Frozen at the Eccles

I had the chance to see a preview of the musical Frozen in Denver before it transferred to Broadway and I absolutely loved it!  I was so excited to see it again last night while the Broadway touring production is making a stop at the Eccles Theater through November 13.  The musical follows the movie pretty closely and begins with a young Elsa (Natalie Grace Chan) and a young Anna (Victoria Hope Chan) building a snowman together.  When Elsa accidentally freezes Anna with her mysterious powers, the King (Kyle Lamar Mitchell) and Queen (Marina Kondo) tell her than she must hide herself away from Anna and the rest of Arendelle.  When the King and Queen are lost at sea, Elsa (Caroline Bowman) must open the doors of the castle once again for her coronation.  She loses control of herself, with devastating consequences, when Anna (Caroline Innerbichler) requests permission to marry Hans of the Southern Isles (Austin Colby) and she flees Arendelle.  Anna follows her, hoping to save Arendelle from the endless winter, and is aided by an ice harvester named Kristoff (Mason Reeves), his reindeer Sven (Evan Strand), and Olaf (F. Michael Haynie), the snowman built by Elsa and Anna as young girls.  Elsa fears that she is a monster but it is her ability to love that ultimately saves Anna and Arendelle.  Many of the well-known songs from the movie are included, such as "Do You Want to Build a Snowman," "For the First Time in Forever," "Love is an Open Door," and, of course, "Let It Go," but my favorite songs are two new ones, "Dangerous to Dream" and "Monster," because they provide more insight into Elsa's character.  I also really loved a song that was added since I saw it in Denver called "I Can't Lose You" because Bowman and Innerbichler sing it so beautifully.  The sets and costumes are also informed by the movie as are the delightful puppets used for Sven and Olaf.  The special effects in this show are dazzling!  I especially loved it when the young Elsa makes it snow inside the castle and when the frozen Anna is thawed by Elsa.  However, "Let It Go" is absolutely magical with projections in sync with Elsa's gestures and a quick costume change.  All of the little girls sitting near me were giggling with delight (and I may have been, as well).  This is such a fun show to welcome patrons back to the Eccles Theater and I highly recommend getting a ticket (go here).