Disney's Frozen

I saw 'Frozen' at the weekend (August 2021).

We were in the Balcony, row C 8-9. I'd booked the tickets what feels like years ago and then of course everything got postponed, so I know that I booked without a current seating plan to go off. However, I had assumed that the seating would start at no.1 and nos.8-9 would be more in from the edge - however the balcony seating starts with no. 8, so we were on the very edge of the balcony. 

They're not terrible views, but as with any of these sorts of seats, if someone in the front row leans forward, they obstruct the view of anyone behind them. From these seats you do generally miss most of what is going on stage left due to the curve of the balcony, and unfortunately a lot happens there, as well as right to the front of the stage - luckily the 'Let It Go' sequence was unobscured as it mostly happens centre stage. 

So, we missed an awful lot of the show, but I had taken a punt on the cheap £20 tickets so wasn't too annoyed - we were mostly very frustrated (as was everyone around us) with the tall young guy in row A, who missed the whole first half and then spent the 2nd half either leaning forward so no one could see or entering or exiting the auditorium and disturbing everyone each time. We have no idea why he kept being let back in. 

However, the seats are comfortable and the theatre looks glorious. There is more leg room in the Drury Lane balcony than there is in the upper circle at the Victoria Palace Theatre, so that is something. Sadly our evening was mostly a concert as we missed so much and could only hear a lot of the singing, and I wouldn't sit in these seats again, but at least I know for next time!
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Row B Balcony, £30 in pre opening, you lose the extended part of the stage, so you miss some but not much. Bigger problem is people in row in-front, when they lean forward, which most seem to as I guess they miss even more of the front of the stage

You lose a good 50% of the show, sometimes all. At some points it was unwatchable which is a shame. The back row of the balcony looked like it would afford a better view, although you may miss some of the effects.

Asked to wear a mask. Most wore masks but a significant number didn’t, even after reminders from the stage. Seats not socially distanced and public areas very busy, no distancing inside, on entry or exit.
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Gorgeous in the auditorium isn’t it. We were D21-23 in the grand circle - central, clear view of the whole stage, terrific sound and a great place to sit to appreciate the spectacle. Fantastic rake, it didn’t seem too far from the stage, no overhang, decent width seats and about the best Upper Circle experience we’ve had. 

I liked the blue carpet and the snow. We had the most heart-stopping moment during 'Let it Go.' As Elsa went into the costume reveal and the climax of the song she swirled the dress off and absolutely went flying. Crashed down onto the stage, stopped singing, audible audience gasp etc.

Thankfully she got back up, carried on, the crowd went wild etc but must have been a nightmare for the poor lady. An usher we got talking to on the bus home said she was ok but shaken up. I think the costume department will have some work to do before tomorrow night!! 
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Stalls C14. The rake isn’t fantastic so I did have a head in front of me (and I’m 6 foot!) and it is slightly to the side so there’s a few minuscule bits you don’t see thanks to cast blocking and set design, but for £20 absolutely zero complaints whatsoever!! If I was paying £90 then obviously I’d want to be in the centre, but it’s undoubtedly one of the best day seats I have ever scored.
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Stalls K33 - really great seat. Clear view of stage. Well worth taking, despite the price (gulp).  If you are taller, the legroom might be a problem but five foot me was fine. I convinced the usher to give me a booster seat.  "They're for children" "But I'm really short and there's little rake in the stalls!" "OK then". Better with a booster but probably not the end of the world if I didn't.

Frozen was amazing. Staging-wise it's one of the best around. And the Hygge song and dance was hilarious.
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Show Review:
I’m most likely not this show’s target audience: I’ve seen the first film once, not seen the second and wasn’t bringing any children with me.  But I loved it.

I think the world and it’s dog knows the story of Frozen so I’ll skip it and deal with the show itself.  Brava to everyone involved.  It is spectacular.  The extravagant set, the fabulous lighting, the costumes that perfectly reflect the ones from the film, they’re all perfect (I’ll come back to this later).

I did wonder how they would recreate Elsa’s powers on stage?

Wow.

Everything mentioned above comes into play.  There are jaw-dropping effects (I might as well mention it now, there is THAT costume change; mid stage, it just happens - I understand it took a year to set that one up); and there is an effect close to the end that is a combination of lighting, costume and ensemble that had me wanting to stand up and applaud it, it is so brilliantly pulled off).  

The songs are, almost all (I’ll be back) spot on.  The ensemble is given a lot to do and do it wonderfully well.

There are two dips. Olaf’s dream sequence about wanting it to be hot. It does go on a bit, and some people have complained about the ‘cartoonish’ staging when everything else is so extravagant.  But I’ll forgive the latter, it’s deliberately cartoonish and matches the sequence in the film.  And the Olaf segments are very much for the little ones in the audience (we had a few near us, they were SO well behaved, adults at other shows please take note).  And “Hygge”, the opening number of the second half? It’s a bit of a laugh and it sets up a nice ensemble gag, but frankly it goes on at least 5 minutes too long and doesn’t really add to proceedings.

But back to the good stuff… It’s surprising how small Elsa’s role is, with the plot concentrating much more on Anna.  But it works. I understand both leads (Samantha Barks - Elsa and Stephanie McKeon - Anna) have grown into their roles. Barks’ Elsa is - given her limited stage time - a hard one to pull off, but she gets it just right.  What everyone else thinks is cold and aloof is driven by fear after a childhood incident. And I’m told McKeon has reined in her performance, losing ‘kooky’ and replacing with a lovely performance of someone that has never had to develop social skills as she’s pretty much never seen anyone else!  And this lack of social awareness sets up the peril of the show nicely.

