Play Review: 'Frozen' at The Gateway Will Melt Your Heart

The Gateway Playhouse’s 75^th season ends in grand style with the first full-scale professional production on Long Island of the dazzling musical Disney’s Frozen based on the Academy Award-winning animated feature film.

This show will captivate the young and the young at heart, and for those who think Frozen is a lighthearted kid’s show, think again. It is sheer magic from start to finish with a dose of humor thrown in for good measure, and with some important messages to live by.

This musical is based on Walt Disney Animation Studios’ 2013 film starring Kristen Bell as Anna, Idina Menzel as Elsa, Jonathan Groff as Kristoff and Josh Gad as Olaf with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and book by Jennifer Lee. Frozen premiered on Broadway at the St. James Theatre in March 2018 and enjoyed a two-year run.

Frozen is about two sisters, Elsa, who has magical, uncontrollable powers to freeze objects and people, and her sister, Anna, who as a child was accidentally frozen by Elsa one night after the sisters playfully rejoiced over building a snowman, Olaf. Their parents, King Agnarr and Queen Iduna of Arendelle, call for the aid of the colony of hidden folk led by Pabbie and Bulda to heal Anna. For their safety, the parents isolate the sisters from each other and shut the gates of the kingdom. Their parents set out in search of a solution to help Elsa control her powers and die at sea.

Years pass and now Elsa is about to be crowned Queen. On coronation day, Anna is excited to reunite with her sister and see the gates of Arendelle reopen to the villagers. Elsa has dreaded this day fearing her powers will expose her as a monster. Anna meets Prince Hans of the Southern Isles who proposes marriage on the same day they meet and she instantly agrees. But when they ask for Elsa’s blessing, she objects unleashing her icy powers in front of everyone.

Frightened, Elsa flees to the North Mountain not realizing her magic has caused Arendelle to fall into eternal winter. Anna meets up with ice harvester Kristoff, his reindeer, Sven, and Olaf, the snowman she and her sister built together as children. They set off on the quest to find Elsa and save the kingdom from this icy spell.

Director, Larry Raben, has brought this show to life with scrupulous care. Emily Grace Tucker embraces the role of Anna winning our hearts with her free-spirited antics, enthusiasm for life and love and an effortless soprano. Charissa Hogeland mesmerizes as the tortured Elsa with powers impossible to harness, and her spectacular vocals, especially in “Let It Go,” send chills.

Christian Brailsford as Kristoff with rugged good looks and resonant tenor makes us root for him to win the love of Anna. Mark Ryan Anderson is charmingly deceptive as Hans and his duet with Tucker on “Love Is an Open Door” is adorable.

Abigail Pirozzi as Young Anna and Sofia Da Costa-Wilson as Young Elsa are little bundles of energy with impressive voices.

There are two animated giant puppets, Sven, the mystical reindeer and Olaf, the talking snowman. Sven comes to life in the hands of Clint Hromsco who anoints this character with intricate movements of legs and head. Olaf is worked by Wesley Slade who adds a comedic touch to this lovable, bubbly, chatty character. Hromsco and Slade are such proficient puppeteers that we forget their presence and focus on their animated characters.

The ensemble performs at a caliber usually only seen on the Broadway stage with their gorgeous voices and synchronized dancing, including gravity defying leaps.

The band under the direction of Bryson Baumgartel is full and rich driving on the action with gusto. Michael Downs has created a majestic set with a massive staircase that glides into varied positions, at once taking center stage then parting to create a dance space. The childhood bedrooms are colorful in contrast to the sheaths of ice that the castle becomes. Michael Commendatore’s projections are breathtaking from fierce snowstorms to raging seas to swirls of falling snowflakes, they are spectacular. Riley Noble’s lighting design immerses the action with so much mood. Ben Takitch’s sound design adds dramatic effects like the crackling of ice and keeping levels always crisp.

Angie Schworer’s choreography is fluid and gorgeous. Costumes by Jacob Locke create gasps and leave us wonder how so many changes can happen so easily before our eyes. When Elsa’s period piece garments of gloves and dress fly off stage in different directions revealing a stunning icy blue confection, we are in awe. Equally amazing are Sven and Olaf’s costumes that bring these animated characters to life while camouflaging the puppeteers.

The exuberant reprise of “Let It Go” in the finale left the audience with just one wish, “I don’t want to let it go! I have to experience this show again!” And joyously your wish is granted now through March 30 at The Gateway Playhouse in Bellport.

Gateway Playhouse, 215 S. Country Road, Bellport. thegateway.org. 631-286-1133

Barbara Anne Kirshner is a freelance journalist and photographer whose celebrity interviews, theatre reviews, features and human interest stories appear in major publications. She is author of the children’s chapter book, Madison Weatherbee The Different Dachshund, and playwright of Madison Weatherbee The Musical and a host of one-act plays that have been produced across Long Island. Her children’s picture book, Life According to Lexington, is due out later this year.