Reflections on Frozen: the Musical in London (2022)

If Frozen II was the trigger for me to write the Saga, then Frozen: the Musical was the underlying inspiration. Immediately after the first time I watched the musical, I wrote the poem In the Hall of the Mountain Queen. Around 7 months later, after I watched the movie, I began earnest work on the Saga, building on the vibe from the poem.

I am blessed and fortunate to have had a chance to see this musical again, in the hands of new actors. Just as many will take the mantle of Queen Elsa and Princess Anna, I hope someone new will take the mantle of Valet of the Crocus from me…

I almost want to enter drama school to have a better chance at vying for the role of Hans in the musical…

Click here for my thoughts on my first viewing. It blew my mind. I bought the soundtrack, and listening to it really helped me remember all the little details of the musical, many of which made it into my Saga.

(Frankly, my wish is for the Saga to become THE definitive version of Frozen – let me dream. Is it dangerous to dream?)

Unfortunately, the second viewing did not surpass the first viewing – then again, it’s pretty hard for anything to do so. I will offer my views, starting from what I liked, and then ending on what I disliked – but, whatever conclusion you draw from what I write, I recommend the musical highly. Regardless of the different actors’ different interpretations of the characters, and my preferences for their interpretations, this remains a well-done piece of work – with the same glaring flaws as the original Frozen (2013).

Special shout-out to Michael, who helped me at the merch counter. If you ever find this webpage, hope to meet you again!

Things I LOVED!

• The theatre and everything you can look at is gorgeous!

• OLAF!

  • Anna: “who’s talking?” (notices Olaf) “what’s that?!” | Olaf: “SHHH. We’re supposed to listen!”

  • Olaf: (halfway through “In Summer”) SAMANTHA?!
    Keep the Frozen II references coming!
  • Olaf: “Is our family dysfunctional?”
  • Olaf:
    “Do you want to build a snowman?
    I would help you, but, alas
    Right now I’m rather incomplete
    Without my twigs and feet
    And most importantly my a————-
    
    bdomen”
    (Do You Wanna Build A Snowman? [Reprise])

• The dancing is fantastic! Hans, Anna, The Duke of Weselton, Kristoff, Oaken, and the whole supporting crew are so lithe and blithe and spectacular!
• The stage is even more detailed, the props are VERY well done, the Let It Go scene is amazing (it’s like f**king magic when you see it the first time, and it’s still f**king magic when you see it again).
• When Hans goes to kill Elsa after screaming at her “your sister is dead, because of you!”, Elsa straightens up to assume a kneeling position, ready to fall under his sword. I imagine Hans menacingly asking her for her last words as Anna runs in to block his sword. WOW that would be a spicy line to add to the Saga…

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• The whole of “A Little Bit Of You”. In the show, Elsa hitting Anna is completely Elsa’s fault. The guilt she lives with is therefore much stronger, explaining her fear. Furthermore…
• Her fear is more explicitly the driving force behind her ice’s instability (just like I interpreted! yay ^_^). Also…
• This is referenced as early as in the first 10 minutes of the show. Here, Elsa foreshadows “Monster”. Monster is a f**king awesome song. Here’s the link to the original actress performing it:

In this year’s version, additional props slide in from the stage to block Hans’ and the soldiers’ paths to Elsa. Elsa then says: “I surrender”, and they arrest her and slap the metal gloves on her. I don’t remember if this was in the first viewing, but it’s fantastic. I still like the Marshmallow scene, though, which is why I included it in the Saga (chapter 5).

Things I liked

• “I Can’t Lose You” replaces “For The First Time In Forever (Reprise)”

I don’t like “I Can’t Lose You” as much as “For The First Time In Forever (Reprise)”. For this reason I’m grateful I got to see the musical when it was still quite new (thank you father!)

Nevertheless, it’s a nice song. I just think it makes the sister dynamic that I can’t shut up about a bit too blatant. Nevertheless, so many golden lines in this song:

• Elsa: “What do you want, Anna?”
• Anna: “Just…this! Just you and I talking and chatting and taking up space.”

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• Elsa: “I’m at home here. Out in the cold, up in the air. But it all turns to chaos near people I love… And with how much I care…”

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• Anna: “But I’m here for you. We can fix this together. For once try to trust me. I’m begging you now.”
• Elsa: “Don’t you see I’m the storm? And you make it worse! I would fix it, but I don’t know how…!

