Review: Encore Performing Arts Warms a FROZEN Heart at Dr. Phillips Center For The Performing Arts

Around seven years ago, I had finished shopping at Barnes & Noble when a homeless man waiting outside the entrance asked me for some change. Having essentially gone cashless thanks to banking apps and debit cards, I politely declined in giving him money. But, seeing as I was hungry myself, I offered an alternative by asking if he would like to accompany me to the nearby Chick-fil-A so I could buy him dinner. He said yes, so the two of us walked to the Chick-fil-A right by that Barnes & Noble. I got my usual spicy chicken sandwich meal, he opted for the deluxe with cheese, lettuce, and bacon. Over the next hour, I learned more about this man – his name was Sean – and how he came upon such hard times. Sean had immigrated here from Barbados, but had a falling out with a relative, then lost his job, his home, and his car. He had friends from his previous work who would find him and check up on him, but none that could house him or offer much beyond a few dollars to keep him fed, even if it meant keeping him on the street. At the end of the meal, he thanked me for buying him dinner, as well as for spending my time with him. Then he headed back to the Barnes & Noble entrance which he made his “spot,” while I headed to my car. As this was my “regular” Barnes & Noble, I usually ended up at that store at least once a month, sometimes seeing Sean (and getting a Chick-fil-A meal with him as a result), sometimes not. After Covid, I never did see Sean again at that Barnes & Noble. The optimist in me hopes that meant he was able to get a job and get back on his feet again.

I share this story not as some sort of virtue signalling of my character or moral grandstanding of my actions. Rather, I share it because at the end of the day, the best that I could offer Sean in my encounters with him was a decent meal and an hour’s worth of time. Yet the plight of homelessness in Central Florida is still an ongoing problem. One that most residents would rather expect to disappear rather than address head on. When you live in a tourist-heavy locale like Orlando, you’re bound to see the panhandlers on busy streets like Sand Lake Road, John Young Parkway, or 192. Hoping for a tourist to see their plight and offer some cash. There is nothing shameful about asking for help. Which is exactly why Encore Performing Arts has partnered with the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida to ensure that those who are struggling and do ask for help receives the help, care, and attention they need. The Coalition has helped hundreds of members of the homeless community in the greater Orlando area, assuring them that there is a shelter they can call home until they are able to get back on their feet, offering essential care such as cleaning facilities, free dining, and support programs. Encore and the Coalition have partnered together so that all proceeds from this weekend’s production will help the homeless of Orlando. And they chose one of the most popular properties to come from the Disney entertainment pipeline in the last fifteen years: the huge cultural juggernaut that is 2013’s Frozen.

At the time of Frozen’s release, the Walt Disney Company did not expect, nor plan, for it to become as huge as it did. The Disney Revival era was still within its early years, as each animated hit was seen more as a surprise than an expectation. Yet Frozen became to Gen Z what The Lion King was for Millennials nearly twenty years earlier. An unparalleled success, critically and commercially, with subsequent films all trying to chase that financial and cultural high that the film left in its wake. The film received theatrical shorts, theme park shows and promotions, a whole half-season retelling on the ABC-TV series “Once Upon a Time,” a theatrical sequel, and a full-fledged Broadway adaptation that brought back the original co-director/co-screenwriter Jennifer Lee and songwriters Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez to flesh out the material for the stage. Frozen: The Broadway Musical ran on Broadway from March 2018 to March 2020, with performances halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When Broadway re-opened for audiences, Frozen was a conspicuous absence as Disney opted instead to keep the show closed, though it would resume its National Tour in September 2021, running through September 2024.

Since then, Frozen has been available for licencing by local and regional theatres, including two previous stage productions in Winter Haven (September-October 2025) and Titusville (November-December 2025). However, no theater company in the immediate Orlando area had yet to tackle the popular musical until this very special weekend in July, when Encore Performing Arts selected the musical to close out their 2025-2026 theatrical season. As someone who has seen virtually every Encore production since 2015, I was not about to miss out on Frozen. Especially given that they were mounting this production back inside the Walt Disney Theater at Dr. Phillips Center. That venue was my introduction to Encore circa 2015 with their production of Aida, a show I can still recall and remember vividly in my memory. I’m truly grateful that I can now add a core memory of Frozen by the Encore team to my bank of unforgettable theatrical experiences.

