By Chris Heide
Caroline Bowman as Elsa in Frozen North American Tour-photo by Deen van Meer
Having never actually seen the movie Frozen, I didn’t know what to expect walking into the premiere performance of Frozen, the musical, at the Paramount Theatre. Would the show be a tepid adaptation, ala the musical production of The Little Mermaid, or would it be a soaring production reminiscent of Wicked? Given how omnipresent ‘Let It Go” was when the movie premiered, it is surprising that I knew very little about the plot. As a gay, it was my duty to be familiar with the soaring rendition of the song performed by Idina Menzel, but as a single, children man, I had very little interested in watching the film. The benefits of not having any children, I suppose. Overall, the show landed somewhere in the middle between The Little Mermaid and Wicked.
The plot is simple enough- it is a tale about two sisters, one of which has magical powers. The show (and the film I can guessing) manage to dismantle a few tropes typically seen in “Disney Princess Movies”. While her sister seems obsessed with minding true love, Elsa is a woman, independent, who uses her character arch in the movie to find her own authenticity and voice. Even at the end, when an act of true love is supposed to rescue Anna from an untenable fate, that act of true love comes in the form of her sacrificing her own life (temporarily) to save her sister- rather than the tired trope of being saved by Anna. It is a film, and musical, that creeps every so slowly towards a message of female empowerment.
Overall, the show is very well produced. The set pieces of innovate and lush, the costumes a bright and beautiful, and the incorporation of special effects to mimic Elsa’s magic is impressive. While, for me, many of the songs were forgettable, the show has a singular defining moment of greatness. At the end of the first act, the music begins to swell and transition into “Let It GO”. At this point in the performance, I leaned over to my friend and whispered, “this better be good.” And it was good. So good that I was stunned at the showstopping moment I had witnessed
The defining performance of ‘Let It Go” is the one moment of the production that manages to make the entire show iconic. The song builds and builds, very similarly to ‘Defying Gravity’, and climaxes spectacularly. This rendition- dare I say it- is ever more vocally challenging and soaring than the Idina Menzel rendition.
At its heart, Frozen is definitely a musical production geared towards families. There are just enough classic Broadway moments and appropriately timed adult jokes to make the show accessible for everyone. Whether or not you have children, do yourself a favor and catch Frozen, the musical, while you can.