Frozen on Broadway

Do you want a build a snowman??? Since it’s supposedly snowing some places in the north in late April, I figured it was the perfect time to talk about going to see Frozen on Broadway back in February. Ya know, back when we could do things like go to plays, sit next to people, hear people sing from a stage and not on zoom in their own living rooms. SIGH.

Anyway, as you may remember from my 2020 goals, I wanted to go and see three Broadway shows this year. I had already seen Mean Girls (twice!), and thankfully, I won the Frozen lottery before Broadway went dark. I knew that Frozen was on my to-see list, and I wanted to be prepared. Unbelievably, I had never seen the movie (GASP!). For some of you out there currently quarantined with your small children, this probably seems physically impossible, but it’s true. Thankfully, my no-long-emoji-fiance loves Frozen and bought a 3-year pre-subscription to Disney+ so he could watch it on repeat. Ok, that’s a lie, he got Disney+ solely for the Mandalorian and Marvel movies, but still. Lucky for me, I had Frozen at my frost-bitten fingertips.

At the beginning of January, I invited my best friend to my house so we could binge Disney movies and I could braid her hair. Many hairstyles were done that day, but better yet, I was initiated into the Frozen cult and now I cannot LET IT GO. (Get it?)

Once I saw the movie, I was ready to see the Broadway show STAT, but I had to wait until I won the lottery. Ballin’ on a budget! My very first blog post talked about tips for (cheaply) living in New York including free stuff and discounted stuff, the only way to live. Broadway lottery is a big tip.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait too long to see the show – I won the lottery on February 28^th for the next night. I asked my best friend if she wanted to be my +1; it only seemed right since she was there with me when I saw the movie for the first time. She had already seen the show, but supposedly they had recently changed some of the music, so she had mentioned wanting to see it again. Sure enough, she said yes to being my +1 and we started to plan for the next day!

I LEAPED down to Times Square on February 29^th to pick up the tickets. (Get it? I’ll stop with the puns now.) You may remember, the hard part about lottery Broadway tickets is that the “winning tickets” are sometimes crappy seats, and sometimes not together. I went to the theater two hours before showtime and got the tickets. They said Orchestra Row A, and I couldn’t believe it. Were we in the FRONT row?? They also said “Partial View,” which I’d hoped didn’t mean allll the way to the side.

But first, we went to dinner at Carmine’s, a New York City classic. It is great for huge family gatherings since the portions are MASSIVE and there are usually many leftovers. For the first time in forever, (pun again… I can’t stop!) I went there with only one person and we knew we couldn’t have any leftovers. We ordered one dish between us, and trust me, it was more than enough. The plate was larger than our heads combined.

We rolled out of there and hustled to the theater, which was thankfully next door because ironically, it was FREEZING. The usher led us down the aisle, allll the way down the aisle, to the front row, DIRECTLY behind the conductor! That must have been why it was “partial view” but it was so awesome to watch him conduct the whole show. He was not in the way at all, and I mostly forgot about him except for the times I was specifically watching him.

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The show was FANTASTIC. I expected the production value to be high (I mean come on… we are talking about Disney money here), but it even surpassed my expectations. Olaf the snowman was hilarious, and the Let it Go scene made me audibly gasp! I loved all of the outfits and sparkles, and DUH the braids. I could NOT get over all of the hairstyles. Fun fact, my emoticon on Disney+ is Elsa, and it has been since before I even saw the movie. She had a braid, I couldn’t resist. How could I possibly not like a show about winter and cold (my fav season), with plenty of sing-along-able music (love), and braids (DUH). It was amazing.

I highly recommend seeing Frozen when Broadway is open and we are able to see shows and gather in groups again. I may even be slightly biased since this show and dinner at a restaurant were some of the last things I did in New York. I miss my city so much, and I can’t wait for things to get better so we can resume a bit of normalcy. In the meantime, if you have a Broadway itch that must be scratched, Andrew Lloyd Webber is streaming some of his biggest musicals online for limited times. Each show goes live on YouTube on Friday at 2 pm ET and usually remains viewable for 48 hours afterward. It’s not quite Elsa and Anna, but it’s still pretty awesome.

My main tip for when you see Frozen: expect to find confetti “snow” in your hair and clothes for WEEKS after. I had to shake out my clothing at the door of my apartment, and I looked like I had large dandruff flakes in my hair as well. #worthit

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