The songs would join the half-dozen already in the film, notably the Oscar-winning international hit "Let It Go." The Times story did not describe the new songs.
The Lopezes are currently working with Tony Award-nominated Peter and the Starcatcher director Alex Timbers to bring their hit animated feature "Frozen" to Broadway. They're also working with Timbers on a completely original new musical comedy Up Here, which will premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse July 28. Robert Lopez is a Tony winner for Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon.
Timbers, the innovative young director who brought Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Peter and the Starcatcher, Here Lies Love and Rocky to the stage, has also been quietly working with Disney on exploring a stage adaptation of The Muppets.
Last fall, Disney Theatrical Group president Thomas Schumacher stated that he was in talks with directors to help shape "Frozen" for the stage, but a timeline for its arrival was not in place. "My job is to corral the writers of the movie," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "I'm already talking to directors, and I have a design concept, and we have to begin to fashion this idea. It doesn't need to be fast. It needs to be great."
Jennifer Lee, who co-directed the film and also authored the screenplay, is reported to be writing the book for the musical. The Lopezes won an Oscar for "Let It Go." The Daily Mail indicates that Broadway may freeze over in 2017, when the hit feature film may finally make its stage debut.
Representatives for Disney previously issued the following statement from Thomas Schumacher, President and Producer Disney Theatrical Productions. "As has already been announced, Disney Theatrical is working on a stage adaptation of the animated film 'Frozen.'…It will come as no surprise that the EGOT-winning Broadway veteran Robert Lopez and the Oscar and Grammy winning Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who wrote the indelible songs for the film, will be working on the show and that Oscar winner Jennifer Lee, co-director and screenwriter of the film, will be working on the book of the stage version. No other staffing or dates have been announced."
The voice cast of the film features Kristen Bell ("Forgetting Sarah Marshall," The Crucible), Idina Menzel (Wicked, If/Then), Jonathan Groff (Spring Awakening), Tony Award nominees Josh Gad (The Book of Mormon) and Santino Fontana (Cinderella), Alan Tudyk (Prelude to a Kiss) and Ciarán Hinds (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof).
Read an earlier interview with Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez here.
Here's how the film, produced by Peter Del Vecho, is described: "Fearless optimist Anna (voice of Bell) sets off on an epic journey—teaming up with rugged mountain man Kristoff (voice of Groff) and his loyal reindeer Sven—to find her sister Elsa (voice of Menzel), whose icy powers have trapped the kingdom of Arendelle in eternal winter. Encountering Everest-like conditions, mystical trolls and a hilarious snowman named Olaf (voice of Gad), Anna and Kristoff battle the elements in a race to save the kingdom."
