The powerful magic of "Let It Go," scene-stealing Olaf and Sven... Frozen musical beats the summer heat [On Stage]

[Financial News] "Do you want to build a snowman?"
With that hit song, in which the lively Anna begs her sister Elsa to play with her, the musical Frozen opens. Leading the audience into the kingdom of Arendelle with a wave of nostalgia for the original film are Jeong Se-i as young Anna and Jeong A-in as young Elsa. With their adorable, clear voices and vocal and acting skills that rival those of adult performers, the two young actors confidently launch the big-budget production.
Frozen, which opened its Korean premiere at Seoul Charlotte Theater, brings the Disney animation of the same name to the stage. Following the film, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez wrote the music and lyrics, while Jennifer Lee, who handled the screenplay and co-directed the film, wrote the musical's book. It premiered on Broadway in March 2018 and was the first Disney title to have a stage adaptation planned before the film's release.
Rather than boldly reimagining the story, the musical chooses to faithfully recreate the film's familiar scenes and songs on stage.
The film's signature moments, including the mysterious aurora, frozen Arendelle and Elsa's ice palace, are brought to life through stage and costume design rooted in Scandinavia's natural landscape and worldview, along with video, lighting and special effects.

The production's true strength explodes at the end of Act 1 with "Let It Go." As Elsa touches the wooden decorations around the edge of the stage, ice spreads instantly, and ice pillars and a palace rise up before the audience. As the familiar anthem swells and Elsa's costume changes in an instant, the theater erupts in cheers and gasps. In particular, the "ice dress," adorned with more than 10,000 crystal pieces, gave the impression that the Elsa from the original film had stepped into reality.
Jeong Yu-ji, who took the stage as Elsa that day, commanded the production with explosive vocal power and soaring high notes. Perhaps because of the pressure of leading her first major musical, her acting in the early part of Act 1 felt somewhat stiff.
But once Elsa leaves Arendelle and arrives at the ice palace, her presence grows stronger. Jeong Yu-ji powerfully conveyed Elsa's sense of liberation as she sheds the fear and emotional restraints that had bound her. As the song builds to its climax, the quick costume change, video, lighting and sound effects all come together at once, turning the end of Act 1 into a breathtaking moment of live performance.
In Act 2, Elsa's power expands in a more threatening and grand way. The fierce blizzard and the scene in which all of Arendelle freezes over deliver such strong visual pleasure that they make even the midsummer heat easy to forget.

Anna is the true center of Act 1. On this day, Choi Ji-hye brought out Anna's innocence, sweetness and courage with bright energy.
"For the First Time in Forever," which celebrates the joy of the long-closed castle gates opening, and "Love Is an Open Door," sung as she falls in love at first sight with Prince Hans, the thirteenth prince of a neighboring kingdom, are also revived with lively spirit. In particular, "Love Is an Open Door" drew smiles from the audience with its witty choreography, in which the two characters match each other's words and actions, and its cheerful melody.
With his tall frame and handsome looks, Cha Yoon-ha showed the dependable charm of Kristoff, the ice harvester. The height difference between him and Choi Ji-hye also adds a touch of excitement to the relationship between the two characters.
The numbers added exclusively for the stage version take a closer look at the characters' inner lives. Elsa's new solo songs, "Dangerous Dream" and "Monster," reveal her fear and guilt that her powers might hurt the people she loves.
However, the newly added numbers do not leave as strong an impression as the original songs. Some tracks weigh down the flow of the drama, and "Hygge," the sauna-set comedy number that opens Act 2, has a simple, charming appeal, but it may also feel out of place.

The character who instantly captures the audience's heart is undoubtedly the snowman Olaf. Every time Olaf appears with his innocent humor and warm heart, laughter breaks out in the theater. Jeong Won-young, who played the Genie in Aladdin, appeared on stage that day and manipulated the Olaf puppet, moving as if he and the character were one.
The reindeer Sven also proved more memorable than expected. The actor, fully hidden inside the puppet and moving on all fours, creates Sven's gait and playful gestures with striking realism, almost like watching a real animal. Simply trotting onto the stage behind Kristoff is enough to draw an enthusiastic response from the audience.
Frozen revives the emotion and memories left by the film through the actors' vivid voices and stage magic. It also brings back the original's great virtue of upending the long-standing formula of Disney princess stories. The two sisters do not find happiness through marriage to a handsome prince. Instead, they melt a frozen world with sisterly love that puts the other before themselves.
The Korean premiere features Jeong Seon-ah, Jeong Yu-ji and Min Kyung-ah as Elsa, and Park Jin-joo, Hong Geum-bi and Choi Ji-hye as Anna. Kristoff is played by Cha Yoon-ha and Shin Jae-beom, Prince Hans by Kim Won-bin and Hwang Geon-ha, and Olaf by Jeong Won-young, Han Gyu-jeong and Lee Chang-ho. A total of 47 performers, including the cast selected through a long audition process, ensemble members and swings, take the stage. The show is running at Seoul Charlotte Theater and will continue with a 2027 production at Busan Dream Theatre.
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