Christopher Gattelli to Join FROZEN Creative Team? Choreographer Peter Darling Departs Due to Scheduling Conflicts

There is a shake-up in the creative team for Disney's Broadway-bound FROZEN. According to Variety (and currently unconfirmed by official sources), Tony winner Christopher Gattelli (NEWSIES) is in talks to join as choreographer in place of Peter Darling (MATILDA, BILLY ELLIOT). Darling reportedly departs the production due to conflicts with another new musical- GROUNDHOG DAY, which is due to premiere in London later this year.

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For a recent lab, Patti Murin took on the role of 'Anna', originally played by Kristin Bell in the hit animated film, opposite Betsy Wolfe as 'Elsa', originated by Idina Menzel. HAMILTON's Okieriete Onaodowan read for Kristoff. No word on whether the workshop actors will appear in FROZEN on Broadway.

As previously announced, beginning next summer, the musical will play an out-of-town tryout in Denver ahead of an official Broadway bow at an extensively renovated St. James Theatre -- featuring a deeper stage and larger wing space for the massive sets, according to the Post -- in spring 2018.

FROZEN features music and lyrics by creators of the film score Kristen Anderson-Lopez (In Transit, Up Here) and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, Up Here) and a book by Jennifer Lee (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.

The design team for FROZEN includes scenic and costume design by seven-time Tony Award winner Bob Crowley (Mary Poppins, The Coast of Utopia, An American in Paris), lighting design by five-time Tony Award winner Natasha Katz (Aladdin, An American in Paris, The Glass Menagerie) and sound design by four-time Tony nominee Peter Hylenski (The Scottsboro Boys, Motown, After Midnight).

Two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Oremus (Avenue Q, Wicked, The Book of Mormon) is music supervisor and creates vocal and incidental arrangements.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos