For show details, see Jessica Neu’s full review at onstagepittsburgh.com.
By SHARON EBERSON
I know how it’s done, and I have seen it done numerous times, and every time, it’s still like magic. If you’ve seen Disney’s Frozen onstage, you know what I mean. It’s that split second when, mid-”Let It Go,” a transformation occurs that inspires spontaneous gasps and applause.
That certainly was the case on Friday at the Benedum Center, when Pittsburgh CLO debuted its production of the musical for a house sprinkled with the fairy dust of excited children, many dressed in their best versions of Elsa and Anna.
Post Broadway and national tour, Frozen has come to the regions over the past year, with Pittsburgh CLO launching a rolling tour on Friday at the Benedum Center. Most of the cast and creative team then moves on to Starlight Theatre in Kansas City, Mo., and the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska.
That means Pittsburgh is seeing this production first, with costumes by Ryan J. Moller, who designed costumes for PCLO’s Seussical, is the costume designer for the current production of Frozen, having first created the magic for the regional premiere last year, working again with director Michael Heitzman and choreographer Robbie Roby.
Tim Mackabee, whose work includes the set design of Pittsburgh Public Theater’s A Christmas Story, was an associate to scenic and costume designer Christopher Oram for Broadway’s Frozen. For PCLO, Mackabee has created a rich landscape with lots of moving parts, but it is Elsa’s ice castle that has the wow factor, including the geysers and projections that accompany her powers.
From ice shards to a bundle of fluff, the Olaf was masterfully realized by puppeteer/performer Kyle Kemph – the cheerful snowman’s appearance was met with squeals of glee.
The number In Summer was a standout for stagecraft and choreography, with different versions of the oblivious Olaf enjoying the heat.
I still don’t get the Hygge trading post/sauna number that opens the second act, except as a distraction for Anna and Kristoff before facing dire challenges ahead. However, as a showcase for Ryan Cavanaugh’s comedic chops and the incredible ensemble’s towel dance, I appreciated it much more via PCLO than the Broadway version.
If you go to this production armed with expectations from previous live versions you have seen, there are of course differences from the original staging. For example, a treacherous bridge scene, along Anna and Kristoff’s journey to find Elsa, is absent here.
When it comes to Disney, versions of popular animated musicals will find their way from the screen to theme parks to ice arenas to cruise ships to “Jr.” school versions, as Frozen has done. For those who have Disney+ streaming service, you can catch a pro capture of Disney’s Frozen: The Hit Broadway Musical – a misnomer, since this is the version that ran in London, with none of the original Broadway stars. Frozen debuted on Broadway in March 2018, then transferred to London’s West End in 2021.
I will always recommend supporting your local theater and seeing a live performance when possible, and Frozen is a case in point.
There’s the magic of suspended disbelief, when you can know there’s an artist behind the puppet, yet the character of Olaf is all you see.
And then Elsa’s glove flies away, and her cape takes off to parts unknown, and a cumbersome dress suddenly becomes a sparkly gown, fit for an ice queen.
Even if you know how it’s done, it’s still amazing, even magical, when you see it happen live.
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