Award-winning director bringing "" to Broadway By Peter Marks, Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.01.18 Word Count 388 Level 600L

Patti Murin as Anna and John Riddle as Hans in "Frozen." Photo by: Deen van Meer

Michael Grandage directs plays. He has won awards for the stories he tells on the stage.

None of his work prepared him for his latest play, though. Now, he has to handle a character with a carrot nose who might melt.

That's because his latest play is Disney's "Frozen." Performances of the play began on February 22 in . Grandage's musical is based on the 2013 Disney movie. Grandage and his team have been hard at work for more than a year. They hope their musical is as good as the movie.

Grandage Told To Create "New Magic"

Grandage is new to Disney. He has the hard job of meeting the high expectations set by the "Frozen" movie. He must create new magic using popular characters from Elsa and Anna's kingdom of Arendelle.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Disney asked Grandage to be true to the movie. They also want him to come up with new surprises, too.

That brings us to Olaf the Snowman. How do you bring a snowman to the stage without it melting? Grandage had to think hard about Olaf. "Do you do Olaf as a man in a costume?" he asks, laughing. "Or do you do a puppet?"

The answer is somewhere in between. They settled on using a real person who will be behind a puppet.

Grandage Rewrote "Frozen" To Make Story Better

Kristen Anderson-Lopez writes music. She wrote the music for the movie version of "Frozen." Her husband helped. They added more than 12 other songs for the stage play. Of course, it keeps the very popular song "Let It Go."

Disney has made other musicals. One of them is "The Lion King." This musical has been very successful. It's too soon to tell how "Frozen" will compare.

Grandage and his team did a tryout run of the show in September. After that, they changed some things. They wanted to make the play better.

"We totally rewrote the ending," says Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Everyone agreed that "Frozen's" end had to be perfect. It has an important lesson. It's about understanding what's most important in life.

Grandage says he thinks they've figured it out.

Grandage says he likes to do things in their simplest form. "Frozen" is no different. He wants the story to shine through. It won't just be about the special effects.

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. Quiz

1 Read the section "Grandage Rewrote 'Frozen' To Make Story Better."

Select the paragraph that explains what has been changed since the tryout of the play.

(A) Kristen Anderson-Lopez writes music. She wrote the music for the movie version of "Frozen." Her husband helped. They added more than 12 other songs for the stage play. Of course, it keeps the very popular song "Let It Go."

(B) Disney has made other musicals. One of them is "The Lion King." This musical has been very successful. It's too soon to tell how "Frozen" will compare.

(C) Grandage and his team did a tryout run of the show in September. After that, they changed some things. They wanted to make the play better.

(D) "We totally rewrote the ending," says Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Everyone agreed that "Frozen's" end had to be perfect. It has an important lesson. It's about understanding what's most important in life.

2 Read the section "Grandage Told To Create New Magic."

Which sentence explains WHY it is a challenge to use a snowman in a play?

(A) He has the hard job of meeting the high expectations set by the "Frozen" movie.

(B) He must create new magic using popular characters from Elsa and Anna's kingdom of Arendelle.

(C) How do you bring a snowman to the stage without it melting?

(D) "Do you do Olaf as a man in a costume?" he asks, laughing.

3 Read the paragraph from the section "Grandage Rewrote 'Frozen' To Make Story Better."

Disney has made other musicals. One of them is "The Lion King." This musical has been very successful. It's too soon to tell how "Frozen" will compare.

Which phrase could replace "compare" WITHOUT changing the meaning of the last sentence?

(A) step down

(B) match up

(C) play off

(D) carry on

4 Read the selection from the section "Grandage Told To Create New Magic."

He has the hard job of meeting the high expectations set by the "Frozen" movie. He must create new magic using popular characters from Elsa and Anna's kingdom of Arendelle.

What is the BEST definition of "magic" based on the context clues?

(A) noises to hear

(B) spells and curses

(C) songs and dances

(D) ways to entertain

This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com.