If you want to escape a sticky hot Sydney day why not escape and head to Norway for a frosty delight.
You don’t need to have seen the original animated movie to enjoy this dazzling production. In fact I am led to believe that its two hour length allows for some of the issues raised in the animated movie to be explored in more depth.
This is the first international production of the show since it premiered in Denver, United States in 2017. To ensure that this production would succeed on all levels of superlatives Thomas Schumacher, President and Producer and his creative team which included Director Michael Grandage and set designer Christopher Oram came down under to give the show an extra vibrant sheen.
No expense has been sparred in. this lavish musical and in particular the costume department. There are 450 costumes and for the showstopper song ‘Let It Go’ Australian Associate Costume Supervisor Janet Hine and her team of 3 took a year to make Elsa’s ice dress which comprised of 3 layers of silk and 14,000 beads and sequins which weighed about 8 kilograms. Three versions were made. The hard work was worth it as Gemma Rix magically revealed the dress in her ice palace for the 2014 Oscar winning song.
Like the best of Disney production this show can be enjoyed on two levels; on one level children can enjoy the fantasy fairy tale elements and secondly the adults can enjoy the more mature themes.
The story tells of the love of two sisters, the elder Elsa destined to be Queen has a power that can kill people and in particular her younger sister Anna..
With a book by Jennifer Lee and music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the themes of alienation and difference are teased out in greater depth. When Elsa and Anna become orphaned as a result of the deaths of their Royal parents, Elsa locks herself away in the palace and at her coronation flees to an Ince palace she created with her power to freeze high up in the Norwegian mountains.
Despite an atmosphere of doom and gloom there are some very funny characters that light up the darkness such as the talking reindeer Sven, Olaf the talking snowman, a row of Roxette sauna dancers and a comical character, the dastardly Duke of Weselton.
Jonathan MacMillan and Lochie McIntrye create the lively reindeer Sven, Aljin Abella as the short statured, dastardly Weselton who possesses a fine baritone whilst he clowns around.
To solve the problem of recreating the mobile snowman Olaf in the movie, Matt Lee, dressed as a clown, becomes its shadow and voice. Tied to a puppet Olaf by the feet Matt Lee dances across the stage with verve and humour.
The ensemble, in multiple roles, fill the stage with charming dance sequences and glorious choruses.
There are six people credited with the responsibility of choreography to move the vast array of lively performers across the stage. They are Rob Ashford, Lorenzo Pisoni, David Chase, Charlie Williams, Sarah O’Gleby and Emma Delmenico-Smith.
Gemma Rix is, at times, distant and yet vulnerable as the tormented Elsa, complemented by her lovely singing voice.
She is matched vocally by Courtney Monsma as the mischievous, impetuous, headstrong Anna.
The leads are rounded out by Thomas McGuane playing, with flair, a seemingly dashing young Prince Hans of a Southern Isle.
Sean Sinclair as Kristoff plays a rough hewn, rugged, man mountain. Both Kristoff and Hans seek to win Anna’s heart.
However this is a post feminist Disney production and it is the sisters adoration and yearning for each other that saves the day.
This is the first show that I have seen where computer generated effects play such a startling and effective role under the creative mind of Jeremy Chernick.
The sound design by Peter Hylenski matched the voices above with the music below conducted by David Young in harmonious and vivacious whole.
An opening night standing ovation was the only appropriate and inevitable response to this beautiful musical. A treat for all ages, a retreat from summer’s heat…let it snow!
‘Frozen’ is currently playing the Capitol Theatre.