Samantha Barks and Stephanie McKeon have been cast as sisters Elsa and Anna in the London stage version of Frozen. The musical adaptation of the 2013 Disney blockbuster is set to reopen at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane later this year in the West End, whose venues are currently closed because of the coronavirus.
The production plans to begin previews from 30 October. The production’s director, Michael Grandage, said: “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.”
The stage adaptation of Frozen has an additional set of songs by the film’s married composer-lyricists, Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. It opened on Broadway in March 2018 and was nominated for a Tony award for best musical.
“Frozen tells the story of two extraordinary women,” said Grandage. “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.”
As Elsa, Barks will sing the musical’s showstopper, Let It Go. Her previous musical credits include Les Misérables in the West End (as Éponine), a UK tour of Oliver! (as Nancy) and Pretty Woman on Broadway (in the Julia Roberts role).
McKeon, as Anna, will sing a solo, True Love, as well as the duet Love Is an Open Door from the film. McKeon starred as Aisling in the long-running Irish TV soap Fair City and made her West End debut as Natalie in the original cast of The Commitments, directed by Jamie Lloyd. She also appeared in Beautiful: The Carole King Musical at the Aldwych theatre.
The Theatre Royal Drury Lane, which is undergoing a £60m restoration, is owned and managed by Andrew Lloyd Webber’s group LW Theatres.
