A few days ago, I was able to attend a performance of Frozen the Musical on tour at the Pantages Theater. Given that Frozen is one of my favorite Disney franchises of all time, it was no surprise that I scored tickets to this show and was overly excited to see it. I was blown away by this production on many levels and wanted to share why I think this show is, as Olaf would say, worth melting for.
Photo by Alexa Rydell
The cast of this production is the heart of this production. Each actor perfectly captures the spirit of their characters through little mannerisms, comedic timing, and emotional depth. Caroline Bartleet stole the show with her interpretation of Princess Anna. Her awkward snorts, clumsy walk, and stubborn courage made the audience fall in love with this quirky princess. Countering her, Caroline Bowman who played Elsa, captured the audience through her belting abilities, nervous fear, and her transforming confidence. Of course, no one can forget about everyone’s favorite snowman Olaf, played by F. Michael Haynie. Haynie is on stage the whole time puppeteering a life-sized Olaf as he talks and sings behind him. I fell in love with the fact that Haynie matched his facial expressions to Olaf’s and sprinkled in a Frozen 2 reference that left the audience in shambles. Perhaps my favorite character development seen in the musical is that of Kristoff, played by Mason Reeves. Reeves was incredibly funny, and overall, left the audience filled with warmth as they witnessed him slowly falling for the clumsy Princess Anna. There is a beautiful song in the show called Kristoff’s Lullaby that captures this perfectly.
This leads me to my next point, the music of this show provides the perfect balance between songs from the original movie and new masterpieces. The audience was blown away and thrilled by every song but, particularly the ones original to the musical. Perhaps one of the cutest songs in the musical, A Little Bit of You, captures the spirits of young Anna and young Elsa growing up playing together. What Do You Know About Love is a duet between Anna and Kristoff that surprised audience members with its presence but, had perfect timing. The song shows the contrast between the two characters who have just bumped into each other in the forest. It is the perfect duality displayed by Anna’s naiveness and Kristoff’s grim attitudes towards love. In addition to the first two songs mention, the most talked-about original song from the production has to be Monster. This is an Elsa solo that shows her internal battle of whether her powers are positive or negative.
Overall, I highly recommend that you take a trip down to the Pantages Theater to see this beautiful piece of work! Frozen is playing there until February 2nd, so there is still plenty of time to get your tickets.