After winning The United States of Frozen’s “Love Is an Open Door” contest over a year ago, THS was granted the rights to stage the musical Frozen by Jennifer Lee, Robert Lopez, and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. 

The musical is based on the 2013 movie of the same name and follows the same cast of characters. The largest difference between Frozen on stage and Frozen on the screen is the music. The song “Frozen Heart,” originally the movie’s opening song, has been completely removed from the musical. However, the musical adds new songs like Hans’ introduction, “Hans of the Southern Isles,” and Elsa and Anna’s emotional duet “I Can’t Lose You.” 

Also, the trolls in the movie version of Frozen have been changed to the “Hidden Folk” in the musical. The characters are based on human-like creatures from Icelandic mythology. 

Another large change is Triton Theater’s modern take on the story of Frozen. Typically, the movie and Broadway musical versions of Frozen take place in 1834, whereas Triton Theater’s version takes place in 2023.

“We’ve been looking at the modern royal family and modeling our clothing after them,” says director Mrs. Natalie Safley. “I think a lot of people are going to expect the stereotypical Elsa look with the blonde hair and Anna with the red hair, and we’re not doing that.”

The changes were made to allow the actors of the two characters to show their more natural look, as the script never requires the characters to have a specific hair color. 

“Theater is subjective, and what one person thinks something should be, another person may not,” said Safley, “what drew me into this opportunity was to make something different.”

It is unknown as of now how an audience will react to these changes. However, people involved in the production have taken it very positively. 

“I think it’s super interesting,” says Junior Izze Turner,  “The costumes, set, and character choices are something I’ve never seen done in this show before.”

Turner will play the role of Olaf, Anna and Elsa’s summer-loving snowman companion. They utilize a puppet to portray the character, unlike how they have ever performed on stage before.

“There have been many different versions of Olaf, and the puppet is very physically strenuous,” says Turner, “but it has been so rewarding learning a new skill.”

Like Turner, many others in the Visual and Performing Arts department at THS have spent hundreds of hours creating the musical. Students in Ms. Fein’s 3-D Design class have designed capes and headpieces for the costumes, as well as students from Ms. Miller’s Digital Arts class and Mrs. Safley’s Partners in Theatre class. Preparations are also being done in Mr. Lathrop’s Viking TV classes. 

In the Triton auditorium, students have been rehearsing since the second week of the school year. Students have also taken time out of their weekends to work on constructing the set pieces, designing costumes, and reviewing choreography. 

“My personal favorite part of the rehearsal process has always been seeing how things evolve and how problems get solved,” says Sophomore Daniel Jones, playing the role of Oaken. “Going from barely knowing any of our lines without a script in hand to being able to recite them while dancing around on stage is an incredible thing to experience.” 

Oaken is a shopkeeper in Arendelle, and after getting little screen time in the movie version of Frozen, gets his own scene in the musical featuring the song “Hygge,” where he teaches Anna and Kristoff the meaning of the word. 

“Oaken is a dream role for me,” said Jones. “Now that I get to play him in the musical, I can really add that touch of color I felt he dearly needed to make him more than a side character, but a core memory of the show.”

Jones has used all the resources he can get to perfect his portrayal of the character, even studying Oaken’s accent to replicate it on stage. 

“I want to show others that there is more to this lovable Scandinavian man than just big summer blowouts and saunas,” says Jones. 

As Triton Theater nears opening night on Thursday, November 16, many final preparations are being made to fine-tune their performance and to work out any nerves. Now, all they need is an audience.

“I’m beginning to see an actual show come to fruition,” said Jones. “It’s exciting, and I can’t wait for everyone to see it.”