There is nothing quite like a Disney musical. Having opened on Broadway in March, Disney's latest addition to their stage adaptions is Frozen, which became the highest grossing animated film of all time when it was released in 2013. The Broadway adaption of the hit movie does not feel out of place on Broadway.
The musical follows a young woman coming to terms with her power, eventually learning the range of it, rather than hiding away. Caissie Levy plays Elsa who begins the show scared of her power, hiding it from her sister Anna, played by Patti Murin. However when Anna takes one of her gloves, the range of Elsa's power is revealed causing her people to look at her in terror as she sets off a seemingly eternal winter.
As Elsa runs away, Anna leaves her newly minted fiancee, the rather boring Hans (John Riddle) in charge of her kingdom, deciding to find her sister. On the way she meets Kristoff (the incredible Jelani Alladin in his Broadway debut), and his reindeer Sven (Andrew Pirozzi, unseen in a remarkable costume). Kristoff offers to help Anna get to her sister and try to talk her into bringing back summer. Along the way they meet Olaf (Greg Hildreth, manipulating the puppet quite well), a snowman who likes warm hugs that Elsa brought to life, and eventually end up taking a short detour when they meet Oaken (Kevin Del Aguila) when they're trying to find some clothes and carrots.
Back in Arendelle, Hans brings together a search party to try and find Anna and Elsa while the Duke of Weselton (Robert Creighton) is insistent that Elsa be killed on sight when they find her. There is an attempt to make Weselton a villain, but he is not on stage enough for it to properly come across.
The show is visually stunning from the costumes to the special effects that create Elsa's magic. Music wise, the best songs are the ones that were in the movie, but new additions "What Do You Know About Love?", "Vuelie/Let the Sun Shin One", and "Monster" are great as well. The second act opening "Hygge" is funny at first but begins to feel unnecessary before it ends. Some of the original songs were made even better, such as "Fixer Upper", "For the First Time in Forever", "In Summer", and "Let it Go".
The story moves quite quickly, and it feels like barely any time has passed when you get to intermission. It's engaging and from the lack of noise in the audience, it seems that it also kept any little kids in the audience engaged. I also enjoyed the fact that the characters are developed more, especially Kristoff when he's given his own number in the second act.
Just about anyone will enjoy Frozen, whether you're taking kids or not. It's a fun show and you'll leave with a smile on your face.