The production will open in August 2021 at Theatre Royal Drury Lane, following an extensive two-year refurbishment
Disney Theatrical Productions today announces that Frozen is back on sale to the public, opening at the newly refurbished Theatre Royal Drury Lane on 8 September 2021, with previews from 27 August, and is now booking until 3 April 2022. With music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and book by Jennifer Lee, Frozen is directed by Michael Grandage. The full cast for the production is Samantha Barks (Elsa), Stephanie McKeon (Anna), Obioma Ugoala (Kristoff), Craig Gallivan (Olaf), Oliver Ormson (Hans), Richard Frame (Weselton), and alternating the role of Sven, Mikayla Jade and Ashley Birchall; with Jeremy Batt, Cameron Burt, Lauren Chia, Laura Emmitt, Emily-Mae (Bulda), Hannah Fairclough, Danielle Fiamanya, Chris Fung, Matt Gillett, Joe Griffiths-Brown, Emily Lane, Justin-Lee Jones, Jason Leigh Winter, Jacob Maynard, Leisha Mollyneaux, Gabriel Mokake (King Agnarr), Sarah O’Connor, Jemma Revell, Joshua St. Clair (Pabbie), Jacqui Sanchez (Queen Iduna), Jak Skelly (Oaken/Bishop), Jake Small, Kerry Spark, Isabel Snaas, Monica Swayne, and Anna Woodside.
Frozen – produced by Disney Theatrical Productions under the direction of Thomas Schumacher – opened on Broadway in March 2018 to box office records, and three Tony Award® nominations including for Best Musical. 2021 will see five productions of Frozen opening around the world. In addition to the opening in London, the musical recently opened in Australia, and new productions will open in Japan and Germany this year, as well as seeing the return of the North American tour.
Frozen was released in cinemas in 2013, winning multiple awards, including two Academy Awards® for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (“Let It Go”), the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film and the BAFTA for Best Animated Film. It was written and directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Frozen 2, which debuted in November 2019 is the highest grossing animated film of all time.
In the first booking period, Frozen has scheduled the following access performances – Signed Performance (Sunday 5 December, 1pm matinee), Relaxed Performance (Sunday 19 December 12.30pm matinee), Audio Described Performance (Sunday 23 January 2022 1pm matinee) and Captioned Performance (Sunday 30 January 2022 at 5.30pm).
Samantha Barks plays Elsa. For theatre, her work includes Chess (Umeda Arts Theater Main Hall / Tokyo International Forum Hall), Pretty Woman (Chicago and Broadway), The Last Five Years (St James Theatre), Amelie (Berkley Rep), City of Angels (Donmar Warehouse), Chicago (Hollywood Bowl), Oliver! (UK tour), Les Misérables (Queen’s Theatre), and Cabaret (Birmingham Rep). She was one of the participants on the BBC series I’d Do Anything. For film, her credits include Chocolate Cake, For Love or Money, Bitter Harvest, The Revenger, Interlude in Prague, The Devil’s Harvest, The Christmas Candle and as Eponine in Les Misérables (recipient of Empire Award for Best Female Newcomer; and nomination for Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture). She also reprised her performance as Eponine for Les Misérables in Concert: The 25th Anniversary.
Stephanie McKeon plays Anna. For theatre, her work includes Beautiful – The Carole King Musical (Aldwych Theatre), Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Close to You: Bacharach Reimagined (Criterion Theatre and Menier Chocolate Factory), and The Commitments (Palace Theatre). Her screen work includes, for television, Fair City – as series regular Aisling O’Brien; and as the voice of Asuka in the Netflix English-dubbed version of the critically acclaimed Japanese Anime series/films Neon Genesis: Evangelion.
Obioma Ugoala plays Kristoff. For theatre, his work includes The Lost Love Speakeasy (The Lost Estate), Much Ado About Nothing (New English Shakespeare Company), Hamilton (Victoria Palace Theatre), Motown (Shaftesbury Theatre), Henry V, The Mouse and His Child (RSC), Holy Warriors, Antony and Cleopatra (Shakespeare’s Globe), The Jungle Book, Crime and Punishment (Glasgow Citizens Theatre) and The Physicists (Donmar Warehouse). For television, Miracle Workers: Dark Ages; and for film, Beauty and the Beast.
