyland, this meant Frozen Live at the Hyperion.
This show opened in February of 2016 as a condensed version of the movie translated to the stage with a Tony-nominated creative team.
The production was the first official stage production of Frozen, opening over a year before the tryout of the Broadway adaptation. It replaced a long-running Aladdin musical at the park.
The show told the full story with the only notable change being the absence of Marshmellow due to the constraints of a stage adaptation and cutting much of Oaken's lines for time.
The show would require a massive cast and crew to put on each day that would look different than any other Disney Parks show. This show would be put on with a racially blind cast, going against the traditional Disney Parks practice of casting. They cast based on talent alone for every part.
The show was received positively, but with some saying it did not live up to its predecessor.
The main criticism was really that there were some awkward transitions in the show, and those would be corrected in a June 2017 rework of the show, with the most notable change being the removal of the Frozen Heart sequence.
But the run of the show would unfortunately not be good for all involved and be cut short.
The show would close along with the rest of the Disneyland Resort in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. During the closure, serious allegations came out that around the time the show was rewritten, racial bias became a growing problem in the show when the new leadership took control of the show. This was reportedly a widespread issue that was not adequately addressed by the Disneyland leadership.
This would never be well addressed by Disney as it would be announced in October 2020 that the show would never open. This was as a result of a combination of the uncertainty of when live stage productions can resume and as part of much larger layoffs across the Disney Parks. The show's entire cast would be laid off alongside the cast of Mickey and the Magical Map.
The future of not only this show, but the entire Hyperion Theater building is now in question. Disneyland has destroyed much of its entertainment, and a show like this may never return to Disney California Adventure.
This show brilliantly brought the animated movie to the stage, with magical moments inserted throughout. It deserved a lengthy run at the park, and it is devastating that it closed and the massive cast of this show lost their jobs.
This show lives on in the performers, stagehands, and cast members that made it happen. They made this show something special and unique to Disney California Adventure and its a shame the show never got a proper goodbye.
It also lives on in the videos taken of it over the years, preserving the performances of the hundreds of performers who graced the Hyperion stage over its run at the park, each bringing their own interpretations of the classic characters of Arendelle.
Comments
Post a Comment