For those unfamiliar with the story of Frozen, it begins with young, child versions of Anna (Ryleigh Williams) and Elsa (Alexia “Lexi” Rose), the daughters of King Agnarr (Robert Valenti) and Queen Iduna (Christie Young). The sisters are very close, primarily because Elsa often uses her magic to help enhance playtime with her sister. A freak accident causes Elsa to accidentally strike her sister with her magic, leading Agnarr and Iduna to call upon the Huldufólk, or Hidden Folk, to work their magic to restore Anna. Bulda (Assata Davis) and Pabbie (Braden Clapp) explain that they cannot fully heal Anna, but they do use their magic to help her recover from the accident. As a result, the younger princess has no memory of her sister’s magic. Agnarr and Iduna recommend that Elsa refrain from using her magic; in her fear she may hurt others, Elsa complies by concealing her powers with gloves, and herself within her bedroom. Tragedy strikes when King Agnarr and Queen Iduna perish at sea, having sailed beyond the borders of Arendelle hoping to find a cure for their daughter’s powers. As time goes on, Elsa (Kali Marsh) and Anna (Bethany Moses Tesner) mature, as the elder princess now comes of age to assume the throne of Arendelle.

Visiting royalty and dignitaries from neighboring kingdoms arrive for her coronation, including a lovestruck Prince Hans (Sam Hedeman) who finds himself charmed by Princess Anna, as well as the Duke of Weselton (Gabriel Bermudez), who suspects the newly-coronated Queen Elsa must be hiding something. As Princess Anna and Prince Hans grow close, they decide to marry, though Queen Elsa does not give her blessing. The two sisters argue, resulting in Elsa accidentally unleashing her powers once more, casting an eternal winter over all of Arendelle. The Duke accuses her of witchcraft and treachery, with Elsa running off into the wilderness of the north mountain. Princess Anna decides to chase after her, leaving Prince Hans in charge. As Anna searches in the northern part of Arendelle, she comes across the ice-seller Kristoff (Steven Moeslein) and his trusty reindeer Sven (Mary Boatman), who agree to help her. They soon encounter the snowman Olaf (Grayson Smith), now brought to life by Elsa’s magic. Together, this unexpected foursome search for Elsa, who has made refuge for herself further north, opting for isolation rather than returning to her home. In the wilderness of her new kingdom, she finally decides to let it go, unleashing her full range of powers to create an ice castle as her new domain.

The selection of Frozen as the summer musical served multiple masters. Thematically, it fit within Encore’s 2025-2026 season’s theme of “Finding Yourself,” as the story of Queen Elsa discovering how to better control her powers also serves as a metaphor for self-love, self-acceptance, and self-esteem. Frozen also, let’s be honest, has always been a crowd-pleaser. It has a near universal appeal for various attendees who’d be interested in seeing a production at Dr. Phillips Center. Musical Theatre Acolytes. Disney Adults. Families looking for kid-friendly entertainment. However, the one guiding principle that made Frozen the perfect musical for Encore’s theme and their partnership with the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida can be found in the very lesson that Elsa learns by the end of the story: only love can thaw a frozen heart. And it’s love that will, ultimately, guide the proceeds to help out the Coalition, and by extension, hundreds of homeless men, women, and children in our tourist town. We may not know every person who receives help from the Coalition. We may never meet each homeless vet or down-on-their-luck family or Sean from Barnes & Noble. But it is our compassion, our love, and our charity that we can give them.

After all, the other guiding principle behind Encore Performing Arts has always been that all their productions, from development to rehearsals to constructions to performance, are all done on a volunteer basis. These company of players have consistently and generously sacrificed their time, contributed their talent, held space for others, all in the name of creating great art for the community, so that a shared experience in the theatre can help give back to less-fortunate communities. The noble and selfless nature of Encore Performing Arts is the lifeblood that has kept this theatre company running for nearly twenty-five years, and will keep it running for twenty-five more. They make this special art on the stage because it is always worth making. And the people of Orlando – both those paying to see the shows mounted, and those in communities that benefit from the proceeds – are always the better for it.

