Let the storm rage on!: Frozen the Musical youth edition
Freya Parr
Wednesday, February 1, 2023
Having taken the world by storm as a hit Disney movie musical, Frozen has continued to dazzle audiences with its Broadway and West End stage adaptations. Now, it’s heading into schools and youth groups, as Freya Parr finds out.
Brooklyn Children's Theatre
After Disney unleashed Elsa, Anna and Olaf the talking snowman onto the world back in 2013, our Spotify Wrapped playlists, long car journeys and karaoke outings were never the same again. Suddenly 50-year-old men were belting ‘Let It Go’ at the top of their lungs in the shower, commuters were tapping their toes in time to ‘Love is an Open Door’ and children the world over were demanding repeat plays of the soundtrack from dawn to dusk. Frozen is the 16th highest-grossing film worldwide and has spawned an entire industry, with a sequel film, two TV series, a graphic novel, four short films, one play, 14 video games and a hit stage musical.
One for the kids
Until now, the Frozen musical has remained on professional stages in the UK. That’s all about to change, thanks to the release of Frozen Jr in the UK and Ireland by Music Theatre International and Disney Theatrical Group. Designed for schools and youth groups, the show has already proved to be a hit with young people in the US. This specially adapted production has been created for young performers between the ages of eight and 18, with a compact, 60-minute running time. As well as the familiar hits and highlights from the animated film, the show features five new songs written for the Broadway and West End productions.
What you can expect
The licence and ShowKit for Frozen Jr are available now. The Junior ShowKit includes 30 actor’s scripts, a piano/vocal score and director’s guide. Performance and accompaniment tracks, choreography videos and additional content are available as downloadable resources, but it’s useful for directors and musical directors to note that there are no band parts available for this show.
The scripts and ShowKits include glossaries of acting terms and details of synopsis and characters, as well as tips for theatre etiquette. There are also explanations of what cast members can expect during rehearsals, outlining blocking, scene work, choreography and music. It suggests some useful approaches to marking your script, such as underlining stage directions, drawing diagrams for blocking and marking moments for breath during singing.
In this youth-friendly adaptation, the acting scenes have been compressed to let the musical numbers do the heavy lifting in terms of storytelling. This means that students aren’t required to memorise large swathes of text, and the focus of most rehearsals can be the big cast songs.
Prize performers
To celebrate the release of Frozen Jr, one successful school or youth group is being given the opportunity to perform at Music Theatre International’s Junior Theatre Festival at Birmingham’s ICC later this year. This will include free access to the now sold-out festival, a travel and accommodation bursary of £1500, and the chance to perform a rendition of the humorous song ‘Fixer Upper’ from Frozen on the main stage at the festival.
The Junior Theatre Festival has been running since 2017 as a significantly smaller event, but with the same principles at its core. Since then, it has grown in scale, inviting schools and youth groups to give performances of their Broadway Junior shows, which are specially adapted youth versions of West End and Broadway shows. These performances are then reviewed by a panel of professional directors, choreographers and musical directors. These adjudications are a chance for the young performers to receive advice, feedback and constructive criticism from professional creatives. Children also take part in West End workshops focusing on the disciplines of acting, singing and dancing, while their teachers and directors also attend separate workshops delivered by iTheatrics, the New York-based education specialists. The day wraps up with an awards ceremony, recognising the top performances of the day and giving children the opportunity to enjoy exclusive performances from West End stars.
© SLEEPY HOLLOW MIDDLE SCHOOL
The Frozen cast of Sleepy Hollow Middle School perform, with Olaf the snowman at the centre
Frozen frenzy
If you’ve ever struggled to find musicals that connect to the young people you’re directing and teaching, you certainly won’t have any troubles here. This modern classic is known and loved by children around the world and, unlike some of the older Disney movie musicals, features a raft of strong female characters who don’t need saving by a handsome prince. It has plenty of gumption, positive role models and messages and an equal balance in gender roles for the lead characters. Plus, you’ll be hard pressed to find a child that doesn’t already know all the words to ‘Do You Want to Build a Snowman?’, so you’ll have saved hours of lyric teaching!
© JCOMPANY YOUTH THEATRE
J Company Youth Theatre performs ‘A Little Bit of You’
The licence and ShowKit for Frozen Jr is available now. You can request perusal copies directly from MTI. The licence is only available for performance venues with a maximum published seating capacity of 400 or less in the UK/Ireland. Ticket prices must not exceed £15. Additional royalties of 16 per cent with a guaranteed minimum of £100 per performance are to be paid by youth groups, amateur societies and theatre schools, but schools following the national curriculum are exempt from these additional royalties.The licence and ShowKit costs £495, with a video licence for one archive copy available for £100.
