Picture: Johan Persson
Frozen continues at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London.
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
On first hearing that Disney’s most successful animated franchise would make its move to the stage I was, admittedly, slightly sceptical. Since the extraordinary breakthrough made by The Lion King, further attempted animation adaptations seem to me to have been enjoyable but not much more. Of course, having been initially captivated, the public attitude to Frozen has been divided. However, the one thing I did not experience at the newly renovated Theatre Royal Drury Lane was division: everyone, young and old, Disney fan and cynic, seemed to share in an earnestly magical experience.
The most discussed and most striking aspect of Frozen is perhaps the way that magic substantiates on stage. The technical team has put together an astounding array of projections, lights and wires able to translate the sweeping mountains and blasting ice of the film. To go into detail, particularly on the climax to ‘Let It Go’ and the larger peak of Act II, would spoil some truly jaw-dropping moments: I will simply say that I still can’t be sure how Elsa transforms herself in the middle of the Act I close…
These sentiments extend to the sets and costuming too. The gorgeously produced workmanship on and around the stage adds to the enticingly smooth perfection of a Disney world brought to life. One great challenge in adapting film is always the difficulty in making those inter-locational transitions that cinema can handle with ease. Frozen manages them superbly, making excellent use of its sets to grab the audience by the hand and whirl them through place and time.
It will be a surprise to no one who has seen any one of these performers before that the cast sparkles and delights. The show puts surprising and rewarding faith in the young performers who open it, though I do lament the removal of ‘Frozen Heart’ as an opening – for a form that so often employs an overture, the scene setting of that song would probably improve the slight abruptness with which Frozen begins on stage.
Stephanie McKeon is delightfully funny and lovable as Anna, while Samantha Barks brings a welcome freshness to Elsa who, given the saturation of her music since 2013, might otherwise have become an Idina Menzel impression. ‘Let It Go’ soars, however, as it did when we first heard it 8 years ago.
The comic talent behind Craig Gallivan (Olaf – backed by wonderfully lifelike puppetry) and, perhaps less expectedly, Oliver Ormson (Hans) feeds this much funnier, expanded version of the story. For me, however, the surprise standout – his talent not being the surprise, as it’s as fierce as ever – is Obioma Ugoala’s Kristoff. The character is deepened, both by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez’s lengthier lyrics and Ugoala’s exemplary performance, to become someone far lonelier and much more interesting.
As such, some of these expansions ensure Frozen on-stage hits higher highs even than its cinematic counterpart. However, with this come some small complaints. Given the lightning-in-a-bottle reaction to ‘Let It Go’ it would be unfair to expect Anderson-Lopez and Lopez to come up with another smash hit but, unfortunately, some of Elsa’s widened role is lacklustre (though played well by Barks).
The translation of the ‘hidden’ mountain people (you probably know them as the trolls) comes off a little at odds with this developed version: it seems to me that they either ought to have remained cartoonish, puppeted like Olaf, or more fully integrated as characters. Lastly, the glorious magic of the sets and effects is sometimes brought to contrast by moments of strangely pantomime-ish blocking which one might expect to have been ironed out in previews.
A last complimentary word must be reserved for the larger cast and choreography (by Rob Ashford, direction from Michael Grandage). They make 25 people feel like 200, working as audiences, crowds and even meteorological phenomena perfectly. This is what is best about Frozen: its harmony. The production operates like a brilliantly talented, carefully rehearsed orchestra (which, of course, it has). Every aspect of the show knows where it needs to be and when, making for an enchanting spectacle ready to wow the families who will undoubtedly love it.
Tom Martland
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