Neptune Theatre School’s YPCo (an elite training program for students aged 13-18 who show exceptional talent as performers) opened their first production of the year Disney’s Frozen Jr., directed by Laura Caswell, today at Neptune’s Scotiabank Studio Theatre. Yesterday, three of the performers, Saffron Hyde who plays Elsa, Jusslie Barr who plays Anna and Madelaine Hanley who plays Olaf, spoke to me a bit about the show and their experience in the Company.
Frozen Jr. is the abridged students’ version of the Broadway adaptation of the smash-hit Disney film of the same name, which was released in 2013 and starred Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel and Jonathan Groff. The musical tells the story of two Princesses, sisters Anna and Elsa, who become estranged as children when Elsa discovers that she has magical powers, but doesn’t understand how to control them. When these powers get Elsa in trouble Anna sets off on an adventure to help her sister embrace who she is, how she feels, and to become an authentic and courageous leader for their kingdom.
Saffron Hyde, Jusslie Barr and Madelaine Hanley are all extremely poised, insightful, and articulate seventeen year olds. This is Saffron and Maddie’s third show with YPCo and Jusslie’s first. Their rehearsal process this year was very fast; they started rehearsals at the end of August, but Jusslie told me that the fact that the movie was so iconic and popular helped to propel the rehearsal process along, “We got our scripts before we started rehearsals, so most of us had our [lines] memorized before the first rehearsal,” she says, “and since the movie is so popular, we all knew most of the words, and most of the characters, so it was a breeze. Everyone is really passionate about this project, and it just all came together seamlessly, and the show was cast very well; I think everyone suits their roles really well, and we all get along really easily, so it was very quick to build that team to work hard on the show.”
In speaking about their roles Saffron, Jusslie and Maddie show great understanding of the journeys that their individual characters take and how this intersects with the musical’s overall themes. All three speak about how, ultimately, all three characters explore a different kind of relationship to feelings of love. Saffron explains, “I play Elsa, who is the older sister of Anna, and my character has these ice magical powers, and for a long time, for about 12 years, she hid her power, and her journey through this show is learning how to cope with her powers and how to make them do good. So, by the end of the show she is spreading love. It’s a journey of having to learn how to deal with what she has been born with.” Maddie plays Olaf, the snowman that Anna and Elsa built when they were children, who was made with elements of both of them, but also really embodies the girls’ love for one another. She says, “Olaf was just built today, and I think he has the energy, simultaneously, of a four year old and a seven year old. He doesn’t know a lot of terrible things, he just assumes the best of everyone and is full of all this joy. He’s very adventurous and imaginative, and I think because he is so new to the world he doesn’t always understand logical things well, but he understands emotions really well. I think that the other characters in the show don’t always take him seriously, but he knows a lot more than people would think.” Jussalie explains how Anna helps Elsa realize the power of her love is the key to controlling her magic. “Anna is Elsa’s younger sister. We have both been shut in the palace for quite awhile after our parents died, and since we didn’t have each other Anna spent most of her time alone with the palace staff and never really got to feel that unconditional love, since most of her memories were taken away from her as a small child. So, Anna’s journey is really to find and spread that unconditional love, and she wants to support her sister in any way possible, but she is also learning about making relationships with other people and falling in love for the first time. Her dream and her goal is to really find true love, and instead of finding it in a man, like she thought she would, she finds it in her sister. I think that’s a really empowering story to tell the younger generation: that family is really important and sisterly love is the best.”
Neptune Theatre School’s YPCo Performance of Disney’s Frozen Jr. plays now at the Scotiabank Studio Theatre (1589 Argyle Street, Halifax) until September 22nd, 2019. Most of the shows are already sold out, but there is limited availability for the 11:00AM Student Matinees on Thursday September 19th and Friday September 20th. Tickets can be purchased by phone at 902.429.7070, in person at the Box Office (1589 Argyle Street), or ONLINE HERE. Tickets are $19.95.
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