DISNEY’S FROZEN ANNOUNCES WEST END CAST
THE PRODUCTION WILL NOW OPEN IN APRIL 2021 AT THE NEW THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE,
FOLLOWING AN EXTENSIVE 2-YEAR REFURBISHMENT
Disney Theatrical Productions today announces casting for Frozen – joining the previously announced Samantha Barks (Elsa) and Stephanie McKeon (Anna) are 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), Danielle Fiamanya, Hannah Fairclough, 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, Jacqui Sanchez (Queen Iduna), Jak Skelly (Oaken/Bishop), Jake Small, Isabel Snaas, Joshua St. Clair (Pabbie), Monica Swayne, and Anna Woodside. With music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and book by Jennifer Lee, Frozen is directed by Michael Grandage.
Due to the ongoing impact throughout the theatre industry of Covid-19, Disney’s Frozen will open in the West End on 14 April 2021, with previews from 2 April, and is now booking until 24 October 2021. All patrons with pre-existing bookings will automatically be transferred to a new performance date with the same seats, and notified in due course via email, with the company working through bookings chronologically. If the new date is not suitable, at this point patrons will have the opportunity to request an alternative date or a refund.
Michael Grandage said today, “We’re thrilled to announce casting for Frozen – an incredibly talented group of people who will be creating the London premiere at the newly refurbished Theatre Royal Drury Lane next spring. As theatres start to open their doors again, we look forward to celebrating the spectacle of this beloved story with audiences everywhere”.
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. In addition to the opening in London, the musical recently embarked on a North American tour, and new productions will open in Australia, Japan, and Hamburg within the next year.
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, withmusic and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Frozen 2, which debuted in November 2019, had the biggest-ever opening for an animated film worldwide and is the highest grossing animated film of all time.
In the first booking period, Frozen has scheduled the following access performances – Signed Performance (11 July 13.00 matinee), Relaxed Performance (25 July 12.30 matinee), Audio Described Performance (15 August 13.00 matinee) and Captioned Performance (22 August at 17.30).
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.
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LISTINGS FROZEN
Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London WC2B 5JF
Tickets from £20
Group rates:
Groups 9 to 19* Stalls & Royal Circle £49.50, Grand Circle £39.50
Groups 20+* Stalls & Royal Circle £45, Grand Circle £35
*Valid on Wednesday and Thursday 7pm performances and Thursday 2.30pm matinees subject to availability. Excludes school holidays and other blackout dates that may apply.
Education Groups 10+ † Stalls & Royal Circle £29.50 | Grand Circle £22.50
Plus one free teacher ticket for every ten paid tickets
Valid on Wednesday & Thursday 7pm and Thursday 2.30pm performances subject to availability. Excludes school holidays and other blackout dates that may apply. Minimum group size is 10. Education rate valid for groups up to Year 11.
PREVIEW PERFORMANCES:
Friday 2 April at 19.30
Saturday 3 April at 19.30
Sunday 4 April at 17.30
Tuesday 6 April at 19.30
Wednesday 7 April at 19.30
Thursday 8 April at 19.30
Friday 9 April at 19.30
Saturday 10 April at 14.30 and 19.30
Sunday 11 April at 13.00
Tuesday 13 April at 19.30
PERFORMANCES FROM Thursday 15 April evening performance (NB no matinee on 15 April):
Wednesday – Saturday 7pm
Thursday and Saturday 2.30pm
Sunday 1pm & 5.30pm
ACCESS & RELAXED PERFORMANCES:
Signed Performance 11 July at 13.00
Relaxed Performance 25 July at 12.30
Audio Described Performance 15 August at 13.00
Captioned Performance 22 August at 17.30