Lauren Nicole Chapman as Anna. Photo Matthew Murphy
Broadway Across Canada

Frozen music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, book by Jennifer Lee.

When and Where July 7- 21, 2024; Tues - Sat at 7:30pm, Sun at 6:30, matinees Thurs 18th & Saturdays at 2pm, Sundays at 1pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Director Michael Grandage Music Director/Conductor Faith Seetoo Choreography Rob Ashford Scenic and Costume Design Christopher Oram Lighting Design Natasha Katz Special Effects Jeremy Chernick Sound Design Peter Hylenski Video Design Finn Ross Puppet design Michael Curry Stage Manager Patricia L. Grabb

Cast: Elsa Caroline Bowman Anna Lauren Nicole Chapman Young Elsa Savannah Lumar Young Anna Emma Origenes Olaf Jeremy Davis Kristoff Nicholas Edwards Hans Jack Brewer Pabbi Brian Martin Weselton Evan Duff Oaken Daniel Switzer Sven Dan Plehal Bulda Renée Reid

Reviewer Elizabeth Paterson


Frozen is a very cool way to spend a blazing hot summer’s evening. Glowing with Northern Lights, sharp with jagged ice blades and steep snow-covered peaks, Frozen has a set glittering enough to produce chills. It might also warm your heart.

It begins with a happy family, caring father and mother (Michael Everett as King Agnarr and Katie Mariko Murray as Queen Iduna), good elder daughter Elsa (Savannah Lumar) and an ebullient scamp of a little sister Anna (Emma Origenes). Trouble comes when the magic that Elsa was born with nearly kills Anna..

Drawing on themes from Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen crossed with snippets of Scandinavian folklore Frozen, for those who have somehow missed the Disney animated film, is the story of Anna’s quest to find her older sister who unaccountably shut her out during their childhood and then fled the kingdom on the day of her coronation. Paralleling Anna’s story is the journey taken by Elsa to manage her terrifying magic powers. They meet the handsome Prince Hans (Jack Brewer), the ice-cutter Kristoff (Nicholas Edwards) with his reindeer Sven (Dan Plehal) , Oaken (Daniel Switzer), shop-owner and Sauna keeper and, magically, Olaf the Snowman (Jeremy Davis) built long ago by Elsa for Anna.

Never far away are the Hidden People, Scandinavian elves. Their elder, Pabbie, (Brian Martin) has enough magic to draw ice from little Anna’s head after Elsa’s magic blasted her in childhood. Ice in the heart is another matter, only to be resolved with love.

Lauren Nicole Chapman shines as Anna. Energetic, headlong and persistent, full of fun and affection, she is a perfect foil for Caroline Bowman’s icy Elsa. Bowman manages to make Elsa’s attempts to contain her powers a very real emotional struggle. Both can sing up a storm, literally in Elsa’s case. Singing together in one of the new songs, the emotional "I Can’t Lose You,” their voices wove a tissue of sweetness and longing.

On Wednesday, an ingenuous Jack Brewer played the handsome Prince Hans with flair and panache, a great counter to the comic couple, lovable Kristoff and his reindeer, Sven. Dan Plehal, deep inside a woolly body with his hands and feet on stilts, somehow imbued Sven with sensitivity and even opinions. With twitching ears and a way of looking down his nose, Sven is really too good to be a sidekick, even to the chocolate-voiced and utterly charming Nicholas Edwards.

Olaf the Snowman is as enchanting on stage as in film down to the same movement and expression. His puppeteer, Jeremy Davis on stage in white Sami clothing, has a quality of stillness, suitable for a man of snow, which morphs into the joyously vibrant. The ridiculously comic paean "In Summer".

Direction by Michael Grandage, set and costumes (by Michael Oram), video and projections (Finn Ross) and lighting (Natasha Katz) all worked together to design an effectively imaginative world for the characters to strive in. Jeremy Chernick’s special effects were theatrical and dazzling and perfectly timed.

Singing and dancing by the ensemble were as excellent as the soloists. Whether elegant courtiers, wild Hidden Folk, or part of an endless stream of crazy celebrants emerging from a tiny sauna, precision and character were stellar.

Kudos also to the Orchestra under Faith Seetoo, for a well-paced, lively performance.

The show is funny,entertaining, and occasionally astonishing, all a Disney show need be.

© 2024 Elizabeth Paterson