Craig Gallivan plays Olaf. For theatre his work includes School of Rock (New London Theatre), Billy Elliot (Victoria Palace Theatre), Crime and Punishment (National Theatre), Days of Significance (RSC), The Long, The Short and The Tall (Sheffield Theatres), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Oliver! (UK tours). For television, his work includes Stella (as series regular Luke), Torchwood, Footballer’s Wives (as series regular Callum Watson) and Care; and for film, The Edge of Love.
Oliver Ormson plays Hans. For theatre, his work includes Back to the Future The Musical (Opera House Manchester), High Fidelity (Turbine Theatre), Cats (Kilworth House), Nerds, Protagonists (The Other Palace), The Addams Family (UK and international tours), The Book of Mormon (Prince of Wales Theatre), Sopranos vs Tenors (European tour), and Hairspray (Aberystwyth Arts Centre). Television includes West Side Story (Reef Television/BBC Symphony Orchestra).
Richard Frame plays Weselton. For theatre, his work includes The Lion King (as Timon from 2013 to 2018, Lyceum Theatre), Blue Remembered Hills (Theatre on the Fly), Pocket Comedy (UK tour), Richard III, The Comedy of Errors (The Watermill Theatre), London Assurance (National Theatre), A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice (Propeller), Absolute Beginners (Lyric Hammersmith), Promises, Promises (Sheffield Theatres), Love’s Labour’s Lost and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre). For television, his work includes Outnumbered, The Hollow Crown – Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Family Affairs (as series regular Damian), Wire in the Blood, Hearts and Bones, and Hope and Glory; and for film London Road.
Mikayla Jade makes her professional stage and West End debut playing Sven. Originally from Australia, she is an actress and stuntwoman. For film, her work includes Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, The Old Guard and Wonder Woman 1984.
Ashley Birchall plays Sven. For theatre, his work includes Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Oklahoma! (Kilworth House), Wicked (Apollo Victoria Theatre), Pet Shop Boys: Inner Sanctum (Royal Opera House), Tommy (Greenwich Theatre), Starlight Express (Germany), We Will Rock You (Dominion Theatre). For film, his work includes Mary Poppins Returns.
DISNEY THEATRICAL PRODUCTIONS (DTP) operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher bringing live entertainment events to a global audience of more than 20 million people a year in more than 50 countries. Upcoming re-openings in London: The Lion King, which celebrated its 20th anniversary at The Lyceum in October 2019, and Mary Poppins at the Prince Edward Theatre. Other London credits: Aladdin, the Olivier-nominated play Shakespeare in Love and DTP’s inaugural production Beauty and the Beast, which won the Olivier Award for Best Musical. Other productions on Broadway and around the world: Frozen, Aladdin, Newsies, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, TARZAN®, Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida and Beauty and the Beast. Other successful stage musical ventures have included productions of Disney’s High School Musical, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame in Berlin, and King David in concert.
Worldwide, its ten Broadway titles have been seen by over 200 million theatregoers, and have been nominated for 20 Olivier Awards, winning the honour five times. When performances resume worldwide following the Covid-19 pandemic, Disney Theatrical Productions’ slate of 20 produced or licensed productions will mean a Disney musical is being performed professionally somewhere on the planet virtually every hour of the day.
THEATRE RYAL DRURY LANE
After two years, LW Theatres’ £60 million restoration of Theatre Royal Drury Lane, affectionately known as The Lane, is nearly complete. With one of London’s greatest auditoriums at its heart, The Lane has been reimagined to offer all-day hospitality, entertainment, guided tours, as well as world-class, unrivalled theatre formats. The Lane will be a space for everyone, not just those headed to a show. After one of the most challenging periods in theatre history, The Lane will represent the beating heart of Covent Garden, revitalising central London post lockdown and for decades to come.