Theater Works will bring “Disney’s Frozen Jr” to the stage this month. The show is set to run from Friday, 10, to Sunday, May 26, with an additional sensory-friendly performance at 2 p.m. Saturday, May 18.
Recommended for children ages 4 and older, the Jr. version of the show is told in an abbreviated format geared toward younger audiences.
The production stars Sienna Stoll as Elsa, Brooklyn Martin as Anna, Hunter Schneider as Kristoff, Janella Beaver as Olaf, Owen Striker as Sven, and Morgan James as Hans. It was directed by Meribeth Reeves.
Reeves has a history with the musical. In 2019, she directed “Disney’s Frozen Jr.” for the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center. Her son also played Kristoff on a North American tour of the show.
The Theater Works production will feature actors ranging from 9 to 16. Reeves said around 125 kids auditioned for the show.
There have been other opportunities around the Valley for youth to be in the Jr. version of the show, but Reeves said many actors feel a strong connection with the story.
“Even though a lot of students have had the opportunity to do the show, they come back to it again and again because the characters are so well-written,” Reeves said. “The ensemble has a lot of fun roles. … There’s so much opportunity for depth. … And yes, many of them watched the movie and loved it when they were young.”
Reeves said “Frozen” is a groundbreaking story because of its focus on two sisters.
“It was the first Disney movie that really broke that stereotype,” she said. “It was the first one where it wasn’t about getting the guy. It was about love between sisters and family, those bonds that are so important. It broke so many barriers when it first came out. It was so empowering for women that your life doesn’t have to be made happy by some guy. You can make your own life.”
The Jr. version features well-known “Frozen” songs such as “Let It Go,” “For the First Time in Forever,” “Love is an Open Door” and “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?”
In the show, special effects are key, especially in scenes in which Elsa uses her powers. Reeves said the technical team will be using different effects, including animations, to bring magic into these scenes, especially that of Elsa’s transformation.
“There’s incredible magic in her building the castle and becoming her true self. … It’s very dramatic, and it’s at the end of act one. Elsa brings the house down with ‘Let It Go,’” Reeves said.
The show offers a chance for youth actors to do puppetry in the roles of Olaf and Sven. The Jr. version also added a Snow Chorus that helps to represent Elsa’s emotions.
“The intent is to have the opportunity for more people to be onstage at different times,” Reeves said. “In the adult version, they don’t have a Snow Chorus. It’s just all done through special effects. Not only do we get the special effects, but we have this chorus.”
Finally, the Jr. version has three different versions of Anna and Elsa — as children, adolescents and adults.
“The show really builds on that relationship with Anna and Elsa and really focuses on what incredible partners they are for each other and how much they love each other,” Reeves said. “There’s this opportunity to see them younger and really get to see that relationship so you can understand how hard it is once they’re shut off from each other. It really helps to tell that story more impactfully. It follows the film a lot, but there’s also some additional things that add more to that storytelling.”
Reeves said that during the casting process, they weren’t focused on whether the actresses playing Elsa or Anna looked like each other. She said their singing, dancing and acting abilities were really factored into casting decisions.
“That takes priority, making sure their skills are where they need to be to do the roles,” Reeves said. “You hope that they align as closely as possible with how they look, but then we have incredible costumers, makeup artists and hairdressers.”