Let it show! Frozen transformed for main stage musical

Whereas the well-known metaphor goes that you dip a toe in water to see how something feels, it turns out the same thing can happen with ice.

When modern Disney favourite Frozen hits IPAC this week, director Liam Woods will watch the curtain open and the lights come up with the underlying comfort that his company has been here before.

The Woods-Ray Theatricals Group staged the shorter version – Frozen JR, a truncated, 60-minute version of the bigger deal – two years ago, and the learnings were many.

"We were very lucky to stage the JR version of Frozen in 2024, with a wonderfully talented local cast," he said. "The full length version of Frozen has some beautiful additional music not heard in the movie, as well as all the great songs and characters people know and love.

"I was the music director for Frozen JR in 2024, so it was really helpful for me as a director to have experienced the show in another creative role, as I knew some (not all, but some) of what the challenging moments would be."

Liam took the opportunity to reflect on how the company, buoyed like so many arts ensembles by a passionate crew of volunteers, has grown in just over a decade.

"It is quite surreal to think about the last 11 years of Woods-Ray! From a baby theatre company (actual 14-year-olds!) performing in community centres annually, to gearing up for a practically sold-out IPAC season, is a pretty insane journey.

"It has always been a passion project, and it is so lovely to get to share it with over 60 locals who are just as eager to volunteer their time to create great theatre. 

"Audiences can expect a fabulously entertaining musical experience from Frozen, with an additional layer of wonder. Frozen is a beautiful story of love, magic and family – and we hope our audiences will be moved and cheered by this production."

And if there is anything better than one Anna and Elsa pairing in the show, it's two – evidence of the talent bursting from the wings.

Due to the demanding nature of the one-week season and given the show relies so heavily on the two lead roles, the group decided to duplicate its stars, Liam said.

"We felt it would be important to cast alternate performers in the roles, which has also been a wonderful challenge on it's own, to rehearse and nurture two different performers in the same role," he said. 

"Our principal Anna is Hayley Bannerman, who has a wealth of experience across many companies – audiences may know her as Julia Gulia from The Wedding Singer at IPAC in 2023.

"Arrabella Clark is our principal Elsa – she has been singing and dancing on our stages for many years in a variety of roles, and we're stoked for our audiences to experience how hard she is working in this production.

"Ella Clout is our alternate Anna. She joined us in 2022 as a part of the ensemble in Shrek at the IPAC and has truly thrived in her theatrical endeavours, with a growing of performing and creative team credits – most recently she was our co-choreographer for Billy Elliot.

"Kirra Pincham is our alternate Elsa, coming to us with oodles of experience, most recently performing the supporting principal role of Lesley in our production of Billy Elliot. She plays Queen Iduna at all the other performances, so our audiences will be treated to a beautiful performance from Kirra at any of the performances."

Matinee performances of Frozen for the weekend are sold out. Thursday and Friday shows start at 7pm and run for two hours and 20 minutes (with interval), and Saturday night's show kicks off at 7:30pm. Tickets are available here.