Frozen Jr.

This was the first time I had reviewed a production of Frozen Jr. although of course I was familiar with some of the songs.  We were given our usual warm welcome and couldn’t help but be aware of the many little girls in their blue Princess Elsa dresses, waiting excitedly to see their favourite characters on the stage.

This time we were seated in the back row of the main seating area and although we had a perfectly good view of the stage, trying to catch all the dialogue by these young people was unfortunately not easy, which was a shame.

The society has a policy of allowing all those in the community who want to take part, to do so and somehow they manage to accommodate everyone on stage. Scenery was simple but very effective, ensuring the stage never looked overcrowded. There were a lot of scenes in this production but scene changes were done quickly and efficiently.

Of the principals, Sisters Elsa and Anna were well played by Hope Stoneley Gradwell (Elsa) and Ellie Stephenson (Anna).  Both had good singing voices and projected well. Young versions of the sisters were nicely played by Miley Pateman (Elsa) and Emily Brogan (Anna) while Poppy Owen and Lola Hanna were the slightly older versions. Well done girls, you certainly looked as though you were enjoying playing these well loved characters.

There were other good performances from Zara Berry as King Agnarr, Olivier Sayers as Queen Iduna and Nate Brittenden as Prince Hans.  Well done to Bea Parsons as Olaf the Snowman and to James Spenceley as Kristoff the ice harvester and his reindeer Sven, who at this performance was played by Evie Park. This young lady had stepped in at the last minute with minimal rehearsal time and I think she did very well.

Completing the principal line up were Oaken played by Harry Sanderson, Pabbie (Ayela Jepps) and Bulda (Niamh Penney).  Flynn Hudson was the Duke of Weselton and the Bishop was played by Ruben Emerson.  All the principals performed well as did the large supporting cast.  There were times when the dancers didn’t all appear to be in sync but for the most part I think they performed well.

The production was well costumed throughout, including the dancers lovely white outfits. 

The songs of course are known to most of us, especially “Let it Go”, but I also really enjoyed “Hygge”, a great chorus number.  The pre-recorded music worked well and was never too loud. 

Congratulations to all involved in this enchanting production and to the creatives who put these young people through their paces.

Thank you for inviting me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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