B at The Bows

Originally reviewed July 2021 for Theatre People.

After a successful debut season in Sydney, and a covid-delayed opening, Melbourne’s East End theatre district finally welcomes Elsa, Anna, Olaf, Hans, Kristoff, Weselton and of course Sven, plus all the citizens of Arendelle in Disney’s Frozen.

You would have to have been living under a rock since 2013 to not have heard of Frozen, and I’m sure all parents out there can sing the words to a certain song, but the stage production takes the animated classic to a whole new world (see what I did there).

An opening night is always special, but with all that Melbourne, Australia and the musical theatre and arts community have been through the past 15 or so months, opening nights feel extra special right now. And that was certainly the vibe at Her Majesty’s on an appropriately chilly winters eve. 

Applause rang out from the moment the curtains opened and never really stopped the entire night.

Before I go much further, here are some mind boggling figures about this production of Frozen.

• It is one of the most technically advanced productions ever mounted in Australia with a total cast of 38, an incredible 440 costumes, and 65 tonnes of scenery and automation.
• The costumes, all handmade in Australia, saw a 70-person team engaged to bring the opulent setting of Arendelle to life.
• Elsa’s ice dress alone takes one person 60 days to sew on 14,000 beads and crystals, and three months to make the dress from start to finish.
• Costume fabrics and trims have been sourced from fourteen different countries around the world.
• 145 wigs, hair and facial hair pieces, 90 handmade hats and 120 pairs of custom-made shoes make up the incredible cast wardrobe.
• The production uses 350 litres of liquid CO2, refilled once a week, to pump out the fog during each show.
• There are 75 million individual video pixels used throughout the set to ‘freeze’ over the whole set from floor to ceiling – the tiles are the second smallest used in the world and are the size of your pupil.

All that aside, what hands down gives this production it’s beating (unfrozen) heart and HYGGE soul is the extraordinary Australian cast, lead beautifully by the simply adorable Courtney Monsma as Anna and the powerful Jemma Rix as Elsa. Everyone’s favourite snowman, Olaf, is so very cleverly brought to life by Matt Lee and everyone’s favourite reindeer is expertly puppeted by Jonathan Macmillan or Locie McIntyre. It’s quite easy to believe that Thomas McGuane was born to play Hans, with a face straight out of a Disney fairytale. But the actual prince of the show, Kristoff, is heartwarmingly delivered by Sean Sinclair. Rounding out the principal cast is Aljin Abella as the scene-stealing Weselton.

However, this wouldn’t be Frozen without a young Anna and Elsa, and on opening night they were played by Stella Partridge and Isobel Lauber. If Abella was a scene-stealer as Weselton, then both Patridge and Monsma steal the show as Anna. 

They both bring the most charming childlike innocence to the character that you simply can’t take your eyes off them when they are on stage. All of the quirks that we love from the animated character are so deftly portrayed on stage, it’s simply quite a wonder to watch.

Of course, it goes without saying that watching Rix as Elsa is like watching a true master of their craft at work. She manages Elsa’s inner turmoil deftly, until it explodes into that song. You may have seen how the “Let It Go” reveal works on YouTube, but until you see it in real life, on the stage set so beautifully designed by Christopher Oram, you cannot describe the heart stopping act 1 finale number.

Speaking of the music, there have been an additional 12 numbers written for the stage production, but they blend in beautifully as they were composed by the original songwriters of the film Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. The book was written by Jennifer Lee, who also wrote the original film, so there is a strong continuity between film and stage. 

One stand-out song addition is the utterly charming “Hygge”, delivered by Blake Appelqvist as Oaken, and serves as the act 2 opening number. I can’t remember the last time I smiled, from my heart and soul, as I did during that number.

When you think seriously about it, Frozen is a complicated story. Family, power, trust, fear, love, deception, community, loss, pain, joy, grief, happiness and sorrow. But ultimately, it’s a story about two sisters, who no matter what, will always act with true love in their heart.

And that’s what saves the day.

Frozen is a true visual feast, highly entertaining and a stunning showcase of the incredible depth and talent of musical theatre stars we are so blessed to have here in Australia.