Almost the only pandemic dividend was the realisation that live theatrical performances could be recorded on film to delight far larger audiences across the globe.
Frozen started out as a Hans Christian Andersen fairytale, became an animated Disney movie and was then transformed for the Broadway stage. More recently, it enjoyed three years in the West End, where it played at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, closing in September 2024.
Someone at Disney intelligently decided that this would be a perfect candidate for a return to film, and a performance with a live audience in February 2024 is now being released on the Disney Debut channel.
A much-loved story was always likely to convert into an enjoyable and successful stage production but it really has been given the full Disney treatment.
Director Michael Grandage along with his favoured partners, choreographer Rob Ashford and set / costume designer Christopher Oram, have really gone overboard, helped by the backing company’s almost unlimited budget.
This stunning 110-minute production harks back to the days when musicals were grand in scale, with big casts, ridiculously expensive sets and colourful, designer-inspired costumes. In addition, there is a lovable puppet snowman and even a panto-style human reindeer.
However, audiences will initially be attracted by a fairytale featuring a pair of princesses who are divided when little Elsa (Elizabeth Lyons) discovers that she is cursed by dark magical powers, which threaten the life of her sibling Anna (Martha Bailey Vine).
That isn’t the end of their bad luck, as they are soon orphaned. Cue a jump in time to the glorious day of Elsa’s coronation as Queen.
Everything is going swimmingly, until Laura Dawkes as Anna, (enjoying “For the First Time in Forever”) gets overenthusiastic in more ways than one. First, she falls for gorgeous Prince Hans, Oliver Ormson, and then she gets a bit too touchy-feely with the new Queen, plunging the kingdom into an instant ice age.
What follows is a Lear-like plunge into a frozen land, as Elsa exiles herself. Anna and Hans independently lead search parties, hoping to find an unlikely remedy for the country’s chilly problems.
Anna teams up with Jammy Kasongo’s Kristoff and his devoted reindeer Sven, along with Olaf, the lovable puppet snowman, manoeuvred and sung by Craig Gallivan.
While Samantha Barks is promoted as the show’s star, particularly when powerfully delivering the stand-out number “Let it Go”, which brings down the interval curtain though not on video, in many ways Laura Dawkes, fresh out of drama school when she took over Anna, is the scene-stealer, a triple threat with perfect comedic timing added to heroism, not to mention juggling a couple of competing love stories.
Being Disney, a happy finale is never in doubt, although there are a couple of good plot twists along the way before the sisters realise that “I Can’t Lose You” and eventually prove the truth of that maxim.
This is a good rather than sensational musical, and children will undoubtedly love the experience, while their parents should also find more than enough to keep them happy in the lavish costumes and choreography plus some spectacular special effects, all of which support fine performances across the board.