Disney’s “Frozen” One Spectacular Show.

 Ask anyone from 4 to 80 how they liked “Frozen” and what you get is a smile from ear to ear. Yup, that good. The 2013 animated movie was first released at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles. It was considered to be “Disney’s best animated film since the studio’s renaissance era. 

“Frozen” received two awards at the 86th Academy Awards, and numerous other accolades. It was the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film to win Best Animated Film and earned over a billion dollars in world -wide box office revenue. What’s not to like? 

Loosely inspired by Hans Christian Anderson’s Norwegian fairy tale “The Snow Queen”, it follows two royal sisters Anna (Saheli Khan) and Elsa (Mackenzie Mercer) throughout their childhood years in the castle, through their adult (Lauren Nicole Chapman and Caroline Bowman) years finding their own way through trial and error. 

Lauren Nicole Chapman

As children we learn that Elsa, groomed to be queen, has magical powers of ice and snow that can freeze hearts. As the Ice Queen she accidently inflicts her powers on her sister Anna freezing her heart.  The sisters are forced to separate as children by their parents who soon die at sea, leaving the girls on their own. Elsa comes back to the castle after the parent’s death and is there coronated. Then the castle is closed and Elsa goes into self -imposed exile in the mountains and for the most part Anna spends most of the time looking for her beloved sister. 

Accompanying Anna on the adventure are a magical snowman Olaf (puppeteer Jeremy Davis), reindeer Sven (Dan Plehal), and ice salesman Kristoff (Dominic Dorset).

Directed by Michael Grandage and with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson -Lopez and Robert Lopez over a dozen new songs were added to the original. The book, however by Jennifer Lee is somewhat all over the planet especially Anna’s journey to find her sister. Anna’s adventures and exploits, if you will, are meant to amuse the minds and hearts of the younger set, clever as they might be with the use of puppet characters, with special effects by Jeremy Chernick, lighting by Natasha Katz, choreography Rob Ashford, scenic and costume design by Christopher Oram and orchestration Dave Metzger.  

The chemistry between Chapman and Bowman is seen in all scenes with the two together from the harsh NO to Anna’s wanting to marry a young handsome and pompous Duke (Will Sarvarese) to her meeting up with Kristoff an ice salesman (Dominic Dorset) who is smitten with Anna and sticks to her like glue

Caroline Bowman

The piece de resistance is Bowman’s spectacular rendering of “Let It Go that absolutely brings the house down. “From “Love Is An Open Door” to “From The First Time In Forever” to “Do You Want To Build a Snowman?” to ”I Can’t Lose You” the twenty or more musical numbers and with a chorus of dancers who tip the light fantastic, special effects that boggle the imagination and a perfectly wonderful cast, one can say with certainty Disney’s “Frozen” will be one for the books up there with “Lion King”, “Titanic” and “Mary Poppins”. 

And if you happen to see a smaller version of Anna and/or Elsa, dressed in sparkling gowns when you go, that’s just the way it rolls in the lobby of the Civic Center at least through the 29th.

Caroline Bowman as Elsa The Ice Queen

Enjoy. I did. 

Times: 7 p.m. Wednesdays. 7:30 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays. 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays. 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays. Through Jan. 29.

Where: San Diego Civic Theatre, 1100 Third Ave., San Diego

Tickets: $39-$114

Phone: 619 570 1100

Photo: Matthew Murphy

Online: broadwaysd.com