Broadway musical 'Frozen' opens in Columbus July 26. Here's what to expect

“Frozen” warms up a classic wintry fable with modern themes of sisterhood and self-acceptance.

PNC Broadway in Columbus and the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) will present the national tour of the Disney musical, opening Wednesday for a two-week run at the Ohio Theatre.

“If you like fairy tales, the opulence of princesses, castles, magic, true love and everything that comes with a fairy tale, then you won’t be disappointed,” composer-lyricist Kristen Anderson-Lopez said.

“But ‘Frozen’ has plenty of modern twists to add,” said composer-lyricist Robert Lopez, Kristen’s husband and songwriting partner.

After writing songs for Disney’s 2013 animated film about royal sisters separated in an imperiled kingdom, the Lopezes worked with author Jennifer Lee to adapt the film for the stage.

“Fairy tales are about true love, which is always romantic love. This story is about the conflicting emotions of love versus fear,” Lopez said.

“The reveal in ‘Frozen’ is that the true love that saves the day is the love of family, the love between sisters,” he said.

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Who is Elsa?

Caroline Bowman plays Elsa, a princess in Arendelle.

“Nobody understands her,” Bowman said.

“She’s a young woman in a royal family with a lot of expectations set on her, who happens to be born with magical powers that make her different from the rest of the world,” she said.

At the story’s heart is the relationship between Elsa and her younger sister, Anna. When Elsa inadvertently unleashes powers that trap their kingdom in eternal winter, Anna joins forces with iceman Kristoff, his reindeer Sven and a talking snowman named Olaf to find and save Elsa.

“Elsa needs her sister to survive. She ultimately wants a relationship with Anna, but doesn’t know how to have it safely. ... She was never taught that her power could be something good,” Bowman said.

How do the songs enhance the story?

After writing eight songs for the film, the Lopezes wrote an additional 12 songs for the effects-filled two-act stage version.

“In modern musicals, the music needs to stand in for the emotions,” said Lopez, a three-time Tony-winner for “Avenue Q” (best score) and “The Book of Mormon” (best score and book).

“The hardest part is finding the through line and emotions that change you. Every musical has to have that transformative feeling,” he said.

They drew upon the pop sounds of Adele, Tori Amos, Kelly Clarkson and Melissa Etheridge to evoke Elsa’s power.

“We leaned into that for ‘Let It Go’... the seed from which most of the score developed,” Lopez said.

The Oscar-winning song became the re-orchestrated first-act finale.

“’Let It Go’ came from our realization that Elsa isn’t a petulant troublemaker. As the first-born, she felt pressure to please her parents, but imagines what it would be like to live her life without that pressure while still having magical powers,” Lopez said.

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How was the fable reimagined?

The film and musical are loosely based on “The Snow Queen,” Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 fable about good and evil in an icy kingdom.

“The fable was our jumping-off point. ... Andersen’s story is evocative and inspiring,” Lopez said.

“Walt Disney, in the 1940s, was curious to (adapt) it, but that didn’t happen until ... after the new millennium. Many different approaches were explored before we came on,” he said.

Reimagining Elsa proved pivotal.

“Putting our heads together, we started to take a view that Elsa was hiding and misunderstood,” Lopez said.

“We took inspiration from winter and the icy setting, but the story went wildly in a different direction. ... In the end, we realized this is not a villain story. Elsa is more of a flawed character with a secret life,” he said.

The result: a coming-of-age saga about divided sisters.

“Two women discovering their power generates a powerful alchemy. This was a story that people hadn’t heard and needed to hear,” Lopez said.

How did the musical do compared to the film?

A box-office record-breaker, “Frozen” was hailed as Disney’s best animated film since its renaissance era (1989-1999), and became the studio’s first Oscar-winner for Best Animated Feature.

The stage version sparked more mixed responses.

Nominated for only three 2018 Tony awards (for best musical, book and score), “Frozen” had a brief 2018-2020 run before Broadway shut down amid the pandemic. Afterwards, Disney chose not to reopen the production.

In his New York Times review, critic Jesse Green praised some new songs as “lovely,” and hailed Lee’s “attention to girls as active characters regardless of men,” but faulted the failure to fully integrate the show’s “somber” and “silly” elements.

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How does Bowman connect to her role?

For her part, Bowman appreciates how different “Frozen” is from most musicals.

“So many stories are told over and over about how a man saves a woman. In this story, women uplift other women. Elsa and Anna learn their greatest power is each other,” she said.

Bowman identifies with Elsa, having lost her older sister Meghan to a heart condition.

“Meghan is a big part of my story ... and my performance is dedicated to her. That loss in my childhood opened up this whole new door for me to connect very spiritually and emotionally through this story,” Bowman said.

What are Bowman's favorite moments?

Touring in 2019, Bowman proudly introduced “I Can’t Lose You,” a song later added to productions worldwide.

“It’s finally a moment between Anna and Elsa alone onstage. This sweeping duet is their moment together,” she said.

For Bowman, even after more than 700 performances, “Let It Go” is special.

“Elsa starts to realize all the possibilities of what it is to be alone. She can literally let it go and be free. It’s so invigorating, because everyone has things holding them back that they need to release,” she said.

Bowman often notices theatergoers sobbing during the song.

“For many people, it’s beyond Disney magic. To them, it’s real,” she said. “People want to be accepted for who they are.”

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At a glance

PNC Broadway in Columbus and CAPA will present “Frozen” at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays; and 1 and 6:30 p.m. Sundays from July 16 through Aug. 6. Additionally, there will be a 1 p.m. showing on July 27, and a 7:30 p.m. showing on Aug. 1. All performances will take place at the Ohio Theatre, 39 E. State St. Tickets start at $30.50. (cbusarts.com)

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Broadway in Columbus presents 'Frozen' musical at Ohio Theatre