Guiding this production of Frozen is director Nicholas Sampson-Wainwright, who also helmed last September’s La Cage aux Folles for Encore. Sampson-Wainwright, in collaboration with his design team and Encore crew, have crafted a version of Frozen that is performer-focused, eschewing traditional sets and expansive locales for a staging that puts the characters at the forefront, making this sprawling epic musical much more intimate as a result. The majority of the stage is taken up by the Encore Choir, flanking both Stage Left and Stage Right for the duration of the entire musical. The 15 principal performers and 20-member ensemble otherwise dominate the foreground of the stage, using their wide open space to transform the singular location into the various rooms of the palace, the open range of the north mountain, and the climactic waterfront finale.

Scenic designer Cliff Price contributes iconic set pieces that help suggest each specific locale through their relationship to the characters. Anna and Elsa’s bedroom is, naturally, created through their beds, movable and separated on the stage. Likewise, Price devises a movable door used generously throughout the first act as that barrier – physical and emotional – between the two sisters. More cleverly, the golden proscenium previously used in La Cage aux Folles gets recycled here as Olaf’s showy stage for “In Summer.” What I found most impressive was how Price managed to create a sense of intimacy within these locales despite the production’s blocking never having the full, expansive set pieces a traditional mounting of this musical would require. Encore’s performer-first focus means there is liminal space on the stage that gets utilized to suggest the idea of a place rather than a recreation of it. A park bench during “Love is an Open Door” helps sell the romance without having to flood the stage with plants and walkways. The bridge for “What Do You Know About Love” does not need as much detail as the suggestion of how slippery it is because the performers carry out the action to clue in to the audience how icy that bridge is. And even a set piece as sparse and sturdy as a maypole already invites the audience to imagine the rest of the community town square that the ensemble have gathered in during “For the First Time in Forever.”

The best use of these “suggested sets” occurs during Elsa’s Act 2 song, “Monster.” Written specifically for the Broadway stage musical, “Monster” tackles a lot of serious topics and themes, some of which might fly over a child’s understanding of the lyrics, but will resonate much more as they get older. And the staging for this entire number by Samson-Wainwright, the performers, and choreographer Malik van Hoozer, coupled with Price’s movable ice sculptures, help sell the artistry of both the lyrics and the stage movement to depict it. By the end of “Monster,” the entire cast freezes, as a living tableau vivant, holding their poses to invite the audience to read the scene, to observe the action, the motivation, and the intent, all without them saying a word or moving a muscle. It’s one of the most impressive uses of tableau vivant for dramatic effect, married perfectly to the song “Monster” and the rich tapestry of performance, lighting, and set design in Encore’s production.

Also helping contribute to wonderment of Frozen is a creative lighting design by Vinnie Cross that opts for a soft, almost candlelight glow during warmer scenes, countered with harsh, strict, and very pointed directional light during the more climactic sequences in the story. Encore made sure that any of Elsa’s powers were depicted through practical effects rather than relying on screens and gimmicks (more and more modern musicals seem to favor screens, sadly), with the lighting design being part of that practicality. There’s an almost icy tone that gets conveyed during moments of danger, as if they chose the right light filters to equate certain emotions. Lighting also gets conveyed naturally during certain sequences with the Huldufólk, mainly through glowing torches held by the Encore Choir, and creepy, shiny red eyes on several of the ensemble players.

Among the company of players that perform as these familiar characters of Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and Hans, standouts for this reviewer included Kali Marsh as Elsa and Grayson Smith as Olaf. Elsa, by the very nature of her story arc, must always be repressed and grounded to a certain degree throughout much of the first act. Marsh knows how to play that role perfectly, treating Elsa more as a serious dramatic character out of an Ibsen play rather than a Disney musical. Yet when she reaches the Act 1 closer, “Let It Go,” she goes Full Diva in terms of her sudden stage presence. She owns every piece of that stage, moves around with the intention of letting the audience know where she is at all times. Even as the curtain came down for intermission, Marsh made an absolute diva turn of her head and body at just the right moment, signifying to the audience, “I know you’re watching me walk away.” It helped to show the progress of the character across the first act, and continued well throughout the second as Elsa was still very much an Ibsen-esque character functioning in a Disney play. The amount of pathos she goes through, the torment and the guilt and the anguish, all gets conveyed marvelously through Marsh’s performance.

