Review: At Dr. Phillips Center, Top-Notch FROZEN is No Fixer-Upper

If there's a city in America that needs more of Disney's Frozen, it ain't Orlando. Tell that to the nearly sold-out crowds at Dr. Phillips Center, where the Broadway version of 2013's inescapable animated juggernaut is on stage for 14 performances - more than any other show in the Walt Disney Theatre's history.

Well, if we're gonna "Let It Go" yet again, it better be for something special, right?

Good news: Frozen's first national tour is a swirling snowstorm of spectacle, effects, and flair that's every bit as good as the movie, with new songs that hold their own around that ubiquitous showstopper.

On Broadway, big budgets and stage magic can look like one and the same. Mickey Mouse's deep pockets ensure that no expense is spared here, which is why flesh-and-blood Elsa can summon snow or ice or even a palace from thin air as easily within the proscenium as her CGI counterpart does on screen. There's wizardry behind the scenes too, courtesy of special effects designer Jeremy Chernick and scenic/wardrobe designer Christopher Oram, who pull off an astounding costume change more than twice. Much of the magic is made possible by lighting designer Natasha Katz's gorgeous sleight of hand.

As you probably know, but as the patron behind me clearly did not, Frozen is the story of two royal sisters kept apart because one (Elsa) has magical powers that can mortally wound the other (Anna). The scarce time they spend together in childhood gives birth to an enchanted snowman named Olaf, who dreams of July. "Put me in summer," he sings, and he'll be a... "PUDDLE!" the woman behind me guessed with a deafening enthusiasm reserved only for those who are somehow encountering this story for the very first time. (In case you're one of them, the correct answer was: "Happy Snowman.")

F. Michael Haynie is a hilarious, scene-stealing, spot-on Olaf. The latter appears on stage as a puppet animated by the always-visible Haynie, who has that Muppet-y knack for making his character focal and alive - buoyed by some truly how'd-they-do-it illusions. The company's other puppeteer, Mason Reeves, is neither seen nor heard but his Sven the reindeer is a wowing plea to put Rudolph on Broadway. As in the movie, Sven's only dialogue is liberally interpreted by his handler, Kristoff the ice peddler, who is unpretentious, authentic, and effortlessly charming as played by Mason Reeves.

Caroline Innerbichler is an Anna you want to be your best friend, imbuing the unrefined royal with all the inner sunshine Olaf could ever ask for. She's a great singer and dancer, some of her moves verging on acrobatic, unflappable in spite of the role's surprising physicality. She and Reeves do some very nice note work in the most memorable of their new numbers, "What Do You Know About Love?"

Caroline Bowman approaches Elsa with a studied understanding of this show's central themes: the inner confusion of outward identity, the struggle between family ties and the daggers of life that threaten to slice them, and the feeling of danger inherent in any quest for self-acceptance - especially on the part of those marginalized by the masses. It's a story of coming (out?) into one's own. It is a love letter to the fairy tale form and the Disney classics of yore, but also a challenge to their conventions and ideals. Bowman's dynamic performance contains all that turmoil and triumph within it, the totality of it exploding in Act One's "Let It Go" (reworked here for even greater musical might than the movie) and Act Two's brand-new "Monster" (which has more oomph in the studio cast recording than on the tour stage, but it's still a powerful identity statement and an indisputable jam.)

FROZEN: The Musical takes liberties with the 2013 film, wisely nixing Marshmallow the snow monster and reimagining the trolls as mysterious woods dwellers. Songs like "Dangerous to Dream" and "I Can't Lose You" give greater weight to Elsa's crisis of conscience, even if the latter doesn't slap quite like cinema's reprise of "For the First Time in Forever."

But for all the opportunities the longer run time grants it, this Frozen misses an opportunity to flesh out some lingering questions about Anna and Elsa's early years, like the logistics of their seemingly excessive isolation from one another or the emotional impact of their (spoiler alert) parents' untimely death early in Act One.

One thing it doesn't do - at least not often - is dumb things down for a wide or underage audience. Sure, Act Two opens with an eye-roll when sauna owner Oaken breaks the fourth wall to talk about Orlando for some reason. But that same song ends with nearly all the characters flashing their privates and dancing in the nude. (Well, skinsuits.)

Though unfailingly family-friendly, Frozen on stage has some edge. Hans and Anna - the former played by a prince-perfect Austin Colby - engage in some choreo that can only be described as NSFWDW (not safe for Walt Disney World), and Olaf's biggest laugh of the night puts a little P on the G. Even Weselton, whose role becomes lost in the shuffle by show's end, gets sorta saucy. Jeremy Morse plays that role with delicious comic relief, so it's easy to overlook that he is rendered rather a broad stereotype in the translation to stage.

FROZEN opened on Broadway in 2018 and had run for just two years when the pandemic hit. Disney Theatrical's announcement that the show would not be among the titles returning for Broadway's reopening shocked fans and industry insiders alike. Happily, the U.S. tour (which had also barely begun when Covid arrived) survives, which makes this your best chance to see it for yourself - if you can snatch one of the precious few tickets that remain. Get them at Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, where the show runs through March 6th.

What do you think of Disney Theatrical's Frozen on tour? Let me know on Twitter @AaronWallace.

Photographs courtesy of Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, used with permission.

Top-Left: Caroline Bowman (Elsa) and Caroline Innerbichler (Anna) in Frozen North American Tour - photo by Deen Van Meer.

Lower-Center: Caroline Bowman (Elsa) and the Company of Frozen North American Tour - photo by Deen Van Meer.