By Jeanni Ritchie
By the time the first snowflakes fell from the rafters at Coughlin-Saunders, I was already entranced by Lagniappe Theatre’s production of Frozen.
Renlee Toney, as Young Anna, lit up the stage with an energy that can neither be taught nor sold. She was electric.
Her sister Reese, playing Young Elsa, was equally talented. Together the girls brought to life one of Disney’s most beloved sibling duos.
Then they sang the song I ran through the family compound singing in the rare snowstorm of Winter ‘25, “Do You Wanna Build a Snowman?”
The musical production of Frozen brings other favorite songs from the film to the stage as well, including “Love Is an Open Door” and “For the First Time in Forever.” But it also introduces such original tunes as “A Little Bit of You” and “Hans of the Southern Isles.”
Hans, played to delightful villainy by Austin Laenger, sweeps Anna off her feet in his masterful plan to take over the kingdom of Arendelle.
And Anna fell hook, line, and sinker. Virginia Tudor’s Anna was every bit as spunky as Young Anna, with expressions so vivid and a voice so melodic I couldn’t help but wonder if we’d eventually lose her to The Great White Way.
Providing comic relief as the Duke of Weaseltown, er, Weselton, was Thomas Bonner who had the audience erupting with laughter in every scene. Do you want to know where Bonner honed those comedic chops? My seventh-grade English class.
It’s nice to see he finally found an appropriate venue to grab everyone’s attention!
My favorite original song came courtesy of Tudor and Jeremiah Mitchell as the unpretentious Kristoff. In “What Do You Know About Love,” the cynical ice salesman is wary when Anna declares her love for Hans, whom she’d only known for a day.
Kristoff and his reindeer sidekick Sven (Corbit Bonner) gave the production a dose of bromance, Disney-style.
Lagniappe’s Frozen had one of its larger casts at 90 and some of their youngest cast members stole my heart. Accompanying the hilarious Zach Johnson as Olaf, the lovable snowman, in “In Summer,” the buzzing chorus of Annabel Vickers, Avyana Wilson, Emma Brundrett, Evelyn Cauley, Ezra May Bennett, Gracyn Cox, Hadley Breland, Haven Bennett, Lahna McBride, Laurel Schmolke, Lizzie Cooper, Lorelai Elston, Lydia Briggs, Ma Leah Sands, Maizy Howard, Mary Frances Brundrett, Olive Waters, Scarlett Nichols, and Sophie Daigre was delightful.
Act 1 ends with the ubiquitous “Let It Go” sung by the angelic Devin Gaudet as Elsa. Perfect casting, Director Ross Schexnayder.
Speaking of our favorite director, Schexnayder brought a massive highlight of the production at the top of Act Two as the comedic Oaken in the joyous, high-energy performance of “Hygge.” It was fun seeing him shine onstage as well. The love he and his wife Karen have–both for the theatre and for local performers–is a gift, and we are the recipients.
Paddie (Vincent Smith) and Bulda (Talon Dearborne) bring the fun as they try to convince Anna to give Kristoff a chance in “Fixer Upper.”
But in the end, it is the true love between Anna and her sister Elsa that saves the day and brings happily ever after to the kingdom.
Once again, a Lagniappe production highlights an embarrassment of riches in Central Louisiana. Every performance and both school shows drew capacity crowds, and the response made one thing clear: Frozen was a production for the ages.