Likewise, Grayson Smith’s Olaf is a bona fide Disney character through and through. Smith knows that Olaf is so clearly identified with Josh Gad’s voice, so he wisely chooses not to imitate it, but to rather introduce his own cadence and pitch to the voice to create an Olaf that is entirely his. The childlike wonderment mixed with the occasional glib delivery or deadpan line helped to turn Olaf into a scene-stealer anytime he was on stage. It was very hard for me throughout the show to focus on Olaf the puppet because it was more natural to watch Smith as the puppeteer. He’s basically delivering two performances as one, since he must maneuver his Olaf puppet to accurately convey what his voice role is delivering, while still performing as himself, knowing he is still visible to the audience. It’s a masterful combination of talent, largely because the manipulation of the puppet already restricts some of his leg movement, yet he still remains focused on ensuring Olaf moves accurately while he performs just as naturally.

If Kali Marsh is portraying Elsa as someone more suited for, say, A Doll’s House, her frequent scene partner Bethany Moses Tesner has approached Anna purely from the comedic angle of the character. She could easily find herself in Arsenic and Old Lace or Noises Off in her approach to Anna. It honestly makes sense within her approach to the character, as Anna has been otherwise trapped inside a castle for ten years, so her one chance to actually do something means she’s expending a lot of energy. Tesner thus plays Anna not just for the front row of the audience, but out to the rafters. The exaggeration of movement, the delivery of lines, even some of the wackiness of certain wigs, all point to a character that’s written as the Yang to Elsa’s Yin. An opposite in every way, never needing to conceal anything because she feels everything.

Anna’s two suitors within the story, Kristoff and Prince Hans, are played by Steven Moeslein and Sam Hedeman, respectively. They both have to convince the audience that their character is the right guy for Anna, meaning the audience has to like their portrayals even if they may dislike the characters’ actions. Hedeman’s Hans, thanks to the new Broadway song “Hans of the Southern Isles” does try to soften his villainous turn, and Hedeman plays Hans as sincere in all his actions throughout both acts up until that expected plot twist (which audience members literally “boo”-ed at on Friday night). Even though we all know that Hans will turn out to be… less than noble… Hedeman’s portrayal up to that point is still a convincing portrait of a man who could easily be the true love Anna was looking for.

That does mean that Steven Moeslein has to play Kristoff in a totally different light that allows the audience to see his character as someone that is not a romantic interest for Anna until we need him to be. Indeed, Moeslein gives Kristoff a very Golden Age Hollywood approach. He treats his characterization of Kristoff as a spiritual successor to Spencer Tracy opposite Katharine Hepburn, which is fitting given how Tesner plays Anna as a screwball comedy heroine. The chemistry he develops with Tesner, and that chemistry that also develops between Kristoff and Anna, help to sell their burgeoning romance in the stage version better than in the film. Personally, I find some of the neuroses of the characters better written in the Broadway libretto when compared to the 2013 film, though that is also to be expected given that screenwriter/librettist Jennifer Lee intended for the Broadway version to actually flesh out some of the relationship dynamics better than the animated film did.

Truth be told, as a whole, I do still prefer the animated film to the Broadway musical. Among the dozen or so songs written for Broadway, very few stand out to me to be as memorable as anything from the animated film. “What Do You Know About Love” and “Monster” are probably the strongest songs from the Broadway musical, with “I Can’t Lose You” as a sturdy third. That song was added for the national tour, replacing Anna’s later song “True Love,” so sadly is not on any cast recording. Yet I found that those three songs truly are on par with the original 2013 songs, as if they could have been included in the film had they been written back then instead of in 2018.

