Disney's Frozen Musical to reopen London's Theatre Royal Drury Lane?

The news is that Andrew Lloyd Webber is seeking planning permission for a £35 million scheme to restore one of the West End’s oldest theatres - the  Grade I listed Theatre Royal Drury Lane  to its Georgian glory.

Lord Lloyd-Webber, whose Really Useful Theatres Group owns the venue, has applied to Westminster council for permission to strip away later alterations to reveal Benjamin Dean Wyatt’s original designs.

Drury Lane has one of the most complete Georgian theatre interiors in the UK and the proposals would see Dean Wyatt’s foyer, rotunda, grand staircases and saloon opened up to the public. Capacity would fall from 2,250 to 2,023 to allow for better sightlines, more comfortable seats and better legroom. Cramped seating is a regular grumble among West End theatre-goers, with most of the venues built in Victorian or Edwardian times.

So it comes as no surprise that this morning the Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye is reporting that the Broadway-bound stage adaptation of Disney's Frozen is already eyeing a run there in London's West End. Baz reports that the producers are  in the early stages of looking at  West End theatres for the musical  with the Theatre Royal Drury Lane,  "of interest" for the show.The production would re-open the theatre following extensive renovations through 2020.

This Broadway-bound Frozen, a full-length stage work told in two acts, is the first and only incarnation of the tale that expands upon and deepens its indelible plot and themes through new songs and story material from the film's creators. Like the Disney Theatrical Broadway musicals that have come before it, it is a full evening of theatre and is expected to run two and a half hours.

Michael Grandage (is to direct Caissie Levy (Ghost) as Elsa  and Patti Murrin (Wicked) as Anna in Disney's Frozen the Musical which is playing a try out at the Buell Theatre in Denver until 1st  October before heading for the  St James Theatre, New York where it previews from  22nd February 2018.The musical is based on the Oscar-winning Disney film, with  music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and a book by Jennifer Lee. It also has design by Christopher Oram whose previous work includes the Kenneth Branagh season at the Garrick Theatre and the RSC's Wolf Hall, for which he won the 2015 Olivier and Tony Awards.

Based on the 2013 film written by a trio of Oscar winners, Frozen features music and lyrics by the creators of the film score Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Up Here, Winnie the Pooh, In Transit) and EGOT-winner Robert Lopez (Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, Up Here) and a book by Jennifer Lee (Zootopia, Wreck-It Ralph), the film's screenwriter and director (with Chris Buck). Frozen won 2014 Oscars for Best Song ("Let It Go") and Best Animated Feature.