Review: FROZEN: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL at The Phoenix Theatre Company

Guest contributor David Appleford offers his review of The Phoenix Theatre Company’s production of FROZEN.

FROZEN is that rare Disney property that seemed destined for the stage the moment it conquered movie screens in 2013. The film became a cultural avalanche. It was an Academy Award winner, a merchandising empire, and a rite of passage for countless living rooms with children under twelve.

With music and lyrics by Robert and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and a new book by Jennifer Lee, who also co-wrote and co-directed the film, FROZEN: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL is now presented by The Phoenix Theatre Company until October 26 on its impressive new Dr. Stacie J. and Richard J Stephenson Theatre stage.

Between the show’s Denver tryout and its 2018 opening on Broadway, Disney retooled roughly 30% of the production, digging deeper into Anna and Elsa’s psyches and widening the story to appeal to the adults who, as Disney’s marketing research revealed, makes up 70% of their theater audiences. Jennifer Lee’s new book now strengthens her film script, broadening the sisters’ inner lives. That helps explain why FROZEN spread like its heroine’s winter storm across stages in Europe, to Australia and as far as Japan, alongside a solid West End production that opened in 2021 and broke records, not closing until just last year.

At its heart, the story remains the same: two sisters, Elsa (Caelan Creaser) and Anna (Chelsea Cree Groan) are torn between love and fear. Elsa, gifted with the dangerous ability to conjure snow and ice, spends her youth hiding her powers until her coronation day, when they burst forth, freezing the kingdom and endangering her sister. Only through sacrifice and an act of true love can balance be restored.

For families, FROZEN is exactly the kind of theater outing Disney dreams of. Children, not surprisingly. arrived at the new Phoenix theater in miniature Anna and Elsa gowns, no doubt singing along under their breath while remaining wide-eyed at every snowstorm. But it’s not simply for kids. The deeper dive into character, the strong performances, and the production’s knowing balance of humor and sentiment make it enjoyable for adults who may not have a child in tow.  Michael Barnard’s direction with assistance from Michelle Chin balances both young and older audiences with a sure hand.

What this Phoenix production achieves best is spectacle on its striking new stage; intricate sets, dazzling projections, and special effects that genuinely feel like stage wizardry. Elsa’s ice bridge and ice castle shimmer as if conjured out of the ether.

The show’s other undeniable strength is its cast. Caelan Creaser as Elsa delivers a vocal performance that pierces through the orchestration like a shard of ice, controlled and crystalline until she lets it fly. As Anna, an ebullient Chelsea Cree Groan brings warmth, humor, and resilience, complementing Creaser’s restraint with buoyant energy. Together, their voices carry the story with emotional clarity, balancing grandness with intimacy.

The supporting characters, so important to the film’s comic relief, translate cleverly to the stage. Olaf the snowman, brought to life by Eric Wright’s puppet design and Joseph Paul Cavazos’s buoyant performance, is sweet without overstaying his welcome. Sven the reindeer, manipulated by a hidden Jacody Weathers, looks so comically effective it occasionally takes effort to remember those soulful eyes are in reality merely fabric. Coupled with Adam James King’s warmly grounded and hugely likable Kristoff, they’re an audience favorite double-act.

Sam Hay’s choreography keeps the evening brisk, darting between period gestures and   contemporary flourishes. Tijana Bjelaljac’s scenic designs, enhanced by Keith A. Truax’s     lighting, trade in candlelit shadows and bursts of crystalline color, while Lisa Renkel’s video design’s create the sense of a living snow globe.

Jennifer Lee’s book, while faithful to the movie’s skeleton, expands the world in thoughtful ways. The king (Matravius Avent) and queen (Alyssa Chiarello), once little more than parental backstory, now have a presence that grounds the sisters’ struggles into something more human. Even the Hidden Folk, those mystical forest dwellers, are fleshed out, giving the fairy-tale mechanics slightly more texture. These additions make the narrative feel tighter, not looser, which is no small feat in a movie-to-musical translation.

Of course, there are trade-offs. The new songs, while numerous, are a mixed bag. Some, like Elsa’s introspective "Dangerous to Dream," deepen the emotional landscape; "Hygge," a Scandinavian cousin to "Hakuna Matata" in spirit, is a comic ode to cozy living. Others, however, don’t quite stick in the ear the way "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" or "Love Is an Open Door" do, plus a few other new numbers feel more like padding than propulsion.

But then comes the inevitable moment: "Let It Go." Creaser holds back just enough, then releases her voice into the theater, as the sets split apart, projections explode, and Elsa’s gown changes in front of our eyes. It’s gasp inducing. It’s also the theater’s equivalent of fireworks at Disneyland, engineered to thrill, and bringing an end to the first act in the same musically dramatic way that "Defying Gravity" did to Wicked.

As proven on Broadway, in London, and on the national tour, FROZEN is a commercial juggernaut, part of the larger conveyor belt of movie-to-musical adaptations.  Like many movie-to-musical transfers, FROZEN could easily have been another cynical cash grab, and in some ways, of course, it is; Disney is too shrewd a company to pretend otherwise. But what redeems it is the genuine theatrical pleasure it provides for its intended audience.

Purists of live theater may not be quite so impressed, but for those who know and love the film and are looking to be wowed with song and spectacle, this is their show, plus it’s a perfect choice to showcase the technical abilities of the newly built Phoenix theater. It’s a production that wants to delight children but refuses to condescend to their parents, and in that balance, it clearly succeeds.

The Phoenix Theatre Company -- https://phoenixtheatre.com/ -- 1825 N. Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ -- 602-254-2151

Graphic credit to TPTC