REVIEW: Disney's Frozen, West End (Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London)

(Photo of Samantha Barks, Emily Lane, and the 2022 West End cast of Disney's Frozen, by Michael Wharley and Trevor Leighton.)

It’s easy to expect the musical adaptation of the hit Disney movie Frozen to be a two-and-a-half hour live concert-karaoke fest for children under the age of 7, and walking through the Theatre Royal Drury Lane’s doors, your fears will probably not be diminished. Young children dressed in Elsa and Anna dresses, Olaf hats, and reindeer antler headbands run through the Theatre Royal Drury Lane’s foyer and rotunda, posing for photos in front of posters and costume displays.

Though the movie is full of catchy songs that have plagued millions of households since the movie’s release in 2013, you will be surprised to know that they make up less than half of the musical’s tracklist, and while it’s impossible to imagine that any songs will match up to the movie’s half a dozen earworms, they far surpass anything the movie had to offer.

Four standouts are:

• ‘Dangerous To Dream’, a raw moment in which Elsa, seconds before she’s crowned Queen, fears her powers and everything that’s expected of her as monarch.

• ‘What Do You Know About Love?’, a duet sung by Anna and Kristoff as they begin their journey to the North Mountain.

• ‘Hygge’, a jaunty, toe-tapping ensemble song with Anna and Kristoff in Oaken’s store. In Disney musical fashion, this number features a kickline in skin-coloured bodysuits and bath towels.

• ‘Monster’, where Elsa reflects on herself as a monster to the nation of Arendelle, and wonders if the best thing she can do for her country is to remove herself from the picture.

The general plot of the show remains mostly the same. Young Arendelle Princess Elsa and her magical ice powers are hidden away from the world and her younger sister Anna after she accidentally injures the latter whose memories of the incident and Elsa’s magic are erased to save her life. Years later, the pair are reunited when Elsa is crowned queen after their parents’ tragic demise at sea, with Elsa accidentally covering the country in snow and setting into motion a freezing winter upon Anna’s surprise announcement of her sudden engagement to Prince Hans. Anna then sets off to search for her sister, unexpectedly teaming up with her eventual love interest Kristoff and his reindeer Sven, while Hans schemes to become king of Arendelle.

(Photo of Samantha Barks in the West End production of Frozen, by Michael Wharley and Trevor Leighton.)

Elsa’s amount of stage time is something that’s been dramatically changed for the musical. In an effort to include more of Elsa in the musical (as Elsa is alone in her ice castle for the bulk of the movie, most of the focus is on Anna and Kristoff), most of the new songs were written for her. Though the songs are beautiful, many of it consciously seem like padding for the character, songs given to her at regular intervals to remind the audience that Elsa, the face of the musical, is a part of the show.

That said, I personally didn’t mind. Samantha Barks, the vocal powerhouse who plays Elsa, leaves you wanting more of Elsa with every song she sings, and I thought it was a shame she wasn’t featured more in the show.

(Photo of Emily Lane and Djavan van de Fliert in the West End Production of Disney's Frozen, by Michael Wharley and Trevor Leighton.)

Visually, the show is beautiful. Intricate fly and set pieces craft the world of Frozen, heavily utilising forced perspective to create the illusion of tall walls and high ceilings in the Arendelle Castle’s hallways, ballrooms, and princess bedrooms – a Disney favourite, also used in the Mary Poppins Musical’s bank scene. A 20m full-length bridge notably features in 'What Do You Know About Love?' - a feat afforded thanks to the Royal Drury Lane's massive backstage area. They’re joined by stunning costumes in the shape of suits, hooped ball gowns, and Elsa’s hand-beaded ice gown which she changes into at the climax of her signature song ‘Let it Go’.

As someone who, as a teen when the original Frozen movie was released, was admittedly not its target audience, I was surprised by how delightful the musical was, and even more shocked that I left the theatre desperately needing to see it again. Even if you were not a huge fan of the original movie, I highly recommend giving the musical a chance.

Frozen currently plays on the West End in Covent Garden’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Tickets for the show can be booked at frozenthemusical.co.uk

Discounted tickets are available weekly via Disney’s Magical Mondays, with rush tickets released daily on the TodayTix app.