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• Both: “If you loved yourself the way I do / Then you’d see why I — can’t — lose — you!” ❤️

Listen to the two actresses whose performance I beheld duet it:

• Innuendo

There are many naughty suggestive bits in the show – no more just “foot size doesn’t matter!” But the performers were having so much fun with these scenes that I couldn’t help but be happy for them.

• Iðunn says “I am a daughter of the Northuldra”

Well, I did say to keep the Frozen II references coming, but I’ve explained before why I don’t like the name “Northuldra”. Nevertheless, it’s all coming together…they just need some…suggestions on how to make a seamless Frozen + Frozen II musical…

…which I am eager to provide. notice me plox

• Roll credits!

In Elsa’s ice castle:

Anna: “What about Arendelle?”

Elsa: “You’ll make a great queen!” (Frozen II reference) (LOVE this line. QUEEN ANNA!)

Anna: “But you can’t just leave everything frozen!”

Elsa: “… … …frozen?” (ROLL CREDITS!)

This is why I prefer “For The First Time In Forever (Reprise)”… this whole conversation is completed in the song.

Things I wanted to see

• “True Love” (song) was removed

This song is great. But ever since the first actress left the show, they cut the song entirely. The result of this is that they have a whole, beautiful set of the Arnadalr castle library with fireplace and props, but the characters spend a grand total of 5 minutes with these props. Feels like a waste.

• The funniest section in “Hygge”

Oaken (to Anna and Kristoff):
“For yours is a lethal and ludicrous task;
If we all DIE… keep this stuff as a loaner 😀
If we survive… you owe ten thousand kroner :DDDDD”

THEY DIDN’T SING THIS WHOLE PART. WHAT THE F— moving on…

• Oaken interacting with the audience

HA I’M NOT MOVING ON.

Oaken comes onstage by walking through the audience in the Broadway version, and greeting us in a really friendly, funny way. Fine, Oaken can’t go onstage from the audience in Theatre Royal, but come on, at least talk to the audience!

Things I would make different

• Not singing in the theatre

I remember the whole theatre in Broadway getting so hyped that they started singing Let It Go along with the actors. Unfortunately, we were told not to sing along with the show at the very start.

Probably this has happened in the US as well, but it felt like something was missing from the show – especially if you remember that Disney specially made a Sing-Along Frozen version for release in theatres, with lyrics during every song. Didn’t help that Oaken didn’t interact with the audience at all (I’m still salty about that).

• Comments on the acting

Ok, veering into dangerous territory here. I am no performer, so who am I to say anything about the actors?

Personally, I thought the motions were a bit too…flippant? I feel like the first time I watched it, the actor’s motions felt more deliberate throughout the performance – but this might just be rose-tinted nostalgia. The show felt a little rushed, not sure why. I couldn’t really catch some of the lines, and there wasn’t as much oomph on lines that I thought should have had them (and these were lines I didn’t even remember from the last time!)

But this is just a matter of preference and style, so take with a pinch of salt. Just…felt like when they were having fun, they really looked amazing; but when the occasion felt more serious, unless it was in a dance routine, the actors were kind of waving their arms around and moving around back and forth needlessly.

• Villifying the Duke

They went out of their way to make the Duke look like a bad guy here: he tells his henchman to “kill on sight!” if he sees Elsa. Then his henchman completely doesn’t do it when Elsa is standing right there, having already surrendered.

In fact, the Duke later kneels to Elsa and offers her his fealty, while Hans gets punched in the face.

If you read the Saga (which you haven’t done, and probably will never do), you’ll see that I make the Duke manipulate Hans into killing Elsa. I always thought it would fit better with his character of a slimy, scheming weasel – but I guess they needed to keep that one element of the original Frozen, while throwing out my favourite “For The First Time In Forever (Reprise)” >_<

Feels like a wasted opportunity to finally break fully away from Frozen…

And wrap!

That’s mostly it for my thoughts. As you have seen, mostly incoherent rambling about a show very few have seen. Nevertheless, I see it as a mission to spread the story – hence why I made the Saga (though I think I am doing a horrible job). But overall, the show was enjoyable.

Next time, I’ll go watch it in a different language, so that I don’t feel salty about not being able to sing the songs.

As before, stay tuned for a big post on the solstice!