Following the success of Frozen on the big screen, a Broadway musical adaptation began development back in 2014, a mere year after the release of the original movie. With Jennifer Lee (script writer and co-director of the movie) returning to write the book and Kristen and Robert Lopez returning to pen 13 brand new songs, the show premiered in Denver for a 2017 preview run, and officially opened on Broadway on March 22, 2018. Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Disney suspended its performances because of Broadway's shutdown from COVID-19 and would not resume performances after the shutdown was lifted, effectively closing the musical on March 11, 2020. However, the national tour was planned to continue when touring shows became feasible again, and eventually restarted in September of 2021.
The original Denver and Broadway cast features Caissie Levy as Elsa, Patti Murin as Anna, Jelani Alladin as Kristoff, Greg Hildreth as Olaf, and John Riddle as Hans.
While it has a few modifications to better fit the stage, the musical closely follows the film in terms of story, but the new stage-exclusive songs help give us a better understanding of the inner struggles that our main characters go through, shedding some new light on a familiar story that audiences haven't seen before.
Not to be confused with the shorter Frozen—Live at the Hyperion stage musical at Disney California Adventure.
Note: Spoilers for the original movie are unmarked.
Tracklist
Act I
- "Vuelie" – Company
- "Let the Sun Shine On" – Young Anna, Young Elsa, King, Queen and Townspeople
- "A Little Bit of You" – Young Elsa and Young Anna
- "Hidden Folk" – Queen, Pabbie, Young Elsa, King and Company
- "Do You Want to Build a Snowman?" – Young Anna, Anna and Elsa
- "For the First Time in Forever" – Anna, Elsa and Townspeople
- "Hans of the Southern Isles" – Hans
- "Dangerous to Dream" – Elsa and Townspeople
- "Love Is an Open Door" – Anna and Hans
- Reindeer(s) Are Better Than People" – Kristoff
- "What Do You Know About Love?" – Anna and Kristoff
- "In Summer" – Olaf
- "Hans of the Southern Isles" (reprise) – Hans, Weselton and Townspeople
- "Let It Go" – Elsa
Act II
- "Hygge" – Oaken, Kristoff, Anna, Olaf, Family and Friends
- "For the First Time in Forever" (reprise) – Anna and Elsa*
* Replaced with “I Can’t Lose You" in all productions beginning in the 2019 North American tour - "Dangerous to Dream" (reprise) – Elsa
- "Fixer Upper" – Bulda, Pabbie, Olaf and Hidden Folk
- "Kristoff Lullaby" – Kristoff
- "Monster" – Elsa, Hans and Men
- "Hans of the Southern Isles" (reprise 2) – Hans and Anna
- "True Love" – Anna
- "Colder by the Minute" – Anna, Kristoff, Elsa, Hans and Townspeople
- "Finale" – Company
The stage musical provides examples of:
- Adaptational Attractiveness:
- Through Adaptational Species Change. Grand Pabbie, Bulda, and the trolls are now taller, human-like creatures called the Hidden Folk, a far cry from the short, bulky, big eared characters that they are in the film. Pabbie himself is now a muscular, long-haired man with a thick beard.
- The Duke of Weselton, while still older than the main characters, is younger than his animated counterpart.
- Adaptational Dye-Job:
- Hans is a redhead in the movie, and a brunette in the musical.
- Oaken, also a redhead in the original, has grey hair here.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Anna meets Kristoff and Olaf before she gets to Wandering Oaken's Trading Post & Sauna. This is a deviation from the movie, where Anna meets Kristoff at Oaken's, they fight off wolves, then encounter Olaf en route from Oaken's to Elsa's ice palace.
- Adaptational Expansion: The show focuses on Anna and Elsa's childhood a bit longer than the film, with their parents playing much more prominent roles in the prologue. The queen is given a brief backstory as having come from a nomadic tribe closely related to the Hidden Folk (later productions would change the tribe to the Northuldra to tie Frozen II into the show).
