Frozen JR.
Some people are worth melting for.
-Olaf
Lamar School’s production of Frozen JR. was an outstanding success! The scenery was beautiful, featuring hand-made snowflakes from the 7th and 8th grade art classes, and a debut projector machine that added motion and depth to the nearly unrecognizable stage. The show started with the cutest young Anna and Elsa you have ever seen, played by Mia Gray and Peyton Aull, respectively. One of the most eye-catching aspects of the show was the pure love for stage evident on everyone’s faces, from the sneaky smile on the trolls’ faces as they seriously predict Elsa’s fate to Anna’s (Mindy Toner) bright eyes when she looks at the audience and says, “Hang in there, Joan.”
The show features songs not in the musical such as “Dangerous to Dream,” Eliza Collins and my favorite song. Eliza (Sven) says, “‘Dangerous to Dream’ is amazing!” The song had Elsa (Lucy Van Veckhoven) and Anna (Ella Coleman) singing such beautiful harmonies you would have never known that Ella Coleman had laryngitis and that Mr. Tim was reading all her lines for her just one day before Opening Night.
Another song that practically brought the house down was “Love is an Open Door,” especially when Cooper Ransier, playing Hans, and Ella, did the “shoot” and the “floss.” One of the most artistic aspects of the show occurred when Elsa used her powers, and snowflakes (Sellers Breaux, Madeline Clayton, Anna Grace Terry, Mailande Wilson, Maddie Grace Wilson, Molly Topping, Kayla Williams, and Peyton Aull) would come out and dance, reflecting Elsa’s current mood. Some snowflakes even had light-up costumes that shone when Elsa transformed during “Let it Go.” It was iconic.
Layla Soriano was amazing as Olaf, and sounded shockingly similar to the movie. All the snowflakes came out again as beach girls sang and danced with Olaf in the song “In Summer,” choreographed by 11th grade student Jordan Jones. It was so funny and cute! Of course, we can’t forget “Hygge,” another song not included in the movie, but so silly and entertaining. I had no idea Lamar boasted such talented dancers! There were kicklines and the Russian Squat Dance in “Hygge,” not to mention, Samuel Hosch’s back handsprings in the song “Fixer Upper.”
It may have just been the cafetorium draft, but I got chills when all the children grouped together to take their final bow. My favorite part of the whole show was after the curtain closed–-you could hear the shouts and scrambles of joy, kids hugging each other, and some even crying.
Of course, none of the show could have been possible without the support of the parents and the wonderful direction of Michelle Pasha and Tim Wise. In fact, when I talked to Mrs. Pasha after the dress rehearsal before the show, the first thing she said was, “I’m really tired,” and then she said, “I am so appreciative to the fabulous support and help from the parents in putting this all together. There’s no way I could do this without them.” Mr. Wise says that the show was, “a great collaboration of artistic endeavors among a wide range of grades and age groups.” “Yet another milestone for Lamar Performing Arts,” Tanner Goldman, the choreographer added. Aside from the makeup and lights, some of the most important merits of doing any show are the friendships and bonds made behind the scenes. When I asked Eliza Collins if she had made any new friends she said, “Heck yes! I made a lot of friends!” Lucy Simmons says her favorite part of the show was “when I get to be happy as a troll. I don’t like when I have to be serious,” and Mandy says her favorite thing about the play is that she “gets to play someone else for a few days, and you get a free t-shirt.” T-shirts notwithstanding, the rewards of the show were plentiful—both for the actors on stage and the mesmerized audiences cheering them on through all four performances.