It’s truly the songs, and their compositions and delivery, that make this Encore production stand out when compared to the Broadway show and National tour. You truly haven’t heard such classics as “Vuelie,” “For the First Time in Forever,” and Fixer Upper” until you’ve heard it with the Encore Choir and a full orchestra conducted by Clay Price. And certain Broadway songs, such as “Dangerous to Dream” and “Colder by the Minute” were made essentially for the sprawling Wall of Sound vibe that the Encore Choir always delivers in each of their stage productions. Choir director Amy Martin Cole has managed to direct the Encore Choir into an ethereal aural presence for much of the songs in Frozen. And, truly, several of the Broadway-exclusive songs made a better impression on me through the Encore Choir rendition than the original cast album or National Tour did. There are over 100 members of the Encore Choir, coupled with the 35 or so principals and ensemble, plus a 44-piece orchestra. That full, rich sound of all that talent coming together makes Frozen sound much more epic than ever expected. And it helps to elevate the stage production within the Walt Disney Theater into something that easily surpasses the National Tour and Broadway cast. I’ve often lamented that Encore Performing Arts should release cast recordings (maybe live-from-the-sound-board CDs?) in order to preserve just how wonderfully produced these songs are and sound.

Frozen as produced by Encore Performing Arts will eventually become a memory as all past Encore productions have become. And yet, it’s a memory that I know I can revisit time and again with the same fondness, the same awe, and the same yearning I have for past productions. I’ll remember the way little Ryleigh Williams ran circles around the bed in the first five minutes. I’ll remember how Gabriel Bermudez’s Weselton danced the night away. I’ll remember Mary Boatman delivering a masterful pantomime performance as Sven. And knowing that this production will benefit the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, I’ll always, in a now unexpected way, remember Sean from Barnes & Noble whenever I think back on Frozen. Wherever he is in this city, or if he possibly made it back to Barbados, I do hope he is okay. I hope that he did find his home, just as Frozen’s Elsa found hers.

Time moves in funny ways when you live in a tourist town like Orlando, Florida. Being surrounded by an endless rotation of families who never stay long, immersing yourself in theme parks and local hangouts that change over time but still feel the same, never really having the sense of a traditional four seasons because it’s otherwise hot for all but two weeks in the year. (But what a wonderful two weeks.) And yet, despite this sameness that feels like an endless summer, a story like Frozen comes along to remind us that time is still passing us by, that life is still going on, and that we are not as young as we once were. Consider, for example, the mere fact that the original children of the Frozen generation – those who first witnessed the film in 2013 when they were in elementary school – are now college bound or college graduates. Consider the parents who, over the winter of 2013 and the majority of 2014, had to endure their children singing the songs repeatedly, watching the film over and over again on Blu-Ray and DVD, but now now wistfully look back on those endless viewings and wish their kids would just sit down once more for old time’s sake. Then, consider how Walt Disney World keeps Frozen eternally youthful thanks to their audience-participation Sing-Along program at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The show has been going on for twelve years now, retelling the story again and again and inviting audiences to sing-along to the now-familiar, now-Disney-standard tunes.

Disney will continue to find ways to expand the franchise. We’re getting Frozen 3 next year, and a fourth film sometime after. Elsa and Anna and Kristoff and Olaf continue to evolve and grow with every subsequent story. Yet it’s the timelessness of the first one, the lesson of a heart needing a home, and finding it through self-acceptance, that keeps Frozen as a classic in the pantheon of Disney Animation. Encore Performing Arts is now part of that long legacy of Frozen, contributing for one weekend to the ever-evolving mythos of what it means to portray these characters, to tell this story, to ask the audience to open their hearts to a new home for this beloved tale. And yet the impact of this one weekend will have longer-lasting effects to the people of this community. To the grateful audience who got to watch this artistry on stage. And to the less fortunate, who will now benefit from this generosity. If ever a heart needed a home, they can be sure to find one at Encore Performing Arts.

FROZEN plays exclusively this weekend, July 17 through 19, at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets can be acquired online or at the box office, pending availability. Photography provided by Tiffany Bagwell Photography, Black Hat Photography, and Howard Clifton. Used with permission. For more information on the Coalition of the Homeless of Central Florida, click Here.

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