- Adaptational Heroism: Downplayed with the Duke of Weselton. Though he's still a villainous weasel with a sexist attitude, the Duke here is at least willing to brave the treacherous mountains along with Hans to find Elsa rather than remain behind and let his henchmen do the dirty work like he does in the film. Though he isn't punished, it's at least implied he gets better once he sees Elsa really meant no harm.
- Adaptation-Induced Plot Hole: In the movie, Elsa creates Olaf during "Let It Go". Here, Anna and Kristoff meet Olaf before they get to Wandering Oaken's Trading Post & Sauna, before "Let It Go" even occurs.
- Adaptational Jerkass: The Duke of Weselton is even more of a sexist than his film counterpart.
- Adaptational Personality Change:
- Even though it's just a facade, Hans acts a lot more awkward this time around; this makes his eventual reveal all the more jarring.
- The Duke is braver, but also more overtly sexist than in the film. See Adaptational Heroism and Adaptational Jerkass entries.
- Adaptational Species Change: The trolls have been changed to the Hidden Folk, a tribe of ancient humanoid beings with tails.
- Adapted Out:
- Marshmallow, the wolves, and Hans's horse Sitron do not appear in the stage musical. In the case of Marshmallow, Elsa kicks Anna out of her ice palace by herself, rather than using Marshmallow to do it. For Sitron, rather than a rowboat, Anna and Hans fall into Kristoff's ice cart. The sequence with the wolves is replaced with a duet between Anna and Kristoff.
- Because of the plot restructuring, Kristoff's introduction as a child gets eliminated (the Hidden Folk merely mention that they sometimes take in stray children). "Frozen Heart" is replaced with "Vuelie / Let the Sun Shine On", although the melodies of "Frozen Heart" are still featured in other songs, most notably in "Colder by the Minute". They also appeared in the reprise of "For the First Time in Forever" that appeared in the original Broadway run.
- Age Lift: The Duke of Weselton, a grey-haired and balding old man in the original movie, is portrayed as a younger man here.
- Angry Mob Song: A very, very downplayed example, but the men's part in "Monster" more or less counts.Mob: End this winter. Bring back summer. Keep your guard up!
Hans: No harm comes to her! - Arc Words: "Sun" and "storm".
- Artistic License – History: Oaken mentions kroner as currency, but if Arendelle is a Fantasy Counterpart Culture of Norway in the 1840s (as said by the production team of the movie), its currency would have been called the speciedaler until kroner were introduced in 1875.
- Ascended Extra:
- King Agnarr and Queen Iduna have a considerable amount of stage time before their tragic deaths. They show up again in spirit with young Anna and young Elsa during the final number.
- Oaken still only has a single signature scene. But now he has the honor of opening Act II with his own song, "Hygge".
- Bulda is a bit more prominent here than in the film, showing up to aid Grand Pabbie when he's summoned to heal young Anna.
- On a meta level: as part of the February 2019 casting shakeup, Noah J. Ricketts, a member of the ensemble and understudy for Kristoff, took over the role full-time.
- Book Ends: The chorus of the opening number, "Let the Sun Shine On", is a series of variations on the melody of one line from "Let It Go": "let the storm rage on". In the finale, the cast sings a reprise of "Let It Go" with "let the sun shine on" replacing "let the storm rage on".
- Bowdlerise: The Junior version
of the show cuts out the more mature jokes, and retools "Hygge" so that there are no references to nudity or alcohol. - Breaking the Fourth Wall: At the top of Act II, Oaken comes out to greet the audience, advertise the many wares at his shop, and explain the meaning of "hygge" (a Danish term that describes a sense of comfort and coziness).
- BSoD Song: Both Elsa and Anna get their own.
- Elsa has "Monster", where she starts questioning whether or not she's truly a monster after damning her entire kingdom to an endless winter. It gets to the point where she considers suicide as a means of breaking the curse, but in the end, she chooses to stand her ground and save Arendelle from her own destruction.
