Directed by Michael Grandage, and with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, ‘Frozen the Musical’ finally opened its gates to West End audiences on 8th September 2021. Based on Disney’s 2013 animated film, which has enjoyed phenomenal success, the show follows the story of estranged royal sisters Anna and Elsa, when Elsa’s magical ability to turn objects to ice sets off a perpetual frost in their kingdom of Arendelle. In a quest to find her sister and break the enchantment on Arendelle, Anna teams up with ice harvester Kristoff, his reindeer sidekick Sven, and loveable snowman Olaf.
The stage show is not only faithful to the magic of the animated classic, but in many ways enhances it. In terms of the plot, it feels like a lot more time is devoted to the young Anna and Elsa, and establishing their backstory, which adds to the dynamic between the two characters as adults, and reinforces the overall theme of sisterly love. In addition to the well-loved songs from the film, including ‘First Time in Forever’ and ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman?’, the stage show also includes a host of new songs written specifically for the musical.
The only new song for the stage show I had listened to prior to seeing it was ‘Monster’, a second dramatic solo number performed by Elsa during Prince Hans’ attack on her ice palace in Act Two of the show. The contrast between ‘Let It Go’, which takes place just before the interval in the show, and ‘Monster’ is very effective. During the former, Elsa is discovering who she is and testing the limits of her powers for the first time, whereas ‘Monster’ has a much more lamentable, melancholy feel to it. Elsa’s character is maturing; she is questioning the consequences of her powers, and wants to take responsibility for what has happened to Arendelle. Oaken “Yoo Hoo Big Summer Blow Out!” is given his own song in the show; a highly entertaining number, complete with a backing ensemble from his sauna, which pays homage to that most popular of Nordic words, hygge.
For the performance I saw, the role of the adult Elsa was played by Danielle Fiamanya, who brought grace and sophistication to the character, with beautifully rich vocals. We are presented with a much more complex version of Elsa’s character in the stage show, with more focus placed on the toll of isolating herself since childhood, and being taught to see her powers as a danger and threat to others.
Stephanie McKeon as the adult Anna brilliantly portrayed the cheekiness, kookiness, and eagerness to be loved that audiences themselves have come to love about the character. Oliver Ormson was charming and deceitful in equal measure as Anna’s would-be fiancé, Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. I particularly loved his chemistry with McKeon during Hans’ and Anna’s signature song, ‘Love Is an Open Door’. The choreography was highly entertaining, and you could tell from the energy of the performance that the actors were enjoying it too.
I also thoroughly enjoyed Obioma Ugoala’s portrayal of Kristoff. His reprise of Anna and Kristoff’s duet in the show, ‘What Do You Know About Love?’ (billed as ‘Kristoff’s Lullaby’ in the soundtrack), is a surprisingly tender moment, sung as he watches over Anna while the trolls attempt to heal her frozen heart.
The role of Olaf the snowman was played by Craig Gallivan using a puppet, and was inspired by the Japanese Bunraku style puppetry, whereby both the puppet and the performer appear onstage together and can be seen by the audience. His performance was brimming with energy, and he brought all the traits that audiences enjoy about Olaf to the character; benevolence, joy, and plenty of goofiness. He also sounded uncannily like Josh Gad, who provided the voice for Olaf in the film!
The sets were absolutely beautiful, most notably Elsa’s ice palace, created using a mixture of physical scenery and digital projections, and featuring an astonishing 53,000 Swarovski crystals. The changing of Elsa’s costume from her coronation outfit to her ‘Ice Queen’ attire during the climatic ‘Let It Go’ sequence has got to be one of the most magical moments I have seen on stage. It was pitch perfect, and there was a collective gasp from the audience, who were on the edge of their seats from the opening notes of the song, as you would expect!
The use of the ensemble throughout the show was also highly inventive, particularly during the shipwreck scene at the beginning of Act One, and the climatic snowstorm scene towards the end of the show.
Visually stunning and a joy to watch, ‘Frozen the Musical’ stands on its own and conjures its own unique enchantment, and is bound to charm audiences of all ages.
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