The 2013 Disney film Frozen – a musical extravaganza about an icy kingdom, estranged royal sisters and supernatural powers – was met with “acclaim, Oscars and delirium”, said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. Remarkably, this West End stage adaptation lives up to that legacy, and arguably even “exceeds it”.
Michael Grandage’s production, reworked since it premiered on Broadway in 2018, has all the magic of the film and is packed with gorgeous choreography and superb “coups de théâtre”. The use of video effects, lighting and sound are all stunning.
But what really struck me about the adaptation was that it conveys a far greater “sense of a real, beating heart in the relationship between the two tortured sisters”. Samantha Barks’s performance as Elsa is “soaked with sadness”, and the show-stopping power ballad Let It Go is “saturated with emotional drama”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The “breathtaking” magic and “mesmerising meteorological effects” add “a whole new wow”, agreed Patrick Marmion in the Daily Mail. Barks is brilliant as Elsa; Stephanie McKeon is a “saucer-eyed delight” as her devoted sister Anna; and the best supporting characters from the film “sparkle”, especially puppet snowman Olaf.
Fans of the film will love it, said Nick Curtis in the London Evening Standard. The show has undeniable “dazzle and wit”, and the expensively refurbished Drury Lane is a “ravishing” home for it. But the film’s “weak story” and gaping “plot holes” have not been resolved. “A frozen brain can be cured but not a frozen heart, you say? Elsa is immensely powerful but easily captured?” Sorry, Frozen still doesn’t stack up dramatically. “Let it go? I probably could.”
On stage, Frozen “gains in potency from the live connection between actors and audience” – but you also become more aware of the original’s failings, agreed Sarah Hemming in the FT. There are “several underused ideas, characters and plot lines” – and though the story touches on “significant themes, such as loneliness, self-doubt and gender expectations”, it fails to dig into them. But “most o
-
Political cartoons for February 16Cartoons Monday’s political cartoons include President's Day, a valentine from the Epstein files, and more
-
Regent Hong Kong: a tranquil haven with a prime waterfront spotThe Week Recommends The trendy hotel recently underwent an extensive two-year revamp
-
The problem with diagnosing profound autismThe Explainer Experts are reconsidering the idea of autism as a spectrum, which could impact diagnoses and policy making for the condition
-
A thrilling foodie city in northern JapanThe Week Recommends The food scene here is ‘unspoilt’ and ‘fun’
-
Tourangelle-style pork with prunes recipeThe Week Recommends This traditional, rustic dish is a French classic
-
Samurai: a ‘blockbuster’ display of Japan’s legendary warriorsThe Week Recommends British Museum show offers a ‘scintillating journey’ through ‘a world of gore, power and artistic beauty’
-
BMW iX3: a ‘revolution’ for the German car brandThe Week Recommends The electric SUV promises a ‘great balance between ride comfort and driving fun’
-
Arcadia: Tom Stoppard’s ‘masterpiece’ makes a ‘triumphant’ returnThe Week Recommends Carrie Cracknell’s revival at the Old Vic ‘grips like a thriller’
-
My Father’s Shadow: a ‘magically nimble’ love letter to LagosThe Week Recommends Akinola Davies Jr’s touching and ‘tender’ tale of two brothers in 1990s Nigeria
-
Send Help: Sam Raimi’s ‘compelling’ plane-crash survival thrillerThe Week Recommends Rachel McAdams stars as an office worker who gets stranded on a desert island with her boss
-
Book reviews: ‘Hated by All the Right People: Tucker Carlson and the Unraveling of the Conservative Mind’ and ‘Football’Feature A right-wing pundit’s transformations and a closer look at one of America’s favorite sports