- Anna has the heartbreaking "True Love", which she sings after Hans betrays her. Realizing how disillusioned she was during her pursuit for love, she grieves about how she's going to die never knowing what true love is, in the very same room where she was shut out by her sister so many years ago.
- Call-Back: Anna and Kristoff's duet "What Do You Know about Love" is referenced in his Love Epiphany song "Krisoff's Lullaby," when he asks himself, "What do I know about love?"
- Call-Forward: Several to Frozen II were added after its release.
- The King makes a reference to finding some answers before he and his wife set sail.
- Queen Iduna explicitly states she is of the Northuldra when she calls the Hidden Folk.
- Olaf calls out for "Samantha" in "In Summer".
- Cross-Cast Role: While Olaf is male, female actress Ryann Redmond acted as his puppeteer and voice on Broadway from February 2019 casting changes until the close of the show.
- Darker and Edgier: Downplayed, as it's not that much darker than the original. However, the musical does get away with some racier jokes.
- Dark Reprise: Hans sings a shorter, more sinister version of his titular song when he betrays Anna. It's the closest thing he gets to a Villain Song.
- Description Cut: When Anna and Kristoff see Arendelle in deep snow from the mountainside, Anna brushes off Kristoff's concern, stating that her people can handle a winter like this. The very next scene is the Duke of Weselton screaming that he can't handle the winter.
- Duet of Differences: Anna and Kristoff have "What Do You Know About Love?", where they both argue about how true love really works. Anna believes in Love at First Sight (hence why she fell in love with Hans) while Kristoff claims that it's a much, much longer process.
- Early-Installment Weirdness:
- Some songs included in the Denver tryout were cut before the transfer to Broadway. A second, openly villainous reprise of "Hans of the Southern Isles" was cut to only the last verse before opening on Broadway, as was Olaf's new song "When Everything Falls Apart". The finale song was also a reprise of "Love Is An Open Door", which, since "Love is an Open Door" was the closest thing to a Villain Song, was something Kristen Anderson-Lopez didn't like. At her insistence, the finale song was changed to a reprise of "Let It Go".
- In the Denver tryout, Grand Pabbie played a much larger role as the narrator of the story. This concept was removed from the Broadway version, and he only shows up during the prologue, the Hidden Folk scene, and the finale.
- Easter Egg: Hidden within the proscenium of the stage are small carvings based on several famous Disney films, including Aladdin, The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and The Lion King.
- The Fourth Wall Will Not Protect You: While escaping the castle after her powers are revealed, Elsa accidentally touches the side of the stage and manages to freeze the entire proscenium.
- Evil Laugh: Hans can break into one during his Breaking Speech to Anna.
- Greek Chorus: The Arendelle townspeople take on the role of narrators at the beginning ("Let the Sun Shine On") and climax ("Colder by the Minute") of the play.
- Honest John's Dealership: Oaken promises Kristoff that his usual overpriced products are free of charge... if they all die from the eternal winter. If not, then Kristoff owes 10,000 kroner to Oaken.
- I Am a Monster: In "Monster," Elsa's BSoD Song, she asks herself if she really is a monster the people see in her. Her self-loathing, guilt, and fear lead her to wonder if she should die to end the winter she accidentally started.If I’m a monster, and it’s true
There’s only one thing that’s left for me to do - Incredibly Long Note: Olaf had one for a joke: "AAAAAAAAAAAAA-bdomen." It was initially part of "When Everything Falls Apart", which was cut after the Denver tryouts, and reinstated in the show for a reprise of "Do You Want to Build a Snowman".
- Inherently Funny Words: Hygge (approximately pronounced "hooga"), and its adjective form, hyggelig ("hoogly"), which are intentionally made funny when turned into a song by the same guy who gave us "Hasa Diga Eebowai".
- Instant Costume Change: Probably one of the most impressive ones in any Disney musical. A flash of light and a puff of smoke are all it takes for Elsa's coronation outfit to instantly transform into the iconic ice dress, and it never fails to get a big applause.
