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| Cate Hayman as Elsa in Frozen Credit all Photos Matt Polk |
Talk about Christmas in July!
Frozen,
which opened at the Benedum Center last evening, has all the feel-good
sentiments of the holiday season but without the traditional end-of-December trappings.
Its
story line is pure fairy tale, where magic and colorful characters, some regal,
some fantastical, others playfully adorable, flesh out a rich story line that
arcs through hard times and difficult situations only to emerge with an
ebullient finish worthy of a Dickens or the screenwriter of “It’s a Wonderful
Life.”
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| Hallie Camacho and Laurel S. Denk in Frozen |
The
CLO production starts off merrily with the introduction of the two sisters,
Elsa and Anna (Laurel S. Denk and Hallie Camacho respectively), seen as lovable
and loving children who create one of the show’s most popular characters, Olaf,
a snowman puppet animated by Kyle Kemph. They bring the cute carrot-nosed, snow
creature to life singing “A Little Bit of You,” with Camacho adding a
rambunctious energy to her older sister’s mature, though equally bouncy elan.
Book
writer, Jennifer Lee, wastes no time getting to darker moods as we learn of
Elsa’s magical power to create snow and ice, often with uncontrollable effect.
As the crown princess of Arendelle, Elsa inadvertently chills and nearly kills
her younger sister through her mystical powers, but the king (Kai Sachon) and
queen (Liz Leclerc) call on a pair of mountain trolls to cure her.
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| Laurel S. Denk, Liz Leclerc, Kai Sachon and Hallie Camacho |
The
trolls Pabbie (Allan M. Snyder) and Bulda (Michaela Plummer) bring young Anna
back to life, but a lesson is learned about Elsa’s formidable power to create
both beautiful winter scenes as well as lethal personal injury and nasty consequences.
After
the king and queen are lost at sea in an impressive storm scene complete with huge
waves and crashing lightning created by video designer, Bryce Cutler, Elsa, now
seen as an adult (Cate Hayman) assumes the throne but keeps her distance from
her sister to keep her safe from possible harm.
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| Kevin Hack as Prince Hans, Daisy Wright as Anna and Cate Hayman as Elsa |
Later,
at Elsa’s coronation, the now maidenish Anna (Daisy Wright) meets the debonair,
Prince Hans (Kevin Hack), and immediately falls in love. When the young couple
announce their intention to marry, Elsa is so overwrought by their hasty
decision (after all they just met that day), she accidentally freezes the
entire kingdom. She then runs off in to the North Mountain in a state of frenzy
after being accused of witchcraft by the weaselly Duke of Weselton, played with
sultry villainy by Michael Brian Dunn.
The
remainder of the narrative has Anna seeking out her sister to try to unfreeze Arendelle
with the help of Kristoff, (Matthew Hydzik), an ice merchant with an indefatigable
sense of optimism and a goofy but endearing reindeer named Sven, brought to life
by Jordan Barron, who somehow masterfully manages to control the bulky costume.
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| Daisy Wright (Anna) and Matthew Hydzik (Kristoff) |
Throughout
the musical, with songs aplenty by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez,
costume designer, Ryan J Moller, scenic designer, Tim Mackabee, and lighting
designer, Paul Miller, do masterful jobs delighting the eye with a rich
tapestry of colorful visual delights.
Giving
the already animated production an extra kick of kinetic oomph, is
choreographer Robbie Roby, who adds a tinge of suggestive stimulation with a
routine danced by a line of towel-clad guys exiting a sauna.
The
musical moves forward to its ultimate climax laboring under the stricture that
the only thing designed to break the spell is “a true love’s kiss.” The
anticipation as to whom will provide the spell-breaking smooch only grows
stronger as the plot proceeds. Is it the faithful and courageous ice vendor, Kristoff,
or the dashing Prince Hans? Those not
familiar with the story line from the film or musical may be in for a surprise they
may not anticipate.
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| Cate Hayman (Elsa) and Daisy Wright (Anna) |
In
any successful musical you want adequate or even better voices and a solid
musical ensemble to back them up. This CLO production has both, starting with conductor
Catie Brown’s lush-sounding 15-piece orchestra and continuing with sumptuous vocals
by Hayman, Wright and Hack.
The
musical’s popular anthem, “Let It Go,” ends Act One with an enticing and
uplifting invitation to come back in for more thrills in Act Two, which ends
with a rousing Finale that’s sure to defrost even the most ice-covered heart.
Frozen,
The Broadway Musical, is at Pittsburgh’s Benedum Center
now through July 27. For tickets, phone 412-456-6666 or www.pittsburghclo.org.
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