There has never been so much glitter
Kristoff (Benet Monteiro) and his reindeer Sven
Source: Johan Persson
Sabrina Weckerlin and Celina Pieper as Elsa and Anna are the musical’s new dream couple. Disney’s “The Ice Queen” celebrated its German-language premiere in the Hamburg Stage Theater on the Elbe.
LThe snow is trickling ice – and because the flakes in the hall of the Stage Theater on the Elbe are made of paper, even at higher temperatures it stays near the melted audience’s hearts, on hair and shoulders, on arms and clothes. While it is snowing, Sabrina Weckerlin as Elsa and Celena Pieper as her little sister Anna shine like stars on the stage after the premiere of Disney’s “Frozen”. After the German-language premiere, the two are the new dream couple of the musical fairy tale worlds.
Keeping a close eye on social climate change
With their strong vocal and acting performance, the experienced actress Weckerlin and the leading role debutante Pieper crowned a sizzling, exciting, crystal-clear production by director Adrian Sarple that has a lasting harmonizing effect with a view to societal climate change. In addition to a strong ensemble, he was supported by a nine-member live band under the direction of Aday Rodriguez Toledo.
There was also a fantastic, state-of-the-art backdrop that made magical moments seem believable – including ice storms and vaulted gardens, transformations via video wall and magical moments. There has never been as much glitter on the stage as in Elsa’s Ice Palace. After the long period of Corona restrictions, the enthusiastic applause in the hall, which was fully occupied for the first time, seemed almost unreal. The game was played according to the new 2G rules. The German translation was consistently successful, the lyrics of the songs benefited from the German version of the most successful animated film in the world, Disney’s “Frozen” – as far as they appeared in the film, because there was significantly more singing on stage and the musical program expanded.
The dark side of power is cold to work
That evening, only Elsa had to be in quarantine, sorry, isolation. After all, as a child she could not control her uncanny, magical abilities, so she endangered the life of her sister Anna when she tossed around with cold. The play opens with an accident scene in the castle with the princesses in childhood (sweeping and lovable: the children Isabella as Elsa and Anastasia as Anna) and subsequent miraculous healing by a troll-like people living in secret. The fear of Elsa’s strength leads the royal parents to separate their daughters, who actually only wanted to build a snowman together.
The ensemble on the evening of the premiere
What: Daniel Reinhardt
After the accidental death of their parents – which was dealt with quickly – the orphaned sisters are left to their own devices and do not see each other again until the coronation celebrations. Elsa’s shock freeze potential has grown tremendously. Anna’s naivete, which leads to her getting engaged to the first prince who crosses her path, shocks Elsa. She refuses to give her blessing to the union with Hans from the south (ice-cold, charming, lying tenor: Milan van Waardenburg). During the sister quarrel that followed, Elsa first slipped her hand out (from the glove) and then out (to the palace portal), which led to acute frost damage. The scheming Duke von Pitzbühl (brilliantly nasty: Eric Minsk) senses a chance to take power and insults Elsa as a “monster”. She then flees into the mountains, accidentally turning her land into a glacier landscape. However, power is not taken over by the Duke, but by Prince Hans.
Naive gang of four goes on an adventurous journey
While Elsa finds herself far away from the castle and sings “I let go, let go now”, while she is building a stunning ice palace on a mountain and learning to control her strength, her sister Anna also embarks on an adventurous journey. She is looking for her big sister to be reconciled with her and to free her country from the freezing temperatures. The motifs from Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen”, on which the cartoon and Disney musical by author Jennifer Lee is based, are most clearly visible on her tour.
Fortunately, Anna finds three companions on the icy, snow-smooth paths to stand by her side. The ex-ice cream seller Kristoff (dynamically clever: Benét Monteiro), his reindeer Sven (Antoine D. Banks-Sullivan trotted elegantly through the scenery on stilts on hand and foot stilts) and the talking snowman Olaf (played on bars, spoken and sung by humorous Elindo Avastia). The snowman was once built by Anna and Elsa when they were children and has now come to life. Olaf tops Anna’s naivete, loves hugs and dreams of a vacation on the beach.
The cold war has no chance in climate change
Before (sister) love finally wins, before Elsa turns her sister back into flesh and blood from a lump of ice, there are major frosts and cold-blooded rescue operations. The next meeting of the sisters also ends in an ice desert, with Anna getting deadly cold. In a storm wave, she freezes together with others. Kristoff selflessly brings her to the castle. There Hans exposes himself as a marriage fraud, knowing full well that his kiss could not soften his fiancée. Olaf burns his wooden fingers or the branch of his arm when he lights a fire for Anna. And no sooner has the princess been redeemed by Elsa than the thaw sets in. The cold war has no chance in the face of climate change, even the Duke holds out his arms and bends his knee.
.