The Fox High School Theatre Troupe will finally perform “Frozen Jr.”
The troupe was set to stage a 60-minute version of the well-known Disney move “Frozen” in the spring 2020, but the show was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But after two years of waiting, some members from the original 2020 cast, along with some new actors, will get to perform in the show this month.
Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28; Friday, April 29; and Sunday, May 1, as well as at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 30, at Rickman Auditorium, 747 Jeffco Blvd., in Arnold.
Tickets cost $10 for adults and $7 for students and senior citizens.
Sam Meyer, Fox High School Theatre Troupe director, said there are mixed emotions about finally getting to put on the show.
“It broke everyone’s hearts when we had to cancel it two years ago,” he said. “It is excitement to finally get to do a musical again because we haven’t done a musical since the spring of 2019. It is sadness remembering all of the students who didn’t get to do their show their senior years. It is an incredible amount of pressure to try to make sure it goes well. It is mostly relief and happiness because I love this show so much.”
Meyer said the show is sure to please audiences.
“Frozen Jr.” has plenty of the songs from the movie as well as some from the Broadway play that debuted in 2018,” he said. “It is an incredibly fun show.
“No matter who you are, you will not be able to fight how much fun some of these songs are and how emotional and moving they are.
“It is everything you would want from the movie. It is the same story, and some parts have been dressed up more to make it more musical theater. It is a great adaptation.
“The 60-minute version is really good for young audiences.”
Emma Klein is one of the two cast members who will play the same role she was slated for in 2020 – the younger version of Elsa.
“I am lucky,” said Klein, 16, of Arnold. “I was really proud to get a lead role as a freshman. This year, I decided I wanted to keep it, and I think it is a good role to have.”
Meyer said he cast two actors for some roles because of the vocal demands of the parts and to allow more students to experience a lead role.
Junior Zoe Simonds, cast to play the part of Olaf, will share the same role two years later with another junior, Savanna Tramel.
Kirsten Vilcek, a 14-year-old freshman from Arnold, will play the younger version of Anna.
“I really relate to Anna as a character,” she said. “There is pressure because it is a well-known story that everyone loves.”
Junior Sydney Jean and sophomore Ella Myers will play the role of the older Elsa, and juniors Allison Crandall and Angel Springer are sharing the role of the older Anna.
Jean, 16, of Barnhart said there is pressure to live up to the performances people remember from the movie that was released in 2013.
“I’ve watched the movie so many times, it is nice to have it as a reference,” Jean said. “But living up to the big Elsa name is scary, and I am excited to see how the crowd likes the show.”
Crandell, 17, of Arnold said she also feels the pressure to live up to the movie version.
“Everyone knows what those iconic moments look and sound like. It is hard to not want to replicate that,” she said. “Our end goal is to make the audience feel something toward the characters.”
Other cast members include seniors Alyx Fischer, Lydia Bennett, Isa Rogers and Bria Mentel; juniors Aidan Gildehaus, Dominic Deutschmann, Maddie McCoy, Alisha Phelps, Lydia McCameron, Joseph Barbier, Elise Miller and Mason Klotz; sophomores Alexa Little, Rachel Rushman, Sarah Monroe, Kyler Kramlich, Peyton Kraus, Meagan Stengel, Ariella Baer, Annabelle Eaton and Zoey Thomas; and freshmen Julius Furlow, Eric Mackenzie, Justus Wilson, Maggie McAllister, Emma Maerli, Andrew Proctor, Zdena Roseberry and Sydney Olson.