If I awarded stars, this would be 4.75 out of 5.  Trim ‘Hygge’ a touch and it would be perfect.  

There will be people who think “This is for little kids only.” It couldn’t be further from the truth.  This is a superb piece of musical theatre that everyone will enjoy.  Frozen is a must-see piece of musical theatre, no matter what age, if you like Disney or not, it doesn’t matter. Do yourself a favour and get a ticket.

Seat Review:
Grand Circle, Seats C28 and 29.
Fantastic seats.  Seated dead centre, exactly far enough away to take in the entire stage, yet close enough to pick up on expressions (much further back and the latter will be lost).  The steepish rake means you see easily over the head of anyone in front.  They’re comfortable with decent legroom. This section of the theatre has most definitely benefited from the refurbishment.

Talking about the refurbishment, come along early.  Not just to make the front of house team’s life easier, but to fully appreciate the fantastic work done in refurbishing this grand theatre and restoring it to it’s full glory.

Later visit:
Stalls G34 and 35:
Extremely comfortable and decent room (that refurb spent the money in the right areas) with reasonable legroom.  They’re aisle seats so if one of your party needs to be able to stretch out, this is useful.

This close to the stage you are looking up a little (fear not, you can still see right to the back of the stage) and have to move your head to take in the whole vista before you.  

For the 'current' production (Frozen, it may never leave, it’s that good) I’d say you are too close.  So much of Frozen utilises the entire stage, being able to see the whole of it in one go is beneficial.  If you do sit here, fear not you still can’t see how [SPOILER ALERT] THAT costume change is done [ENDS] and the [SPOILER] incredible scene combining leads, ensemble and lights doesn’t work as well close up [ENDS]. For the money, I’d consider the Dress Circle (even the Upper Circle, but no further back than Row C) to take the full view.
 

Bob Pickett.
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D34: Wonderful view with such a low stage. Couldn't see the performers feet most of the time, but that didn't matter. Comfortable seat and good legroom. Would sit here again!

D38: Legroom was acceptable. View was sometimes obstructed by the lady's head in front of me. Comfortable enough seat. Stage is low so that wasn't much of an issue.
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Stalls H22 and H23.
These were about perfect from a location point of view. They are far enough away from the stage that they seem completely central, and have enough height to see the actors' feet clearly (important both for the dancing and for Olaf) - but they are close enough to allow all of the action and the actors' faces to be seen clearly. Legroom was no problem for me (5' 11"). I would have liked more offset, but to be frank both the badly-behaved children and the adults-looking-after-children moved around so much during the show that more offset would have improved things only a bit. (On this second visit to the show, it was interesting to see what an improvement came from being only two rows further back and only two seats closer to the centre, even though we had absolutely nothing to complain about in respect of our seats the first time around.)
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H31-33 upper circle.
Very near the back of the circle, aisle seats (H33) clear view of the stage, good legroom. Great for appreciating the whole spectacle of this stunning show at a price which doesn't break the bank.
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Great production, but too many poor details.
 
On Thursday Dec 29th 2022 my daughter (aged 14) and me (aged 59) attended the evening's performance of FROZEN at the DRURY LANE.
 
Our seats were in the stalls (M 35, M 36) with perfect sight of the stage (and of ushers letting latecomers in). My seat was in the stalls, Row M, seat 35. The nicely upholstered seat tilt forward as if something was broken or someone should tighten some screw. The effect was that I had to lean with my legs and feet against the floor to prevent from sliding down the seat. After 20 minutes this became very exhausting, but I did not want to spoil my daughter's experience, whose chair turned out to be perfect. My very expensive seat was definitely not worth its price.
 
The production itself was great. After dull first more or less 20 minutes the story had found its conflicts and we did no longer feel part of a folk history museum. These first 20 minutes are not the kids’ fault, its just a slow and boring exposition and Warchus did not find a fresh approach to the book. The rest of the evening was great fun, great sets, great effects and some wonderful songs and music. Imagine: After the interval we really witnessed 10 minutes full of kinky humour and self-irony (HYGGE).
 
But: Why did most of the main characters spoke their dialogues with US accent? I studied their bios in the programme: All of them have been born British and the story does not take place in US. To introduce that accent on the same stage where Rex Harrison sung "Why can't the English taught their children how to speak" (MY FAIR LADY) many years ago in my opinion is somehow ridiculous. The cast has been brought up British. So why allowing them or forcing them to talk like that? Even one of the kids used that accent! Terrible!
 
By the way: The cubicle area in the gents on basement floor was dirty from dried (no fresh) excrements and the floor of both cabins was covered with urine. It was immediately after opening the doors at 6.15 pm. Did nobody clean the gents after that day's matinee?
 
I just wanted to share my impressions. We stayed at London für 5 days and attended 5 different theatres, but the experience at the DRURY LANE was in some way the poorest.
 
Peter Hahnen, Dinslaken (Germany)
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I wanted to see it again before it closes. Unfortunately my seat (the seat in front row furthest left, I think it was A37) was so bad that I was considering leaving in the interval.

You couldn't see a lot, for example I didn't see anything of Elsa during the coronation scene as it was center stage and not within my sight. I understand that some seats are "restricted view" but this was more than restricted.