SAMANTHA BARKS AND STEPHANIE McKEON
LEAD THE COMPANY OF
DISNEY’S FROZEN IN THE WEST END
Today, on National Siblings Day, Disney Theatrical Productions announce that Samantha Barks and Stephanie McKeon will play Elsa and Anna in Frozen when it reopens the newly refurbished Theatre Royal Drury Lane later this year. The production opens on 11 November, with previews from 30 October 2020; and has extended booking until 30 May 2021. With music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, and book by Jennifer Lee, Frozen is directed by Michael Grandage.
Michael Grandage said, “Frozen tells the story of two extraordinary women and we’re thrilled to have found Samantha and Stephanie who will bring their incredible talent to the roles of Elsa and Anna, allowing us to create a production of Frozen especially for London. Now more than ever, we’re looking forward to the day we can all get together in a rehearsal room to bring their story to the stage.”
Frozen – produced by Disney Theatrical Productions under the direction of Thomas Schumacher – opened on Broadway in March 2018 and quickly established itself as the biggest musical hit of its season, nominated for the Tony Award® 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.
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.
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.
In the first booking period, Frozen have scheduled the following access performances – Signed Performance (Sunday 7 February 2021 at 1pm), Relaxed Performance (Sunday 28 February 2021 at 12.30pm), Audio Described Performance (Sunday 21 March 2021 at 1pm) and Captioned Performance (Sunday 28 March 2021 at 5.30pm).
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Theatre Royal Drury Lane, owned and managed by LW Theatres, is closed until autumn 2020 for a landmark £60 million restoration project and will reopen as Frozen begins previews.
The production features choreography by Rob Ashford,set and costume design by Christopher Oram, lighting design by Neil Austin, sound design by Peter Hylenski,video design by Finn Ross, puppet design by Michael Curry, and musical supervision and arrangements by Stephen Oremus.
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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 from 6 January to 30 May 2021. 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 Thursday 2.30pm performances from 7 January to 30 March 2021.
Valid on Wednesday & Thursday 7pm and Thursday 2.30pm performances from 31 March until 30 May 2021. 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:
Fri 30 October 7.30pm
Sat 31 October 7.30pm
Sun 1 November 5.30pm
Mon 2 November No performance
Tue 3 November 7.30pm
Wed 4 November 7.30pm
Thu 5 November 7.30pm
Fri 6 November 7.30pm
Sat 7 November 2.30pm & 7.30pm
Sun 8 November 1pm
Mon 9 November No performance
Tue 10 November 7.30pm
PERFORMANCES FROM 12 NOVEMBER:
Wednesday – Saturday 7pm
Thursday & Saturday 2.30pm
Sunday 1pm & 5.30pm
ACCESS & RELAXED PERFORMANCES:
Signed Performance Sunday 7 February 2021 at 1pm
Relaxed Performance Sunday 28 February 2021 at 12.30pm
Audio Described Performance Sunday 21 March 2021 at 1pm
Captioned Performance Sunday 28 March 2021 at 5.30pm
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. Current London: The Lion King, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary at The Lyceum, 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, Newsies, Peter and the Starcatcher, The Little Mermaid, Mary Poppins, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, TARZAN® and Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida. 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. With 20 productions currently produced or licensed, a Disney musical is being performed professionally somewhere on the planet virtually every hour of the day.
THEATRE ROYAL DRURY LANE
LW Theatres is in the middle of a £60 million restoration project of Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The ambitious scheme not only encompasses the complete refurbishment of the magnificent 1812 Greek Revival ‘front of house’ designed by Benjamin Wyatt, but also the reconstruction of the stage facilities and dressing rooms, the creation of new bars and a restaurant, plus the refashioning of the auditorium to make it able to play in both the traditional proscenium arch and in the round.
The theatre will re-open as ‘The Lane’ in autumn 2020. Whilst Theatre Royal Drury Lane will still showcase world class theatre, front of house facilities will be open to the public all day so the theatre’s iconic interiors can be enjoyed by everyone and not just those headed to a show.