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Broadway Buzz for Kids: Frozen, Charlie, and Wicked News

It has been floating around the “arriving on Broadway in 2018” stratosphere for a while now, but happily, FrozenDisney’s highly anticipated stage musical based on the 2013 jumbo animated hit film of the same namehas a theatre, an official preview date, and, most importantly, “first dibs at tickets” info.

frozen cast disney

Photo by Andrew Eccles

Come February 22nd, Broadway’s St. James Theatre will be opening its doors to the earliest of early birds: young fans super psyched to see Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Hans, Olaf, Sven and Pabbie as flesh-and-blood (or flesh-and-faux-snow) characters “For the First Time in Forever.” And their parents. Their credit card-wielding parents.

So, if you want to get a jump on the hoards and throngs, here you go.

Single tickets will be available for purchase at FrozenTheMusical.com or by calling Disney on Broadway’s hotline at 866-870-2717. Group tickets for 20 or more will be available at DisneyTheatricalSales.com or by calling 800-439-9000. [Plans to do the cyber ticket no-no will be thwarted thanks to Ticketmaster's mobile device entry technology that replaces print-at-home ticketscompletely.]

An out-of-town-work-out-all-the-kinks production kicks off next week in Colorado at Buell Theatre in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and runs through October 1st.

Heading the creative end of things are current director, Tony winner Michael Grandage (Red) and choreographer, Tony winner Rob Ashford (Thoroughly Modern Millie). And since it’s Disney, you can bet the company is sparing no expense to bring the icy snow draped vision of the filmso easy to achieve in animated formatto sets and projections vis a vis techno stage magic. Cast (since changes are not uncommon at this stage of the game) TBA.

AFFORDABLE GOLDEN TICKETS UP FOR GRABS

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Photo: Joan Marcus

Broadway’s colorful Charlie and the Chocolate Factory added a digital lottery to its collection of musical family-friendly goodies. As of August 11th, every performance will offer a limited number of $40 ticketstwo per entry max. Just log onto https://lottery.broadwaydirect.com/show/charlie/ (10am to 2pm for evening shows; 8 to 9:30pm the night before for matinees) and sit tight. Winners will be notified by email immediately after each drawing with a 60 minute window to claim and pay for tickets online.

As for pickup, The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre box office at 205 W. 46 Street will have them ready 30 minutes prior to curtain. A photo ID is required. Keep in mind, however, that seat locations and number of tickets are subject to availability.

A warning tale to spoiled kids and pandering parents from Roald Dahlthe literary life force behind another recent kid-centric show, the long-running Broadway musical Matilda (it closed January 1st of this year), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory stars two-time Tony winner, Christian Borle as candy impressario Willie Wonka alongside Tony winner John Rubenstein as Grandpa Joe and 33 other Broadway vets and newbies who work to bring the musical sell-out status performance after performance. Sweet.

WICKED SUCCESS AT THE GERSHWIN

Wicked photo Joan Marcus

Photo: Joan Marcus

Ladies of certain young age are probably the ones the producers of Wicked should be thanking. It’s their consistent buying power, social media posts and repeat visits to the filled to the Gershwin Theatre that catapulted the blockbuster show into the position of 8th longest-running production in Broadway history (bumping Mamma Mia! to 9th place).

The official passing of the octo-honor takes place this Wednesday, August 16th, at 7pm.

And for those with a passion for statistics, here are some of Wicked’s most impressive.

Since opening in 2003 the musical (subtitled “The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz”) has:

*  Been performed in over 100 cities in 15 countries;

*  Amassed close to $4.5 billion in worldwide sales;

*  Been translated into six languages (Jampanese, German, Dutch, Spanish, Korean & Portuguese

*  Been seen by more than 53 million people globally;

*  Enjoyed record-breaking engagement in Chicago (close to 4 years); Los Angeles (2 years) and San Francisco (2 years).

*  Won over 100 awards internationally, including the Grammy and three Tonys.

The current Broadway cast is led by Jackie Burns as Elphaba, Amanda Jane Cooper as Glinda, Rondi Reed as Madame Morrible, PJ Benjamin as The Wizard, Ashley Parker Angel as Fiyero, Jye Frasca as Boq, Kristin Martin as Nessarose and Chad Jennings as Dr. Dillamond.

About the Author

City Guide Theatre Editor Griffin Miller moved to New York to pursue an acting/writing career in the 1980s after graduating magna cum laude from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Since then, she has written for The New York Times, For the Bride, Hotels, and a number of other publications, mostly in the areas of travel and performance arts. An active member of The New York Travel Writers Association, she is also a playwright and award-winning collage artist. In addition, she sits on the board of The Lewis Carroll Society of North America. Griffin is married to Richard Sandomir, a reporter for The New York Times.

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