Big Applause for Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical

A Theatre Kid’s Calling

In 2018, when I was in middle school, I saw Frozen on Broadway with my choir class. By this time in my childhood, I had watched multiple Broadway shows, including Wicked, so I was expecting more than just a stage adaptation of a Disney film that came out in 2013.

The quality of the show exceeded my expectations by virtue of its stage effects. The sets, lighting, projections, costumes, and flawless scene transitions introduced me to the technical aspects of musical theatre I never thought I would be interested in as an actress who only performed in school productions.

In a way, Frozen was one of the Broadway musicals that solidified my biggest childhood fascination: theatre.

Two years later, however, Covid-19 struck the planet, leading to the closing of Frozen. I still remember scrolling through Playbill’s Instagram account and seeing its announcement of the show ending in New York. I was disheartened. It was depressing to see such a spot-on production be unplugged permanently because of its industry’s shutdown.

I tuned out Frozen as a whole until this year, when I found out that it played in London’s West End for three years between 2021 and 2024, producing a film recording of one of its performances for Disney Plus. Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical  dropped this past June, and is now available to watch on the streaming service.

I will say one thing about the recording: it is just as spectacular as the Broadway version.

The Music and Script 

They lifted most of the music and script in Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical from the animated film Frozen (2013). Nevertheless, there were a few musical additions to the plot, such as the songs “Vuelie/Let the Sun Shine On,” “A Little Bit of You,” and “Dangerous to Dream,” which extended the plot and provided more context on what the characters were feeling. 

Following this alteration, some minor scenes were added while some big scenes were rearranged. However, despite these changes, the rising actions, climaxes, and falling actions stayed true to the initial plot points, and Elsa and Anna still got their happily ever after in the end.  

The Performers

Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical is rich with strong voices. Samantha Barks, widely known for playing Éponine in Les Misérables, played Elsa, and Laura Dawkes played Anna. What I found thrilling about their voices was that they sounded deeper than their Frozen (2013) singing predecessors (Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell), lending more mature tones to their characters.

Barks’ portrayal of Anna was dark, serious, and mysterious enhanced by  expressing a level of contemplation that Frozen (2013) Elsa lacked. There was a bigger desire to connect with her sister, thanks to the song “Dangerous to Dream.” This addition to her character and Bark’s expression of this addition casts a warmer shadow on Elsa’s cold image. 

Dawkes’ portrayal of Anna was quirky, loud, flirtatious, and even forward. There were way more risqué undertones in her character than Kristen Bell’s now-graceful portrayal of Anna. What I loved the most about Dawes’ performance was her singing voice. She not only sounded passionate and princessly, but she sounded tough, like she was born to fight for love. 

I especially adored the little girls who played young Elsa and Anna (Elizabeth Lyons and Martha Bailey Vine). Vine’s plays a memorably bubbly Anna, animated to the point where I could feel my heart exploding with the cuteness. Her energy electrified her character to life, which can be extremely hard to channel as a young actor. 

Lyons’ acting was more subdued, befitting Elsa, but her performance was just as animated as Vine’s. Her singing and acting were more reflective, internal rather than external, unlike her stage sister’s. The two girls were unforgettable in their own ways.  

Overall, the energy the leads and ensemble members possessed was commendable, professional and passionate in committing to their roles. 

Set and Costume Design 

Above the brilliant performances, I most adored the sets and costumes, which were extremely immersive. I could tell that if I was physically in that theatre, the stage would have been more than merely a stage. It would have been a whole new world, and I would be looking into that world a few rows away.  

The sets were massive and sophisticated, especially Elsa and Anna’s bedroom, Elsa’s ice palace, and the mossy home of the trolls. The lighting also did a superb job at setting the mood of each set. 

The best use of set and light projection was when Elsa would use her ice powers, particularly in “Let It Go.” The entire scene was just sparkly and delightfully explosive. And let’s not forget Elsa’s on-stage quick change into her blue slip dress! It brought me back to when I saw the production on Broadway.  

The detailed costumes were brilliantly extravagant, colorful, and true to the outfits in Frozen (2013). They were almost royal — fairytale-like. They offered a hint of old Norwegian culture to the production, an integral part of Frozen’s essence in general. 

A fantastic example of this aspect was when the trolls came to help Anna in the beginning of the show. The trolls had glow-in-the-dark eyes and their costumes looked similar to the trolls we see in Nordic mythology books: mossy and barely clothed.    

Without the extravagant sets and costumes, we would have not had this recording. 

Cinematography

Lastly, I have to applaud the cinematography of this film. The cinematographers not only gave us a full view of the stage and its scene transitions, but they also filmed on the stage, sometimes on center stage behind the actors. It showed me the perspective of the performers at work, which was extremely cool.

Final Thoughts

I would recommend Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical to anyone who A.) loves Disney, and B.) eats up the technical sides of theatre. 

This film is one of those movies that gives you something new to take away and pull apart, whether it be the sets, costumes, or just the performance of an actor. That is the beauty of a production such as this one: you are never left with an “I wish” in your system. You are left with at least one positive thing to carry, even if you are not a theatre fanatic.

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