Royalty of Musical Theatre

When it comes to musicals, there are different kinds of characters. That even includes those who are of royalty- either born into it or married into it. Most of the time, these characters are part of Disney musicals, but there are few exceptions. So, which characters are of royalty (the ones I love)?

Anastasia

Yes, she was someone who actually existed. In the real Romanav story, she did get killed, but the musical is a “what if” story. What if she had survived? In the musical, we get to know her as Anya. She is strong and vulnerable, who has to relearn her past.

Frozen

Elsa- She is the older sister born into royalty. Born with snow and ice powers, which she doesn’t know how to control. She eventually became Queen of Arendelle, but after accidentally showing her power, she runs away ashamed, but caused an eternal winter. She is misunderstood due to being called a “monster”. She reminds me of Elphaba, in a way.

Anna– The younger sister of Elsa. She is outgoing, full of life, and impulsive. During her journey to find Elsa, she finds help in Kristoff (after all, he knows mountains). She just wants a better relationship with her sister

Kristoff– Yes, not born into royalty, but due to falling in love with Anna, he counts

Lion King

Mufasa and Simba– King and Prince of Pride Rock. Mufasa is an incredible king, who teaches his son incredible life lessons. Due to a jealous brother, Mufasa’s life is tragically short-lived, but Simba mistakenly thinks that he killed his father (he was only a cub when that happened). He grows up with that guilt, and eventually fights Scar for his rightful place as King

Nala– She is Simba’s best friend and eventually lover. She is strong as shown in “Shadowland”- she knows she has to leave Pride Rock to get help. Crazily enough, Nala and Simba find each other again- “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (my favorite Lion King song). Due to Simba eventually becoming King, Nala became Queen

Aladdin

Jasmine and Aladdin– Jasmine is the strong princess in this musical. She wants to marry for love. She and Aladdin find a connection in the market (“A Million Miles Away”). The two of them do fall in love- “A Whole New World”.

Beauty and the Beast

Belle– She is the protagonist of this musical. She is strong, unique, and a bookworm. She eventually has to deal with The Beast, who starts out selfish and unkind. At least, she helps him change. Little does she know, she will fall in love with him.

Beast– He is the prince of this musical. He is actually a human who was changed into a beast by an enchantress, who saw there was no love in his heart. Like I said, he started off unkind, selfish, and with a temper. But after scaring off Belle, he realizes he needs to change. The two develop feelings in “Something There” and fall in love during “Beauty and the Beast”. Good thing, he eventually let her go.

Wicked

Fiyero– He is the Winkie Prince of this musical. Just like the Beast, he starts out as a jerk. He changes from being a jerk to softening up to becoming a mature and courageous young man. A lot of his transformation comes from his role in the love triangle. He is more complex than you think.

Disney Musicals I Saw in Person

There is a good chance everyone has seen at least one musical. That is a result of Disney being well-known for musicals. They tend to eventually become stage shows, and usually the musical improves once that happens due to the additional songs, which expands the story a lot more, which results in characters being more complex. So, what are the Disney musicals I saw live?

Frozen

This was the most recent musical I saw- June 22, 2022. My main disappointment was the cut of “True Love”, which was an added song to the Original Broadway Show- that is a heartbreaking song meant for Anna. But, they cut it when the tour began. One of the biggest mistakes ever- Anna is the sister I relate to the most. Favorite song- either “For the First Time in Forever” or “Let it Go”

The stage show is so much better than the movie. The added songs develop the characters even further- especially with Elsa. That is what songs such as “Dangerous to Dream” and “Monster” do. However, even Anna is developed further- that is what I love about “What do You Know About Love”—which also further develops Kristoff. At first, I thought I would dislike “I Can’t Lose You” in the show because I didn’t know how Elsa would learn about the Eternal Winter, but at least that happened in a scene after. I love how Kristoff is developed further as well—-“Kristoff Lullaby” is when you first realize his feelings for Anna, which is an emotional song.

The way they showed Elsa’s powers was amazing- so magical. Amazing cast, which is always true for touring casts for musicals. I heard that Sven almost didn’t make it to the stage show- glad that he did because if not, I feel like we would only have 3/4 of who Kristoff is.

Aladdin- 9/11, 2019

At first, I thought it was kinda of strange to see a musical on 9/11, but it actually works. At least I did something fun on a day we remember a tragedy. If you think about it, a Disney musical would work.

Aladdin is one of the classic Disney musicals, but became a stage show later than it probably should have. Especially considering it was a classic Disney movie. My favorite song from Aladdin is “A Whole New World”. There is one character in this musical that is hard not to love- The Genie.

