Review: Disney's FROZEN at Hippodrome Theatre

If you’re a parent who wants to introduce your child to the world of Broadway musicals, look no further than Disney's Frozen, the Tony®-nominated Best Musical, playing a two-week premiere engagement at The Hippodrome Theater, 12 N.Eutaw Street in downtown Baltimore, now through Sunday, June 18th.

First, the theatrical production of Frozen is, of course, based on the insanely popular Disney animated (and Oscar-winning) film of the same name featuring songs undoubtedly familiar to your kids like “Do You Want to Build A Snowman” and “Let It Go”.

And what child (or adult for that matter) wouldn’t be captivated by a set that's more like a work of art, the kind found only in a Broadway production? The Hippodrome stage transforms seamlessly from a towering mountain castle aglow in the Northern Lights, to Queen Elsa (Howard County’s own Caroline Bowman)’s ice fortress of solitude, not to mention the special effects that were on par with what one might see in a David Copperfield magic show.

To help temper the shock-and-awe of Broadway spectacle there is, of course, comic relief. Major applause for puppeteers Dan Plehal and Jeremy Davis who bring Sven the reindeer and Olaf, the talking snowman, respectively, to vivid and humorous life.

If you’re not familiar with Frozen’s plot, it is reminiscent of many of Disney’s stories – themes like love conquers all, the strength found in family, the restorative joy of body odor jokes (a never-fail with kids) --  though with a few modern day twists. Frozen avoids the hackneyed trope of princess-saved-by-a-prince’s-kiss, and who isn’t intrigued by a story where one sister nearly kills another…TWICE?

As my theater companion noted, Frozen captures the Danish aesthetic, tapping into what has become the topic of assorted memes and TikTok videos, the concept of “Hygge” (the opening song for Act II), “a quality of coziness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being (regarded as a defining characteristic of Danish culture),” so sayeth the Google online dictionary.

Kudos to Christopher Oram for the magically colorful and creative costume and scenic design which is a feast for the eyes. Director Thomas Schumacher succeeds with an extremely talented cast of high-energy players; Lauren Nicole Chapman was a particular favorite with the audience in her role as Princess Anna, who brings a dash of vaudeville to her performance, her character growing from wide-eyed innocence into the staunch courage of a (cue Star Wars reference, thank you Disney) snowbound Princess Leia.

For tickets, you can contact the Hippodrome Box Office (M-F, 1-3 p.m. and show days 11 a.m. to curtain), online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800.982.ARTS.

MORE ON “FROZEN” -- Frozen has been created for the stage by an award-winning team and features the songs you know and love from the original Oscar®-winning film, plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers by the film’s songwriters, Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez and EGOT winner Robert Lopez. Joining them on a creative team that has won a cumulative 16 Tony Awards are Oscar winner Jennifer Lee (book), Tony and Olivier Award winner Michael Grandage (director), and Tony winner Rob Ashford (choreographer).

The creative team for Frozen also includes scenic and costume design by two-time Tony and Olivier Award winner Christopher Oram, lighting design by six-time Tony Award winner Natasha Katz, sound design by seven-time Tony nominee Peter Hylenski, video design by Tony winner Finn Ross, puppet design by Michael Curry, hair design by David Brian Brown, makeup design by Anne Ford-Coates, special effects design by Jeremy Chernick and casting by The Telsey Office/Rachel Hoffman, CSA and Laura Wade, CSA.

Two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Oremus is music supervisor and creates vocal, incidental and dance arrangements. He is joined on the music team by Tony nominee Dave Metzger (orchestrations), Chris Montan (executive music producer), David Chase (additional dance arrangements), and Faith Seetoo (music director). Anne Quart serves as co-producer.