Disney's animated movie "Frozen" was released in 2013 and became a worldwide hit. The Disney musical "Frozen" by Shiki Theatre Company is a musical version of the masterpiece. Its performance in Tokyo began on June 24, 2021 at "JR-EAST Shiki Theatre HARU" in Takeshiba, Minato-ku. It is the seventh collaboration between Shiki Theatre Company and Disney, which has produced hits such as "Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King," and "Aladdin." We will introduce the highlights of the musical version of "Frozen," which has already been the talk of the town!

"Frozen" by Shiki Theatre Company will be performed at "JR-EAST Shiki Theatre HARU" that is in "WATERS takeshiba" which opened last year in Takeshiba, Minato-ku, Tokyo. It is a new theater of Shiki Theatre Company, carrying on the torch of the old Shiki Theatre, which attracted popularity in Takeshiba for 19 years from 1998 to 2017.

The closest stations to "JR-EAST Shiki Theatre HARU" are JR Hamamatsucho Station, Toei Subway Daimon Station, and Yurikamome Takeshiba Station. It is a large theater that has about 1,500 audience seats, which is the largest number among the theaters dedicated to Shiki Theatre Company (the number varies depending on the performance). After you pass through the stately lobby with red carpet, you will see the compactly designed audience area, where it is about 25 meters from the stage to the last row. It creates an environment with outstanding presence where every person in any seat can feel close to the stage.

"Frozen" was originally scheduled to open in September last year as the first performance of the new theater, but it was postponed due to the spread of the infectious disease. Nine months after the originally scheduled date, it will finally celebrate its long-awaited opening on June 24th.

This musical is based on Disney's feature-length animation "Frozen" released in 2013 (released in Japan in 2014). Disney restructured "The Snow Queen" by Andersen, the representative fairy tale writer of Denmark, to create the movie. The story revolves around Elsa and Anna, the princesses of the Kingdom of Arendelle. In the stage version, more delicate emotional depictions are added to these two characters, which gives a great deal of depth to the story.

Elsa, who possesses magical powers to control ice and snow, accidentally hits her sister Anna with her magic one night as a child, and locks herself in her room ever since. A few years later, the king and queen pass away, and Elsa gets crowned queen. Elsa and Anna enjoy a conversation at the coronation. However, they get into a quarrel over trifles, and the emotional strain causes Elsa to unleash her powers all around the hall of the castle. Elsa runs out of the castle, and Anna also leaves the castle following her...

Of course the unique characters popular in the movie also appear, such as Hans of the Southern Isles who Anna falls in love with, Kristoff the iceman, and Olaf the snowman. You won't be able to stop being excited seeing them living on the stage!

The Disney musical "Frozen" premiered on Broadway in the United States in March 2018, and started its U.S. tour in November 2019. The performance in Sydney, Australia began in December last year. It has been decided to play in London, England and Hamburg, Germany as well moving forward. The performance of Shiki Theatre Company is the latest version unique to Japan, which has been further refined by fusing the premiere version of Broadway with the latest production version. Now, we will introduce the specific points of what is amazing about the performance.

Elsa is calm and cautious, while Anna is active and energetic. "Frozen" strikes your heart with the love between the two sisters with opposite personalities, as well as the bonds and affection between all characters. For the musical, Jennifer Lee, who was the director and screenwriter of the movie, carefully redrew the characters and their emotions, and the relationships between the characters are expressed more delicately, which "deepens" it into a more profound drama. In addition, director Michael Grandage portrayed Elsa just as she is as a woman living in the modern world for the stage version. Through the various mixed emotions such as love, friendship, loneliness, sacrifice, and anguish, it has been "widened" to evolve into a story that can be sympathized with by a wider range of generations in the theater. It will fascinate the audience with its "deeper" and "wider" depictions.

A lot of music deeply linked to the story is also one of the charms of "Frozen". In particular, "Let It Go" has become a legendary song that set a trend all over the world. As with the animated movie, the music for the musical was produced by husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. In addition to the familiar songs from the movie, such as "Let It Go," "For The First Time In Forever," and "Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?," more than 10 new songs have been added to the musical. It has a lot of songs that you definitely want to hear sung live, such as "Monster" in which Elsa sings out her own conflict, and "I Can't Lose You" sung by Elsa and Anna.

The story of "Frozen" progresses almost entirely in the world of ice and snow. The magic of ice unleashed by Elsa is also one of the dynamic highlights. In the musical, a creative team led by director Michael Grandage portrays realistic snow and ice in a variety of ways to create the atmosphere of the world. The ice and snow change the look and color the stage, being soft in fun scenes, and stern in harsh scenes. Furthermore, the cutting-edge projection mapping and LED panels are used to create the world of shining ice. You will see the magic of ice unleashed throughout the stage.

The Disney musical "Frozen" by Shiki Theatre Company opened at "JR-EAST Shiki Theatre HARU" in Takeshiba, Minato-ku. The excitement of the world of ice and snow at the new theater will surely be irreplaceable. When you come to the theater, we recommend you to visit the new spots of Takeshiba, which is one of the areas that is being reborn in Minato-ku.

Disney musical "Frozen" performances in Tokyo
Venue: NOMURA Nomura Securities Musical Theatre/JR-EAST Shiki Theatre HARU (1-10-45 Kaigan, Minato-ku, Tokyo)
Schedule: Premieres on June 24th (Thu.), scheduled for a long run
Please check SHIKI ON-LINE TICKET (https://www.shiki.jp/tickets/) for ticket information, prices, reservation procedures, etc.
Contact: 0570-008-110 (Shiki Navi Dial)

Pictures: Akihito Abe, Atsutoshi Shimosaka