Just like any Disney stage show, it does improve. True, Abu wasn’t able to make it to stage, but Omar, Babak, and Kassim were good substitutes- a result of amazing dance numbers, and being good friends to Aladdin. “Proud of Your Boy” was an amazing addition to Aladdin- that song made me a little emotional when I saw the stage show. Even Jasmine got stronger with “These Palace Walls”. Glad their romance sort of started sooner- thanks to “A Million Miles Away”

Lion King- September 4th, 2018

Yes, this was my 2nd time seeing the stage show, but I don’t remember my 1st visit. I actually got the best seats- in the orchestra at the aisle (best seats for “Circle of Life”).

As a matter of fact, Lion King is worth going for the costumes alone. The songs are incredible in many ways- my favorite song is “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”. Even the stage show is better than the original animated classic film. Just about all of the characters are more complex- particularly Simba, Nala, Mufasa, and Scar. Always helps when you have additional songs- such as “Endless Night” for Simba, “Shadowland” for Nala, “They Live in You” for Mufasa”, and certain songs for Scar- don’t want to say them for my hatred towards him.

Newsies- July 2018 and August 2016

Of ALL Disney musicals, this is the only one I saw twice (yes, I said I saw Lion King twice, but doesn’t count, as I have one memory). I saw Newsies BOTH at community college and Belk Theater (aka Blumenthal’s main theater). Newsies was a box office flop, but turned into a cult favorite——-eventually leading to the stage show.

Wouldn’t have known about Newsies if it wasn’t for the stage show. Newsies is actually based on an actual event- The Newsboy Strike of 1899. When Pultizer raised the price of papers, the Newsies went on strike- the new price would make it harder on them. The Newsies actually remind me of The Friends of the ABC from Les Mis (both have a strong brotherly bond that feel like family and have a cause they strongly believe and have a leader)

One of the BEST parts about Newsies is the dance alone, which is mind-blowing. That is part of why “Seize the Day” is my favorite song from the musical. The stage show is SO much better than the 1992 movie. Katherine Plumber is a better reporter and a stronger love interest for Jack Kelly. Plus, she at least gives a strong female voice in a cast of boys. Even some of the prior songs have improved- I noticed there is a difference in lyrics. I love the addition of “Letter From the Refuge”, a solo meant for Crutchie

Conclusion

There is still one Disney musical I still strongly hope to see- that would be Beauty and the Beast. Belle is actually the classic Disney princess I relate to the most. I feel like it hasn’t toured for years in the US- it needs to come back.

June 2022 in Review

Can’t believe it is finally July. Why come once June hits, I feel like the rest of the year flies. I have been looking forward to June ever since the beginning of the year. I knew it would be an exciting month. So, what are the highlights of June?

Reading

Finished- 3 books

Daughters of Sparta– I have been reading a LOT of mythology lately. This is basically “The Iliad”, but from the women’s POV most specifically Helen and her sister. It makes you think differently about their husbands and even about the women. A different POV makes you almost look at all of those characters differently.

https://megsmagicalmusings.wordpress.com/2022/06/08/daughters-of-sparta-review/

Sea of Trolls– The start of a trilogy. So glad the author made a list of characters and grew a map. It isn’t Greek Mythology, but instead Norse Mythology. I was really enjoying reading this book. Jack, our protagonist, is training to be a bard and the story starts when he was kidnapped by berserkers. Magic and there are some interesting characters in this book. I now want to own the rest of the trilogy.

https://megsmagicalmusings.wordpress.com/2022/06/22/sea-of-trolls-review/

Favorite Greek Myths– who wants to learn the basic Greek Myths? It is all found in this book. True, it might have used the Roman God names, but at least in the back of the book you can find what the Greek name is. I already knew some of those myths- the one with flying towards the sun, the one with the reflection in the water, and King Midas. I wanted to read it—-aware that The Hadestown myth was in it- aka “Journey to the Underworld”, and even “The Kidnapping” connects (one is Orpheus and Euyrdice and the other is how Persphone became Queen of the Underworld)

https://megsmagicalmusings.wordpress.com/2022/06/26/favorite-greek-myths-review/

Symphony in the Park (POPS)

On the 19th, my family finallly went back to the POPS—-which is known as Symphony in the Park. That is usually done every Sunday in June, and every week there is theme, and we usually bring a picnic. The theme we listened to was Hollywood- from Harry Potter to Raider’s of the Lost Arc to Frozen to Beauty and the Beast to West Side Story, etc…..

Frozen

Thinking of music, June was finally my first time to see a musical. My mom and I went to see Frozen with Blumenthal. I choose a blue dress, which in some ways reminded me of Elsa’s “Let it Go” costume. The show was amazing- I was looking forward to the new songs especially as it was my fist time seeing them happening. I already had an idea of where they were going to happen.

