Frozen – The Musical at Cadillac Palace Theatre

Come on a journey through a magical realm, with handsome princes, beautiful princesses, and magical talking snowmen. A journey of love, betrayal, and self-discovery… Frozen on tour at the Cadilac Palace Theatre in Chicago, it’s even better than the movie!

“JOYOUS AND TRIUMPHANT! Wonderful! A really magical experience.” – WABC

“A CAN’T MISS BROADWAY EVENT!” – WNBC

“The Hottest Snow on Broadway!” – VANITY FAIR

“You’ve Never Seen FROZEN Like This!” – GOOD MORNING AMERICA

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away…
Two sisters play in the snow, but these are not ordinary sisters, they are both heir to the throne of the magical kingdom of Arendelle. Young Princess Elsa, played by Natalia Artigas or Natalie Grace Chan, and Princess Anna, played by Olivia Jones or Victoria Hope Chan, are standing in the snow having an argument, as sisters are want to do, and then in a fit of childish rage, Elsa unwittingly unleashes her magic upon her sister Anna, turning her heart to ice. Luckily, nearby is the Hidden Folk shaman, Pabbie, played by Tyler Jimenez, is nearby and is able to draw the magic out of Annas heart as well as the memories from her mind. But a terrified Elsa decides to isolate herself to stop this ever happening again, and the two sisters grow up apart…

Many Years later, Princess Elsa, now played by Caroline Bowman, is crowned Queen, and her sister, Princess Anna, now played by Caroline Innerbichler, unexpectedly becomes engaged to the visiting handsome Prince Hans, played by Austin Colby, Elsa in a fit of jealous rage, panics and unleashes a blast of ice across the throne room. The visiting Duke of Weselton sees his opportunity and calls Elsa a monster and threatens to kill her! Queen Elsa flees the castle, and using her magic, setts off a deep unending winter across the land.

Hidden away in the North mountains, Queen Elsa uses her magic to build herself a magnificent ice castle high up on the peaks. But soon her sister Princess Anna, arrives to face her sister. Along with a trio of well-meaning friends she found along the way, Kristoff, played by Mason Reeves, the mountain man and his reindeer Sven, played by either Collin Baja or Evan Strand, and Olaf, the sisters’ magical childhood snowman, played by F. Michael Haynie. Queen Elsa strikes out with her magic, again, attacking her sister Anna. But this time the Hidden Folk shaman, Pabbie is unable to reverse the spell.

Deciding she does not want to be the monster that she has become, Queen Elsa surrenders to the Duke of Weselton, however, the handsome Prince Hans reveals their villainous plot to take over the kingdom, and locks Anna in the castle library to die!

Will Elsa and Anna overcome the evil plot by the Duke and Prince? Will she be able to save her sister from her own magic spell? Come and have a magical adventure at the Cadilac Palace Theatre in Chicago!

Produced by Disney Theatrical Productions, the musical was nominated for three Tony Awards in 2018 and won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Puppet Design. It is created by a Tony, Emmy, Grammy and Oscar Winning Creative Team, Music and Lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez who have written 23 new songs for the show, a book By Jennifer Lee with Michael Grandage as director, Rob Ashford as choreographer and Stephen Oremus as music supervisor, scenic and costume design by Christopher Oram. The award-winning puppets were created by Michael Curry and the same team who built puppets for The Lion King. The original Broadway production cost a reported $30 million to produce and churned through three choreographers, two set designers, two Elsa’s and two directors.

“Tony-winning director MICHAEL GRANDAGE refines FROZEN by putting the focus on emotion first. The bond between the sisters effectively and literally takes the spotlight. DOUBTERS MAY JUST HAVE THEIR HEARTS THAWED.” – ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

“IT WILL GIVE YOU CHILLS! Amazing special effects, eye-popping costumes and incredible performances.” – NEWSDAY

Review of Frozen on the North American tour, by Margaret Gray for the Los Angeles Times, at the Hollywood Pantages.

‘Frozen’ blows into the Pantages with gorgeous singing and a symphony of stagecraft.

Frozen the musical is still running on Broadway, and now the musical’s North American tour has come to the Hollywood Pantages. Amid an army of tiny Elsas and their adult retinue on opening night, I may have been the only person feeling anxious about how “Frozen” would work on the stage.

Animated movies and live stage musicals are different beasts, and although some of the company’s previous Broadway translations have soared (“The Lion King”), others have stumbled (“The Little Mermaid”). I remembered the film “Frozen” as so quick and light on its feet, the animation so fluid, the panoramas so sweeping. Could songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, book writer Jennifer Lee and the Olivier- and Tony-winning director Michael Grandage cram all that energy into a box? Could human bodies cavort as nimbly as drawings? Would the musical find persuasive ways to include Olaf the talking snowman and Sven the reindeer? Would there be ice?

I’m pleased to report that the answers to all these questions turned out to be yes. Inevitable qualifications aside, the North American tour is irresistible in its creativity and verve, seeking and often discovering the right balance between re-creation and innovation. Where the show falls obviously short of the film is during Anna’s wintry mountain mission with Kristoff the ice merchant (the adorable Mason Reeves). In the film, their scrappy rapport develops gradually, against a series of high-flying adventures, but the stage show truncates most of those and drops in a song, “Hygge” (a Danish word meaning cozy), at Wandering Oaken’s Trading Post. The number is cute and involves naked sauna customers (actors in skin-colored bodysuits) whipping each other with branches. But the Anna-Kristoff love story doesn’t quite jell.

Maybe that’s OK. The heart of “Frozen” is the sisters’ relationship. It’s hard to imagine a cozier holiday family outing than the musical “Frozen,” followed by cocoa. Romance can wait until next year.