'Disney's Frozen Jr.' brings heart-warming winter tale to Scottdale stage
Dec. 6—Since the movie "Frozen" was released in 2013, it's become a favorite tale for people of all ages — and one that's been on the "must-do" list for the Geyer Performing Arts Center in Scottdale.
Circumstances have finally converged, and the winter wonderland of "Disney's Frozen Jr." will take over the stage from Thursday through Sunday.
"We've wanted to do for a while and we wanted to bring it around the holidays," said director David DeFazio. "It's incredibly popular, and the timing just worked out this year."
The story follows Princess Anna in her quest to save her kingdom from the icy grip of a perpetual winter, because of a spell cast by her sister, the Snow Queen Elsa.
She enlists the help of a mountaineer named Kristoff, his reindeer sidekick Sven and the eternally optimistic snowman, Olaf.
"The one thing I totally love about the show is the characters," DeFazio said. "They're very endearing and very relatable, and they appeal to all ages.
"Certainly everyone loves Olaf the snowman," he said. "With the Elsa and Anna characters, everyone can relate to their situations and the things they go through, their periods of joy and their periods of loneliness and sadness.
"It's sort of a coming of age story, and we all tend to like those — and it has a happy ending."
The cast includes more than 50 young people, ages 5 to 17, from Westmoreland and Fayette counties.
"We've worked really hard with all the actors to figure out their strengths and what we could have them learn in a short period of time," DeFazio said. "The older actors are carrying the lead roles and have a lot of the vocal solos, but they've all learned something and have really grown."
The role of Anna is played by Sophia Kochis, an eighth grader at Connellsville Area Middle School. She has been active in area musical theater since performing as Lavender in "Matilda" at the Geyer in 2019. She has danced with Kids and Company of Connellsville since the age of 3 and also plays the piano.
Briana Pologruto, a Southmoreland High School sophomore, plays Elsa. She is a member of the marching band, pep band, Highlander Choir and Tri-M Music Honors Society. She is a veteran of musical productions at the Geyer and at her school.
Olaf is played by Jesse Dermotta, an eighth grader at Yough Intermediate Middle School. A multi-sport athlete, she also takes voice and piano lessons. While this is her first performance at the Geyer, she has performed in school musicals and with Stage Right.
"We've brought students from all across Westmoreland and Fayette counties together to showcase all these different talents from this big area," DeFazio said. "It's been really nice that the kids have made new friends and strengthened friendships with others they maybe already knew but don't get to see all the time.
"It's truly like a little family we've developed over the past two months," he said.
The production team includes Deanna DeFazio, stage manager; Jane Staranko, music director; Chris Schaffer, technical director; and Kellie Wilson, choreographer.
Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets are $15, available at 724-887-0887 or geyerpac.com.
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley by email at smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .
