Frozen the Musical Review

Expectation management is an important life skill so, given that I hadn't terribly liked the film, finding the music repetitive and a bit annoying, I came into the stage version of Frozen not counting on being blown away. And I was right.

Mirroring an issue I have felt in several Disney film-to-stage musical adaptations, the new material inserted to increase the run time brought nothing innovative or interesting. Instead of fleshing out the characters and storyline, all we had was longer/more musical numbers, mostly either foreshadowing or partially reprising pre-existing songs. When you have already heard the melody of Let It Go from the very start, the number loses its punch, methinks, and this is but one of several examples.

The tone of the show was also off for me. While I understand it's very much aimed at children, the opportunity to engage adult audiences was completely missed. If you think of Lion King, for instance, the stage show has lifted the source material, deepening the dialogue and introducing inspired new numbers that make it thoroughly enjoyable for all ages. But Frozen felt more like a mixture between panto and a Disney Channel series, always opting for the easy joke and quick reaction. The greatest culprits - besides the new music - were the staging, which felt almost amateurish (no, really, it was comparable to what we do with our students!), characters running around in a circle to create the supposed effect of movement; and the choreography (a term I use very loosely....), which bordered on the ridiculous at times with its exaggerated childish moves and over-the-top yet empty gesturing in all magic moments.

Some of the direction choices were also hard to stomach, namely vocal placement. Whereas Anna in the movie comes across as endearing, the decision to have Stephanie McKeon sing with an exaggerated nasal tone (only slightly removed from Adelaide in Guys and Dolls!) and the bounciness of a hyperactive 5 year-old, made the character downright annoying - through no fault of the performer, who has a lovely voice that shone through certain notes and was fully committed to the role. The same forced nasal sound was used to differing degrees by most of the main characters, particularly Hans, making it clear this was a conscious choice by the part of the musical director (and I question the need for the American accents, given that the story is set in an imaginary kingdom). The exceptions were Obioma Ugoala, whose Christoph had a lovely warm tone and came across as charmingly down-to-earth. Craig Gallivan's Olaf was a star, not only by eliciting the most delicious giggles from the many small theatregoers present, but by bringing the same adorable zaniness the film character has through some excellent and expressive puppet work. Above all this, floated Samantha Barks, her confident singing proving that why yes, the main number can be sung without shouting if you correctly use your mix voice, thank you very much! However, with the panto feel of the rest of the show, Elsa's dramatic and intense songs and dialogue rather clashed, the contrast being too great without any inserted transitions to soften the blow. Again, this is down to writing and direction, not at all a representation of the quality of her performance.

One of the main reasons I wanted to watch the show was to see how they had translated the magic. Being totally enamoured with the art of theatre, I am more than willing to suspend disbelief and allow a show to transport me into a world where anything is possible. Which is why I was so underwhelmed to see what felt like a halfhearted attempt to bring magic to life. The sets were nice but not amazing, the lighting design cool but not breathtaking - in comparison, Life of Pi made me believe I was witnessing an actual sea storm on a stage a quarter of the size. Add to that the fact that all the magic gestures were, as mentioned above, little more than crazy-like arm waving, and it all fell rather flat. The one exception, the single moment that had me fully enthralled and gasping out loud, was the oft-mentioned dress change: I am still in awe at the sheer speed, it was if I blinked and poof! new outfit!

All in all, I'm glad I went and think that there is a place for Frozen in the West End. If nothing else, for the reason that was clear in the introductory house warning, which ended on "And a special welcome to our audience members here for their first West End experience. We hope that this is the start of a lifelong love of theatre." While I found the show a bit boring and eye-roll inducing, it will certainly get a whole new generation passionate about theatre and that I can stand behind.

Conclusion: Eh, take it or leave it [what's this?]

Frozen the Musical opened at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane in 2021.