An amazing cast, fantastic special effects, amazing songs, and incredible dancing and spectacle. Caroline Bowman and Lauren Nicole Chapman led our cast- as Elsa and Anna. Loved the two little girls who played Young Elsa and Young Anna. I really wanted to get the main Pabbie, and we did—-especially because he was a Charlotte native.

/https://megsmagicalmusings.wordpress.com/2022/06/24/for-the-first-time-in-forever/

Secrets of Dumbledore

As it is known, I love Harry Potter. Due to that love, I started watching the Fantastic Beasts series. That is another movie series that I love- I thought I lost my chance of watching Secrets of Dumbledore, but I got my chance towards the beginning of June. As a matter of fact, I don’t mind being in Hufflepuff due to Newt- as that is his house.

I know Secrets of Dumbledore has gotten a lot of negative criticism, but doesn’t stop me from loving it. I always love it when I see the beasts involved in some way- usually are helping Newt- most of the time it is usually a niffler of a bowtruckle. As a Harry Potter fan, always loved picking up references others can’t. It seems that each Fantastic Beasts movie, we always get introduced to new beasts, which make things pretty exciting. True, the main setting does change, but I love seeing how different Wizarding Worlds work as we are so used to the British Wizarding World thanks to Harry Potter.

https://megsmagicalmusings.wordpress.com/2022/06/07/fantastic-beasts-secrets-of-dumbledore-review/

For the First Time in Forever

Finally, I saw Frozen in person. This time around, I was even more excited. Originally, I was supposed to see the stage show October 2020, but that got postponed. So seeing it now is why I was more excited.

The Cast

Young Anna- Aria Kane

Young Elsa- Arwen Monzon-Sanders

Anna- Lauren Nicole Chapman

Elsa- Caroline Bowman

Hans- Austin Colby

Kristoff- Mason Reeves

Sven- Evan Strand

Olaf- F. Michael Haynie

My Review

I loved how in the stage show, the bond between Elsa and Anna felt stronger. As in, they started developing it further when the two girls were only children. That is what the two opening songs were able to accomplish- “Vueile/Let the Sun Shine On”, and “A Little Bit of You” shows a lot more bonding time between the sisters. I really loved the two actresses I saw playing the girls- you for sure could apart who who was older and who was younger (my Young Anna was smaller than Young Elsa.

Caroline Bowman was an incredible Elsa. Always had an incredible stage presence. Her moments with Lauren Nicole Chapman (Anna) were incredible. Even when they were older, there was a lot of bonding time- like the party after the coronation (you saw them interacting a couple of times). Even when they meet up again at Elsa’s palace- at the song, “I Can’t Lose You”. She really captured Elsa’s emotions well.

Lauren Nicole Chapman’s Anna was fun to watch- Anna is who I relate to the most when it comes to the two sisters. As a matter of fact, this actress played Anna on Broadway, so she has experience in the role.

Mason Reeve’s Kristoff was amazing as well. He really was able to speak in two voices- both Kristoff’s and Sven’s. Kristoff Lullaby was emotional- coming in, I knew the kind of emotion required for that song.

F. Michael Haynie as Olaf was a delight- I mean, what is as fun a talking snowman. Yes, a snowman who is interested in Summer.

*On a side note, I also got the Pabbie I wanted——I wanted the main one because he was a Charlotte native*

Songs

Yes, I do love the additional songs in Frozen. However, there is still one small disappointment- the cut of “True Love”, which I only know once existed due to it being on the Original Broadway Soundtrack. I still really missed the chance of getting to see it performed live- it is a heartbreaking solo meant for Anna. I thought the addition of “I Can’t Lose You” will make up for the loss of “True Love”, but it didn’t despite loving that one new song.

For the longest time, I had a hard time understanding “Hygee”, but now it makes sense. Now that I was seeing the scene. I wasn’t expecting Oaken to say “Welcome Charlotte”. I have heard people say that song is unnecessary, but Kristoff and Anna have to make it to Oaken’s eventually—so it would not be surprising if a song happens there.

Special Effects

I loved the way they showed Elsa’s powers. It was very magical and wonderful to watch. The moment Elsa changed her dress in “Let it Go” was unbelievable. Even during “Colder by the Minute” when Anna freezes how the ensemble comes together to get the effect. How in the world?

In Summer- My Love for Olaf

In the musical, Frozen, there are four characters I love. Obviously, I love the two sisters, Elsa and Anna. Another character I love belongs to Olaf, an adorable snowman. He eventually joins Anna, Kristroff, and Sven on their journey. Despite being a snowman, he is looking forward to Summer. Both Sven and Olaf are incredible sidekicks and become good friends. As a matter of fact, it was Elsa who built him.

I love some of his lines in the musical—-one of which was originally said by Pabbie.

I Like Warm Hugs

Some People are Worth Melting For

An Act of True Love Can Thaw a Frozen Heart (Pabbie/Olaf)

Olaf