Frozen Melts Hearts at Proctors

Disney’s Broadway Musical Frozen is at Proctors Theatre this November, and its sweetness is certainly bringing a welcome warmth during this cold winter snap of weather.

Based on the Disney hit movie Frozen, the Broadway musical borrows the main songs, characters, and themes, but also adds impressive choreography, dazzling special effects, and a live orchestra to the mix.

Opening with child actors in a charming play sequence, Arwen Monzon-Sanders as Young Anna and Jaiden Klein as Young Elsa really stole the show. The joyful young Anna’s asking her sister to play was authentically sweet, and made the story more believable. The girls’ chemistry felt real, as did their silly play and body language. Even their dancing was consistent with youthful exuberance, and made the night start off on the right foot.

Shortly after, the characters grew up. And while the young children in the audience were excited to see the appearance of Princess Elsa, the Anna character really stole the show the entire night. Actress Caroline Innerbichler’s representation of falling in love during “Love is an Open Door” was so charming, and the character development and body language remained consistent throughout the play from child to adult actor. She seemed to celebrate the goofy parts of being human, and was able to do that flawlessly as she represented Anna throughout the musical.

Later, when dancing in the song “Hygge,” Innerbichler’s presentation of Anna’s love of life shone through so brightly that it was hard to look elsewhere. But if audience members didn’t look around, they were missing some of the most hilarious and delicious dance pieces in the show.

There were of course the expected satisfying moments: Anna’s “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,” Elsa’s performance of “Let it Go,” complete with special effects that created an ice castle and change in costume to glittering gown, and a finale that brought the audience to its feet to cheer the entire case and company.

And to the hundreds of little girls dressed up as princesses in the crowd, I’m sure those are the moments they came for. But just like in Disney movies, there were deeper messages for adults about the dangers of keeping secrets in a family, the risk of loving too easily that opens one up for betrayal, and of course, the strength of love and forgiveness as the most powerful magic of all.

Frozen will be at Proctors through November 24th. With or without a little fan next to you, the show will surely warm your heart.