Australian FROZEN Granted Permission to Play Audiences at 85% Capacity

The Australian premiere of Disney's Frozen, which was previously set to begin performances in Sydney in July, now begins performance in December, and when it does, will play bigger audiences than previously allowed. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the NSW Health Minister has granted the musical permission to play to 85% capacity at the Capitol Theatre. Until this point, shows have only been allowed 50% capacity for a maximum of 1,000 people at seated events.

Whether such rules will soon be applied to other Australian shows remains to be seen. "The NSW Government continues to consider the capacity for other entertainment productions. However, no final decisions have yet been made," a representative to Sydney Morning Herald.

Frozen is led by Jemma Rix (Elsa) and Courtney Monsma (Anna). Sydney born and bred, Matt Lee will play Olaf, the beloved snowman, in this new production from the producers of Aladdin, The Lion King and Mary Poppins.

Matt Lee is one of Australia's best-known entertainers with musical theatre, dance, choreography, film and TV credits to his name. Previously starring as Bert in Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's production of Mary Poppins for which he won the Helpmann Award for Best Actor, Matt has been seen on the small screen as a Logie nominated judge on So You Think You Can Dance Australia and was also motion capture principal in the Oscar winning film, Happy Feet, in which he brought the loveable tap dancing penguin Mumble to life.

Thomas McGuane will step into the role of Hans. Originally from regional Victoria, Thomas is a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) and currently resides in Melbourne. Thomas most recently played the role of Bob Gaudio in the Australian tour of Jersey Boys.

Kristoff will be played by Sean Sinclair. Originating from Sydney, Sean graduated from the Australian Institute of Music in Sydney with a Bachelor of Music, is a member of The Tap Pack, and was most recently seen in Disney's Aladdin where he understudied the roles of Aladdin and Babkak. He was also a Swing and Dance Captain in the Australian production of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.

NIDA graduate and three-time Green Room Award nominee Aljin Abella will play Weselton. Jonathan MacMillan and Lachlan McIntyre will share the role of Sven. Sharing the role of Young Elsa will be Deeana Cheong Foo, Amelia Heaven, Sara Petrovski and Lucy Famborough. Sharing the role of Young Anna will be Chloe Delle-Vedove, Faith Hedley, Sabrina Franco and Sienna Kann.

The cast also includes: Jakob Ambrose, Justin Anderson, Tanika Anderson, Blake Appelqvist, Sage Douglas, Nicholas Eaton, Mitchell Fistrovic, Joti Gore, Samm Hagen, Jayme-Lee Hanekom, Kimberley Hodgson, Todd Jacobsson, Jessica Kane, Andrew Kroenert, Jordan Malone, Hayley Martin, Adele Parkinson, Liam Peel, Anthony Sheppard, Thalia Smith, Sophie Weiss and Brendan Xavier.

For more information visit frozenthemusical.com.au