Stage review: Disney’s ‘Frozen’ at the FICA is enjoyable for all ages

I’ve never been much of a princess fan, so Disney’s “Frozen,” while funny and cute, hasn’t made it to the top of my favorite Disney films. However, that didn’t stop me from wanting to join my stepson in viewing the Broadway adaptation of the Elsa and Anna tale.

Disney’s “Frozen” has been brought to life for more than a week by Spokane’s Best of Broadway at the First Interstate Center for the Arts, and there are just a few showings left this weekend.

If you’re an adult on the fence about this stage hit, I’d say hop over and come build a snowman: this one is fun, and the singers have range, especially the Queen of Arendelle.

As Broadway performers of “Wicked” understand, it’s hard to be compared to Idina Menzel, but Caroline Bowman held her own as Elsa. Bowman’s last show on the national tour came Sunday night, as the tour continues another five weeks. Lauren Nicole Chapman, being part of the original Broadway cast in 2017, has long played Anna, and her comfort in the role is obvious.

The most impressive part of the musical for me, however, was not the songs or (wildly intricate) sets or the dancing. It was non-human characters on stage.

Sven, played by Collin Baja, is mind-blowing. The sidekick of Kristoff (Reese Britts) is a reindeer, taller and longer than most of the humans on stage and covered in braided raw silk to look like fur. Baja’s animal-like movements are so life-like, I spent most of the show wondering how a human could move in that way. After curtain, I rushed to Google to learn how the physically taxing role comes to life.

The performer inside the costume is on all fours, essentially planking for up to seven minutes at a time, the New York Times reported, with 11-inch stilts attached to his hands, and 5-inch metal shanks attached to his feet.

Underneath, the performer wears a full-body wicking suit, a carbon-fiber head mount held in place by a soft urethane skin, knee and elbow pads, biking gloves and a mouth guard, the Times reported.

Sven’s head pivots by a linkage system connected to the performer’s head and body; the weight of his head is cantilevered away from the performer’s neck by a custom orthopedic back brace, the Times continued.

“A cable connects the performer’s right hand to Sven’s eyes, to make the animal blink; another connects his left hand to Sven’s ears, which generally swing freely but can also be rotated or pulled back to express excitement or happiness. The mouth moves only when another character (Kristoff or Anna) rubs his throat,” reporter Michael Paulson wrote.

I never thought a non-speaking role would become my favorite character on a stage.

In contrast, Olaf, who is quite the talker, was another stage-stealer. Actor Jeremy Davis somehow had the skill to have stage presence and invisibility at the same time. Davis’ costume and face paint made him blend into the tall snowman puppet in front of him, which he controlled to somehow blink, sing and shake his snow butt at the same time. The puppet’s expressions and movements conveyed emotions and humor just as well as the Broadway actors. Plus, Olaf (and Oaken’s “Hygge” scene) provides some mild adult humor that make parents feel as if they have an inside joke with the cast.

Overall, audiences will leave smiling, impressed and, as for me, surprisingly humming top ”Frozen” adaptation hits days later.