Middle School Students Warm Hearts With Magical Frozen Jr. Performances

Frozen Jr., a condensed, hour-long version of the Broadway musical Frozen, is based on the 2013 movie: the story of Princess Anna’s journey to end the sudden winter set off by her sister, Queen Elsa, in the fictional Nordic kingdom of Arendelle.

Snowflakes adorned the door of the Black Box, immediately welcoming audience members into the wintry landscape of the story. The cast of 17 students included three actors playing Elsa and three playing Anna, each representing the characters at different ages in the narrative: Alma Peña ’31 and Andersen Leggett ’31 played younger versions of Elsa, Charlotte Hardgrave ’30 and Alice Finn ’31 played younger versions of Anna, and Diana Lee ’30 and Maggie Tompros ’30 played Elsa and Anna in the present, respectively.

Each cast member played more than one role in the production (the actor you saw as a townsperson in the last scene might be part of the snow chorus in the next), buoyed by creative costumes from costume and props designer Cathy Favreau P’22 and by backstage support from Upper School students.

Frozen Jr. features classic songs from the movie, such as “Do You Want to Build a Snowman,” “Love Is an Open Door,” and, of course, “Let It Go”—but also additional songs from the Broadway adaptation, such as “Hygge.” Tompros described the latter—the lyrics of which proclaim, “Hygge means comfortable, hygge means cozy, hygge means sitting by the fire with your cheeks all rosy”—as one of the most elaborate dance numbers of the show and one of her favorites to perform.

“I am not the most confident in my dancing ability, but as we worked on this number, I grew to be both a stronger dancer and more open to expanding my skills overall,” she said. “I also had so much fun making connections with the rest of the people in the number,” she added, giving a shout-out to her scene partner, Grace Mitrokostas ’30.

James Ge ’30 played Kristoff, the ice salesman who joins Anna on her journey, and said that his favorite part of playing his character was using humor. “I personally love making people smile and laugh,” he said. “Hearing the audience laugh during certain lines or songs made me feel like I was truly entertaining them.”

Leighton Giangrasso ’30 and Evelyn Paulsrud ’31 also brought the laughs as Olaf the snowman and Sven the reindeer. Giangrasso commented that even on the page, her character, Olaf, is ridiculous—a walking, talking snow creation—and she enjoyed amping up the drama and comedy even further in her performance. The scene when Anna, Kristoff, and Sven first come across the clueless snowman is her favorite. “The way that scene is written gives so much room for comedy,” she said.

“When we finally performed the show for the first time, in front of the middle schoolers, it felt like the beginning of something really special,” Ge reflected. Auster-Hogan noted that it was meaningful for the run to start with two community performances during the school day—students were able to perform for their peers and teachers, who may never have heard them sing before. Paige Lyons ’30, who played Prince Hans, added, “I love the feeling after your first show. You feel like the weight of your nervousness just magically disappears.”

“Watching the students come together through rehearsals, support each other, grow in confidence, and light up the stage is what makes it all worth it,” Bower said. “I’m so grateful to have been part of pulling this production together.” 

He added that collaborating with his faculty colleagues behind the scenes inspires him. “We’ve been working together as a team for a long time, and there’s something incredibly special about that kind of creative partnership,” he said. Collaboration was also important for the cast: “I felt that the inside jokes and bonding we shared in the entire process really brought us together as a cast and made us really sync onstage,” Tompros reflected. 

“The moments that often stand out for me each year aren’t always the ones that the audience sees,” said DeVore. “It’s watching new friendships form during the pre-show dinners, the musical medley sing-alongs before rehearsals, the way the students support and encourage one another backstage, and witnessing their performances and characters grow over the rehearsal process.” 

Other than “Hygge,” Tompros’ favorite song to perform was the finale. “What I loved about playing Anna was both how she has a fun, bubbly personality, but also how much character development she undergoes throughout the show,” she explained. Tompros felt like she got to bring Anna’s character development to a close when the whole cast came together to perform the finale. “I found that getting to say a final goodbye to my castmates and to the audience was such a moving experience, especially on closing night,” she concluded.

Cast
Young Elsa: Alma Peña ’31
Middle Elsa: Andersen Leggett ’31
Elsa: Diana Lee ’30
Young Anna: Charlotte Hardgrave ’30
Middle Anna: Alice Finn ’31
Anna: Maggie Tompros ’30
Kristoff: James Ge ’30
Sven: Evelyn Paulsrud ’31
Olaf: Leighton Giangrasso ’30
Hans: Paige Lyons ’30 
Queen Iduna: Ann Gloria Jean ’30
King Agnarr: Alyssa Kim ’30
Bishop: Saya Shah ’31
Weselton: Miles Poindexter ’29
Pabbie: Suzy Jolig ’30
Bulda: Grace Mitrokostas ’30
Oaken: Rachel Almer ’30

Ensembles
Townspeople: Rachel Almer ’30, Alice Finn ’31, James Ge ’30, Leighton Giangrasso ’30, Charlotte Hardgrave ’30, Suzy Jolig ’30, Diana Lee ’30, Andersen Leggett ’31, Paige Lyons ’30, Grace Mitrokostas ’30, Evelyn Paulsrud ’31, Miles Poindexter ’29, Saya Shah ’31, Maggie Tompros ’30

Castle Staff: Rachel Almer ’30, Leighton Giangrasso ’30, Charlotte Hardgrave ’30, Suzy Jolig ’30, Grace Mitrokostas ’30, Alma Peña ’31

Snow Chorus: Alice Finn ’31, Leighton Giangrasso ’30, Alyssa Kim ’30, Diana Lee ’30, Andersen Leggett ’31, Evelyn Paulsrud ’31, Alma Peña ’31, Miles Poindexter ’29, Maggie Tompros ’30

Hidden Folk: Rachel Almer ’30, Ann Gloria Jean ’30, Suzy Jolig ’30, Paige Lyons ’30, Grace Mitrokostas ’30

Summer Chorus: Rachel Almer ’30, Alice Finn ’31, Charlotte Hardgrave ’30, Ann Gloria Jean ’30, Suzy Jolig ’30, Alyssa Kim ’30, Andersen Leggett ’31, Paige Lyons ’30, Grace Mitrokostas ’30, Alma Peña ’31, Miles Poindexter ’29, Saya Shah ’31

Wandering Oaken: Ann Gloria Jean ’30, Suzy Jolig ’30, Paige Lyons ’30, Grace Mitrokostas ’30

Production Team
Director: Diane DeVore P’22
Music director: John Bower P’31
Costumes and props: Cathy Favreau P’22
Choreographer: Kathy Encarnacao
Producer: Julia Auster-Hogan ’06
Set design: Derek Epstein, Chris Love
Light design: Chris Fournier
Sound board operator: Andrew Woods, Mark Deluzio (Mockingbird Sound)
Costume crew: Char Kloman ’25, Holly Minogue ’25