Joy, Curiosity, and Fellowship: Nick Moulton Portrays the Lovable Olaf in FROZEN

“Olaf values joy, curiosity, and fellowship in the most beautiful way. He is the embodiment of the child-like joy that all adults have within themselves. We may tap into that [joy] on occasion, but Olaf lives there.  He is a reminder to all of us to tap into that whenever you can to stay young.”

Actor Nick Moulton, who returns to Maine State Music Theatre this month to reprise the role of the enchanting snowman in Disney’s FROZEN, speaks animatedly about his love of this particular Disney work, his experiences with the show here and previously at the Fulton Theatre, and his journey to become an actor and musician.  Last seen at MSMT as Barry Mann in BEAUTIFUL, Moulton has pursued a somewhat circuitous journey to musical theatre.

Raised in New Hampshire, Moulton recalls that “Playing sports was my world [while I was] growing up. I was on ice skates at age three, riding a bike at four, playing baseball at five and ice hockey and soccer at six, and later lacrosse. “He remembers that as a child his parents sent him to summer theatre camp  “because it was cheaper than daycare.”  While he enjoyed the experience, he did not envision a vocation. At age ten, he joined the school band to play drums, and suddenly music became an obsession. “I couldn’t stay away from the connection with expression.”

Moulton began to teach himself “as many instruments as he could get his hands on” – guitar, piano, trombone, ukulele. “I like to say I play anything with frets and strings – about twenty instruments. It was being a musician that took me to the world of musical theatre.” Moulton played drums in the orchestra of a school musical and was convinced by a friend to play a small onstage role.  From then on he was hooked!

He went on to earn a B.A. in theatre from the University of New Hampshire, while layering on courses in dance and voice. “I had to learn [singing] technique – things like what vibrato is or where the passaggio falls or how to sustain eight shows a week.”  His acting training included classic methods like Stanislavski. He says perhaps one of the most important theatre lessons he learned in college was to test his limits and boundaries as an actor [and musician]. “My teacher told me “if you go too far, we will pull you back. It helped me to learn how to transcend the boundaries of an actor by constantly learning new skills.”

Since graduating, Moulton has played a variety of roles in regional theatres across the country in shows like GHOST, ROCK OF AGES, GREASE,  BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS, and BEAUTFUL, in which he performed on national tour. “Being an actor and a musician has its advantages,” he observes.

Moulton has played Olaf previously at Lancaster’s Fulton Theatre in a 2024 production directed by Johanna Mckenzie Miller.  Though Marc Robin, as the Fulton’s Executive Artistic Producer, was involved in overseeing that production, this time at MSMT, he will be directing and choreographing it. Moulton is excited to work with Robin for the first time. “What he and MSMT are able to accomplish in a production in terms of opulence, artistry, and technical skill  - the magic they create in such a short period of time – is truly amazing. “Of Robin, he says, “ He has earned such a high regard and respect in this business because not only can he create and polish a work with such technical brilliance, but he can find the heart in it every single time.”

Moulton explains that the scale of the physical production at MSMT will be adjusted to fit the smaller, more intimate Pickard Theater, and there have been some small changes to the Olaf puppet, but he is certain the overall effect will be stunning.

“Puppeteer Chris Palmieri has “redesigned a couple of the  mechanisms (‘mechs’) to make Olaf’s gestations larger and thus easier to read from the audience. [As an actor], I will have to find where to direct my energy with the puppet.”

These are the technical challenges of the role, but perhaps what appeals most to Moulton about the sweet, goofy Olaf is  the character’s perspective. “I, myself, am like Peter Pan. I will always be a child seeing the world with eyes of wonder the way a child does.”  Moulton also loves the entire score.  “I have been sitting outside the small rehearsal room today, listening to this glorious music.  If I had to pick a favorite I think it would be ‘For the First Time and Forever,’” and, or course, he gets to charm in his solo, “In Summer.”

Moulton feels that Disney musicals have perennial appeal, and that FROZEN is not just a show for kids.”FROZEN deals with more complex values and adult themes than some others. “While it’s fun to perform FROZEN for a family audience, the family dynamics of the piece are actually very compelling and complex.”  Anna and Elsa are different from many of the other Disney princesses, and “the musical explores themes like family, friendship, sibling love, betrayal and manipulation by Prince Hans, and a fraught relationship between sisters.” 

Moulton, who, besides his acting and music career is pursuing a graduate degree in clinical psychology, adds with a touch of irony that there is a case study in the Arendelle sisters: “This family is really one that is in need of some clinical analysis,” he observes, noting the darker overtones of the original Hans Christian Andersen source material.

So what, then, makes FROZEN such a heartwarming, redemptive story and such a spellbinding piece of theatre?  Moulton says that while “FROZEN delivers “big magic in all its possibilities, it takes the magic to a human level.”  And it is this relatable humanity of the narrative and its characters that makes FROZEN beloved among audiences.

Asked what he hopes MSMT’s audience will take away from this new production, Nick Moulton replies without hesitation: “a youthful spirit, a child-like innocence that comes from a sense of awe.  I want them to choose to be young at heart.”

 

Photo courtesy of MSMT

FROZEN runs from July 15 - August 1, 2026, at MSMT’s Pickard Theater on the campus of Bowdoin College, 1 Bath Rd., Brunswick, ME  www.msmt.org  207-725-8769

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