INTERVIEW: A deep Disney freeze has overtaken Paper Mill Playhouse
Photo: Daniel Yearwood plays Kristoff in Disney’s Frozen at the Paper Mill Playhouse. Photo courtesy of Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade / Provided by BBB with permission.
MILLBURN, N.J. — There’s Disney success, and then there’s Frozen. The snow-centered animated film and its sequel are two of the top-grossing movies of all time, and the musical adaptation of the story has played on Broadway and around the world. Now Disney’s Frozen has set up its frosty kingdom at the Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, with a talented group of actors portraying the iconic roles of Elsa (Mary Kate Morrissey), Anna (Samantha Williams), Olaf (Todd Buonopane) and Hans (Sam Gravitte).
Another key role in the two-act musical is Kristoff, played by Daniel Yearwood, who has appeared in everything from Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends to Hamilton to Sweeney Todd.
“It has been an absolute success,” Yearwood said recently during a phone interview about the first few weeks of the Paper Mill run. “I think the beauty of theater is we get to do it every night, and though the lines are the same, things adapt and change over time. Even though a show is frozen — no pun intended — there’s always more to play with. … This holiday season being able to bless families and bless the kids who love the show and love the story so much, it’s truly a privilege and honor.”
Frozen, which continues its extended run through Sunday, Jan. 11, attracts many different audience members, from the young to the young at heart. Children love the films and appreciate the chance to see these characters live and in person, while adults pick up on the wonderment, catchy songs and serious themes. Yearwood welcomes all of them to the Paper Mill.
“The thing with live theater is that not every audience is the same,” he said. “We kind of feel how many children are in the audience based on reactions throughout the show. Like, take for instance, we had a matinee yesterday, and I think the median audience age was somewhere in the 40s. There weren’t as many children, a lot more mature patrons, so the energy of that performance and what we feel on stage, it definitely varies.”
Yearwood has a particular love for performing at the Paper Mill Playhouse, New Jersey’s preeminent theater. The actor called the stage beautiful and the size of the house truly unique. One can easily mistake the Millburn theater as a Broadway venue.
“It’s large for a regional theater in terms of trying to play to the back row,” Yearwood said. “During tech and during our preview process, I’d sneak up to the rear mezz to just be like, OK, what does it feel like from back here? [I wanted] to know what things I can do physically, how can things be expressed on my face so it reaches as far back as possible.”
Yearwood said he was in college when the first Frozen movie came out, and he remembers listening to the soundtrack and falling in love with the songs.
“There are some Disney movies where I love the songs,” he said. “And sometimes it’s very difficult to translate something from film to stage because of the storyline. … In most Disney films, you’re front-loaded with songs, and about two-thirds of the way through the film, the rest of the film is typically song-less. It’s just the story, the climax and the following action where there aren’t many songs, and I think what Frozen does so well is that there’s an ever-present danger for Elsa — and that danger being herself.”
One of Yearwood’s favorite tunes in the show is “Monster,” which was actually not in the original film. When he listens to the lyrics, he doesn’t know if the children are picking up on the seriousness of the lyrics and the story being told, but he knows the adults are leaning in to listen.
“I was actually kind of shocked to hear the lyrics in full for the first time because I did not see the musical on Broadway, so all I knew was the movie,” he said. “And so listening to the lyrics, I don’t know whether kids pick up on it or not because as an adult it’s a very, very dark song, this kind of inner turmoil that [Elsa’s] going through, this ever-present danger that she knows that she’s the queen and she needs to take care of everybody. But she’s so afraid of what her powers can do in the face of loss and grief.”
For Yearwood, this songbook is what makes Frozen so marvelous. Yes, there’s a talking snowman. Yes, there’s a funny reindeer. But there’s also poetry and power when factoring in the unique sisterly relationship between Anna and Elsa, let alone the twists and turns of Hans, Kristoff and other characters.
“You have all of these familial trauma events that occur toward the beginning of the movie or the beginning of the musical, and you follow the journey of the protagonists,” the actor said. “And what I love about this particular show is that you have two female protagonists. … The chasing after the love of a man is not the central theme, and that’s something that I love to witness.”
Yearwood added: Elsa’s “love for her sister surpasses any and all challenges that she faces along the way.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Disney’s Frozen, featuring Daniel Yearwood, continues through Sunday, Jan. 11, at the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey. Click here for more information and tickets.
