**** Highly Recommended **** Don’t tell anyone, but I was just as excited to see Disney’s Frozen as any of the little girls in the audience. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve seen the movie, and then there was Disney’s Frozen on Ice – hey, I have granddaughters! Frozen had all the glitter I expected – with fabulous voices, great choreography, gorgeous costumes and phenomenal sets and special effects. Wow! 4 BIG Spotlights
By the way, it is always a pleasure to see lots of young people – in this case, very young people – in the audience. Maybe some of them will become the next generation of theater-goers.
King Agnarr (Kyle Lamar Mitchell) and Queen Iduna (Marina Kondo) of the happy kingdom of Arendelle have two beautiful daughters, Elsa (Natalia Artigas alternating with Natalie Grace Chan) and Anna (Olivia Jones alternating with Victoria Hope Chan).
Anna, a bouncy six-year-old was always trying to get her sister to do magic. One day, as they sang A Little Bit of You, they used some toys to make a snowman they called Olaf. I’m not sure how they did it, but that conglomeration of toys actually moved on its own!
When Anna begged Elsa to make snow, she threw her arm in the air and snowflakes fell. Unfortunately, she accidentally hurt Anna with her magic. The King and Queen called on the hidden folk for help. After Pabbie (Tyler Jimenez) healed Anna he erased her memory of Elsa’s magic. Elsa put on a pair of gloves to prevent her magic from escaping then shut herself away, never again answering Anna’s knock on her door.
On the day Elsa (Caroline Bowman) was to be crowned Queen, Anna (Caroline Innerbichler) was ecstatic. She had a brand new dress! Even more important, the castle gates were open and she would have people around For the First Time in Forever. Anna ran into a handsome young man (Austin Colby) who introduced himself as Hans of the Southern Isles. Anna was charmingly awkward with the young man, but then he kissed her and Anna was in love.
After the coronation, Anna and Hans asked Eliza for permission to marry but she said no. When Anna pushed for a reason, Elsa lost her temper, waved her arm and with the help of some really spectacular special effects, accidentally froze everything around her. When Weselton called her a monster, Elsa runs off to North Mountain.
When Anna met up with Kristoff (Mason Reeves) and his lovable reindeer, Sven (Colin Baja alternating with Evan Strand), the children in the audience cheered. I had to agree with them. I 
knew intellectually that there was a man inside that costume, but it was so charming, I know I forgot! When Olaf (F. Michael Haynie) came along a few minutes later, the kids cheered even louder. Olaf was a puppet, of course, but Haynie was so adept, it all worked.
When Elsa, wearing a sparkling white gown, ended Act I standing at center stage and singing Frozen’s signature song, Let It Go, it was a moment to remember!
Kudos to the technical team, Frozen was just about perfect!
Note: Guests must show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 PCR test from the last 72 hours, or a negative antigen test from the last 6 hours. before entering the theater. Guests are required to wear masks while inside the building.
Frozen runs through January 22nd at the Cadillac Palace Theatre, 151 W. Randolph, Chicago. Running time is 2 hours, 15 minutes with an intermission.
Performances are
- Tuesdays - November 30th, December 21st. 28th, January 18th at 7:30 pm,
- Wednesdays at 2:00 & 7:30 pm,
- Thursdays at 7:30 pm. No Performance on Thanksgiving Day, November 25th.
- Fridays at 7:30 pm. Added performance November 26th at 2:00 pm, December 31st at 1:00 pm. December 31st evening performance changed to 6:00 pm.
- Saturdays at 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm. No performance on Christmas Day, December 25th or New Year’s Day, January 1st.
- Sundays at 2:00 & 6:30 pm. No 6:30 performance November 28th or December 5th.
Tickets range from $33-$179. FYI (800) 775-2000 or www.broadwayinchicago.com.