- Irony: During their trek up the mountain, Anna claims to Kristoff, "I know danger when I see it, just like I know love when I see it!" Little does she know that her "true love", Hans, is indeed a very dangerous and unloving person.
- "I Want" Song: "Dangerous to Dream" sets up Elsa's wish to reconnect with her sister, while expressing her fear of letting her magic go.
- Karma Houdini: Unlike in the animated film, the prejudicial Duke of Weselton does not get deported from the kingdom. After Elsa brings back summer and asks her subjects if everyone is ok, the Duke reassures her and joins her subjects in bowing to her, showing the kingdom's acceptance of their Queen.
- Large Ham:
- "Hans of the Southern Isles (reprise)" —Duke of Weselton: Yes, Weselton arises and offers up the POWER of his sword!
- "Colder by the Minute" —Townspeople: And the storm raged on, and NATURE TORE THE WORLD APART!
- "Hans of the Southern Isles (reprise)" —
- Last-Second Word Swap:
- There's this gem of a line from "When Everything Falls Apart" (which was cut sometime before the closing of the Denver production, but the line remains as a lyric in a reprise of "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?").Olaf: Sometimes one arm has fallen off, and another's in the grass.
And I've one foot in my mouth, and another in my aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... bdomen. - Oaken does this at the beginning of "Hygge":
- There's this gem of a line from "When Everything Falls Apart" (which was cut sometime before the closing of the Denver production, but the line remains as a lyric in a reprise of "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?").
- Leitmotif: The melody of "Frozen Heart" (which was Adapted Out of the stage musical) becomes a Leitmotif representing Elsa's fear of her powers, replacing the five-note Elsa theme from Christophe Beck's movie score.
- Love Epiphany: In "Krisoff's Lullaby," Kristoff lists everything he loves about Anna and says she has changed his life. He concludes the song with the reference to their earlier duet "What Do You Know about Love," asking himself, "What do I know about love?"
- Marshmallow Hell: Anna subjects Hans to this in "Love is An Open Door" while he is lifting her.
- Mythology Gag:
- During the Denver tryout, Grand Pabbie wears a ceremonial headdress that resembles the face of his animated counterpart. A troll's face can also be found on the set as a doorknob.
- Sir Jorgen Bjorgen, Elsa's stuffed puffin toy from Olaf's Frozen Adventure, does make it into the musical as a prop in Anna's bedroom.
- The reprise of "For the First Time in Forever", and its replacement in the touring production, "I Can't Lose You", begin with Elsa singing the bridge from the Demi Lovato version of "Let It Go": "Standing, frozen, in this life I've chosen...."
- During the Denver tryout, Grand Pabbie wears a ceremonial headdress that resembles the face of his animated counterpart. A troll's face can also be found on the set as a doorknob
- No Ontological Inertia: Discussed, and a source of dramatic tension. Neither Elsa nor Hans are certain whether killing Elsa will cancel the effects of her magic, or make it last forever.note Elsa: Father, you know what's best for me.
If I die, will they be free?
Mother, what if after I'm gone
The cold gets colder and the storm rages on? - Politically Incorrect Villain: Hoo boy, if you thought that the Duke of Weselton was bad before, this iteration of him is a flat out sexist who's quick to tie the eternal winter to Elsa being a woman.Duke of Weselton: Everyone knows nothing good can come from magic, especially in the hands of a woman!
- Pragmatic Adaptation: Quite a few elements of the film have been reimagined to better suit the stage musical.
- In "For the First Time In Forever", the lines "Who knew we had eight thousand salad plates? ... Finally they're opening up the gates" are replaced with "And there's two nice ladies helping me get dressed ... Coronation Day is just the best!"
- While Olaf retains his animated appearance (ignore the puppeteer standing behind him 24/7), Sven has been redesigned to be a more realistic-looking reindeer◊.
- Rather than a precariously balanced rowboat and Sitron the horse, Anna's run-in with Hans involves them falling into Kristoff's ice cart.
- The wolf chase has been cut out entirely, and replaced with a new duet for Anna and Kristoff. The part where she keeps him from falling off the sled is changed to them keeping each other from falling off a bridge.
