Wednesday night at the West Herr Auditorium Theatre felt like an early Halloween. Young girls (and a few adults) dressed as princesses and snowmen turned out to view the touring Disney attraction packaged as a Broadway musical, “Frozen,” playing through Oct. 8.
This production will inevitably attract fans of the hit 2013 animated film, adapted for the stage with an expanded book by the film’s screenwriter Jennifer Lee and additional songs by songwriting duo Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
Stage adaptions of movies have a tricky balancing act: they need to be close enough to the source material to satisfy the diehard fans, while also different enough to justify charging up to $100 per ticket (or more) for a story that could be watched at home on Disney+ for the umpteenth time. The touring “Frozen” does both, luring audiences to the stage with sheer decadence. The show brings out all the mega-musical stops: fog machine, extravagant sliding sets, digital animations, magical illusions, and larger-than-life puppets.
Audiences are greeted by a front drop displaying glimmering Northern Lights over the palace of Arendelle, a kingdom in a fairytale version of somewhere Scandinavian. The screen rises to reveal an elaborate palace bedroom where a young princess Anna (played enthusiastically by Annie Piper Braverman) begs her older sister Elsa (played with solemn poise by Erin Choi) to build a snowman with her magic powers. However, Elsa’s magic leads to a vague but serious accident that injures Anna. The king and queen enlist the help of the magical hidden folk, who save Anna by removing every impact of Elsa’s magic — including in Anna’s memories.
The opening rolls on with backstory through a musical sequence in which the royal parents die in a sea storm (created by the ensemble with refreshingly low-tech theatricality) and the sisters grow farther apart. Anna is quietly replaced by her older counterpart (the overly cartoonish Lauren Nicole Chapman), who still wants to build a snowman, but only as a means for reconnecting with her emotionally distant sister. The extended opening musical sequence culminates with preparations for the coronation of grown Elsa (Caroline Bowman), which prompts the palace gates to open with the rousing song “First Time in Forever.” The cast is rounded out with the appearance of Anna’s two potential love interests, Prince Hans (the charismatic Preston Perez) and the ice seller Kristoff (Dominic Dorset, in an impressive debut performance).
The coronation goes horribly wrong when Elsa loses control of her magic and runs away, leaving behind a terrible blizzard. Any sense of danger is mitigated by an act full of the movie’s best songs, including “Love is an Open Door” and “Summer,” a charm song from the crowd-pleasing snowman Olaf, played by an actor (Jeremy Davis) maneuvering a snowman puppet twin of the movie’s animation.
Naturally, act one ends with the run-away hit song “Let It Go,” Elsa’s solo featuring a light show and a dazzling blink-or-you’ll-miss-it costume change from a dark gown to her iconic blue sparkly dress.
The second act follows the same beats as the movie, with relevant but musically forgettable new numbers, such as the Elsa and Anna duet “I Can’t Lose You” and the sweetly romantic “Kristoff Lullaby.”
Not all of the additions for the stage show hit the mark. The second act opens with a lackluster breaking of the fourth wall and the new song “Hygge”, including a bizarre burlesque send-up by dancing sauna guests. The musical also gives more stage time, but less explanation, for a group of magical hidden folk led by Pabbie (Tyler Jimenez) and Bulda (Renée Reid). These magical beings who emerge from nature shirtless (aren’t they cold?) to chant and serve the royals uncomfortably evoke dehumanizing tropes of magical native people.
“Frozen” generally plays it safe, capitalizing on previous successes to hit the sweet spot for Disney fans. There’s a taste of the animal puppetry that made “The Lion King” a Broadway success with the truly remarkable reindeer Sven, played by a human (alternating Collin Baja and Dan Plehal) under layers of ruffle sporting majestic antlers and large eyes, capable of uncanny movements.
Lovers of “Beauty and the Beast” will enjoy the coronation ball with its candelabras, atmospheric purple lighting, and swirling dances with colorful dresses. “Frozen” also follows in the footsteps of Broadway hit “Wicked” with its Elphaba-lite Elsa, a pseudo-anti-heroine who learns to embrace her own power.
For better or worse, this is quintessentially Disney: kid-friendly, over-the-top, full of catchy music and over-romanticized portrayals of monarchy, with an easily digestible message. It may be more glitz than substance, but it’s sure to warm the hearts of its fans.
Katherine Varga is a freelance writer for CITY. Feedback on this review can be directed to leah@rochester-citynews.com.
This article appears in Sep 1-30, 2023.
