If you’ve never been to a Broadway musical before, I highly recommend it. If you have kids, even better! The right show can be such a magical experience for them. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to take my oldest daughter to see Frozen the Broadway musical at the Paramount Theater in Seattle. My daughter is 11 and while she may be outgrowing Disney movies, a theatrical performance is delightful for all ages and she absolutely loved it!
You can catch the show at one of Frozen’s four week engagements at the Paramount Theatre from February 7-March 1. This Tony-Award nominated Best Musical from the producer of The Lion King and Aladdin stars Caroline Bowman as Elsa and Caroline Innerbichler as Anna. Additional cast members include Austin Colby as Hans, F. Michael Haynie as Olaf, Mason Reeves as Kristoff, Jeremy Morse as Weselton, Collin Baja and Evan Strand alternating as Sven, as well as Stella Cobb (Young Anna), Alyssa Kim (Young Elsa), Jaiden Klein (Young Elsa), and Arwen Monzon-Sanders (Young Anna).
Frozen will play Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30pm (with a matinee performance at 1pm on Thursday, February 27), Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm and 8pm and Sundays at 1pm and 6:30pm (except for Sunday, March 1 when the final performance is at 1pm). There will be a sensory-friendly performance of Frozen on Saturday, February 22 at 2pm. This show will be performed in a supportive and judgment free environment for families and friends with children or adults affected by autism or other sensory issues to enjoy the shared experience of live theatre. I LOVE that they do this! For more information, please visit stgpresents.org/sensory-friendly.
No matter how many shows I’ve seen I am always amazed at the sets and how different illusions can pull off even the most unfathomable scenes you can imagine. It’s so crazy how a single stage can transform from a castle with a bedroom scene to a snowy mountain top with an ice castle in a matter of seconds. The picture above is from my daughter’s favorite scene right before intermission. The photo does not do it justice at all. This set sparkles like crazy and has some awesome theatrical effects. I love how the scene right before intermissions are so full of energy and climax leaving you excited for the second half of the show. In this scene Elsa has a magical costume change in the blink of an eye and she sparkles like diamonds!
My favorite scene is of Anna and Hans performing the song “Love is an Open Door” from the original movie. It’s always been a favorite of mine and I adored the chemistry between these two actors as they danced and sang together. Fun fact — the actors that play Hans and Elsa are husband and wife!
This scene shows two of my favorite characters, Sven and Olaf. My daughter and I spent the entire show and car ride home trying to decide of Sven the Reindeer was a robot or if there was an actual person inside. This character and it’s animal movements was fascinating to watch. The info I have says Sven is played by Collin Baja and Evan Strand alternating. I assume this means one of them is inside the costume. Amazing!
Olaf is played by F. Michael Haynie in an unexpected manor. Haynie acts as sort of a puppeteer controlling Olaf’s movements while simultaneously doing the voice of Olaf. His performance of “In Summer” was quite memorable as it is another favorite song of mine from the movie.
The show included many songs from to movie as well as some originals and the orchestra sounded amazing. I always remind my kids that there are actual musicians that you can’t see in the orchestra pit performing all of the music and that it isn’t coming from a soundtrack. So much talent goes into each show from the actors and musicians to the set makers and costume designers. It is amazing to see it all come together in such a magical performance!
Here’s a quick glimpse of the set and some of the live action since the photos can’t quite capture the full effect. To truly experience the wonder, go see the show! It will not disappoint!