- Possibly due to being the most iconic song of the entire film, "Let It Go" is saved for the finale of Act I rather than happening immediately after Elsa flees the kingdom. As a result, much of Act I is centered around Anna and Kristoff searching for clues of Elsa's whereabouts, building up the suspense of her final destination and decision.
- "Let It Go"'s melody is lowered a half-step in key, so it's sung with the same key as Demi Lovato's pop cover from the end credits of the movie, for the sake of making it easier for actresses to hit the notes.
- Elsa doesn't create Marshmallow in the show. Instead, she forces Anna, Kristoff, and Olaf out of the castle herself.
- The trolls are now human (or at least humanoid) characters. Additionally, they come to the royal family rather than the royal family coming to them. Consequently, Kristoff's Minor Kidroduction is cut due to being an unnecessary detail that would interrupt the flow of the story.
- Promoted to Love Interest: In this version, Grand Pabbie and Bulda are a couple, as well as Kristoff's adoptive parents.
- Race Lift:
- Jelani Alladin, the first actor to play Kristoff, is African-American.
- In addition, the original Broadway standbys for Anna and Elsa, Aisha Jackson and Alyssa Fox, are black and Asian respectively.
- Their parents, Agnarr and Iduna, are usually played by a black and Asian actor as well.
- Ciara Renée, who's of African, Hispanic, and Native American descent, plays Elsa following Caissie Levy's departure.
- Rebellious Princess: Young Anna has shades of this before her accident —Iduna: Elsa, no! What did we say?
Elsa: "Magic must stay secret."
Iduna: There are just some things we can't do in public.
Anna: Like run naked in the breeze!
Iduna, Elsa & Agnarr: ANNA! - Recycled Soundtrack: In addition to most of the songs and score from the original film appearing in this adaptation, the new song "Let the Sun Shine On" incorporates young Elsa and Anna's "One two three together, clap together, snap together" chant from "We Know Better", a
Cut Song from the movie's soundtrack. - Reprise Medley: "Colder by the Minute" features reprises of "Let It Go", "Monster", "True Love", "Frozen Heart"note and "Let the Sun Shine On", itself a variation of a line from "Let It Go".
- Retcon: In the show’s original script, Queen Iduna reveals that she is “a child of the Northern Nomads”, a mysterious clan who had connections with the Hidden Folk. After Frozen II revealed her canon origin as a member of the Northuldra, the script was updated to reflect this.
- Samaritan Relationship Starter: Although "What Do You Know About Love?" starts off as a Duet of Differences, it ends with Kristoff and Anna becoming closer after they save each other from falling off a cliff.
- Self-Deprecation: Hans deprecates himself constantly during both instances of "Hans of the Southern Isles", which conceals how ambitious he really is.
- Shout-Out: When young Elsa and Anna build Olaf with their toys in "A Little Bit of You", the Pixar ball is part of his body.
- Triumphant Reprise:
- The first time Hans sings "Hans of the Southern Isles", it highlights his endearing dorkiness. In the reprise, he becomes a heroic figure as he recruits men to attack Elsa's castle.
- The Finale is a triumphant reprise of "Let It Go", starting as a duet by Elsa and Anna as Elsa thaws Arendelle, and concluding with the entire company joining in.
- Visible Invisibility: Olaf is handled the same way Timon is handled in The Lion King, He is depicted through a puppet with the puppeteer standing right behind him, dressed in white, visible to the audience but not to the characters.
- Villain Song: Prince Hans gets two solos in the show, "Hans of the Southern Isles" and a reprise, although they aren't particularly villainous. During the Denver production, however, Hans had a Dark Reprise that he sings when he betrays Anna, gloating about his plot, which acted as his true Villain Song. Lyrics available here.
- He still gets a smaller Dark Reprise at that moment:Hans: Once I kill Elsa
And give you this ring
I am King Hans of Arendelle
- He still gets a smaller Dark Reprise at that moment:
