Photo Credit Matthew Murphy
By Selena Haynes
Disney’s Frozen is making its Nashville debut at TPAC’s Jackson Hall for a two-week engagement May 7-18, 2024.
Nominated for a Tony Award for Best Musical, this enchanting rendition of the Disney classic brings the beloved tale of Frozen to life on stage. Set in the mystical realm of Arendelle, the story revolves around two royal sisters, Elsa and Anna, as they grapple with love, loyalty, and Elsa’s formidable powers over ice and snow. As Elsa wrestles with her identity, mistaking her gifts for shortcomings, her journey mirrors the universal struggle of young women finding their place in the world. Through introspection and the support of loved ones, Elsa learns to embrace her uniqueness and harness her strengths, making Frozen a timeless coming-of-age narrative filled with winter magic.
The stage version retains the film’s captivating music, featuring the unforgettable and award-winning song “Let It Go.” As with other Broadway performances, costume and set changes will occur throughout the show. The magnificent set designs and stunning special effects whisk the audience away to the snowy lands of Arendelle, inhabited by whimsical characters like Olaf the Snowman and Sven the Reindeer.
These fan-favorite characters are managed differently than the rest of the cast as they are puppets being worked by actors. Olaf is a puppet in the style of Japanese bunraku — where the performer is in full view of the audience. It is made from light-weight materials that easily allow the performer to blend themselves with the character.
Sven, on the other hand, is a more rigorous process with the actor being completely hidden to give the illusion that there is a real-life reindeer on stage. The demanding role requires a background in dance and an exceptional level of strength to portray Sven convincingly on stage.
Collin Baja, actor and Julliard graduate, is the one of the performers taking on the role for the North American tour. Baja calls playing Sven onstage an honor. “Oh my gosh, it’s such an honor. I mean, Sven is a unique thing to bring the life on stage. They discovered they needed an actor who also has enough circus or dance background to blend of the awareness of their body, but also can focus on storytelling. It was a really new challenge, because I’ve never done any specifically puppeteering at this level. And the way that the puppet is designed by Michael Curry is so special, that it’s a tough challenge physically, and it’s a honor to play it. It’s a jaw dropping magical moment that everyone is so surprised by and in awe of when they see it. So it feels like a real honor.”
While it only takes 15 to 20 minuets do don the costume, the physcial challenge of Sven comes from the immense costume that can weigh up to 90 pounds. In addition to the weight, Baja balances on stilts that mimic hooves and wears massive antlers attached to a reindeer headpiece. He says it was known that there’d be specific challenges and learning curves when bringing the puppet to life. “The Olaf and the Svens started a couple weeks earlier than everybody else in order to learn how to really function inside [the costumes] and storytell through the physical only,” Baja explained. “By the time we were with other actors, we could just focus on the actual storytelling.”
To balance the physcial demands of playing Sven, Baja rotates out with another cast member so neither has to perform two shows in a row. This allows for rest between performances. He also says they travel with a great physical therapist. “We get priority of three times a week with her because of the toll on our body. It is different for every actor who portrays it. Specifically, there’s definitely a lot of tension on the neck, on the rotator cuff, wrists, forearms, upper body in general. But again, we can deal with warm ups and cooldowns. And we really take care of ourselves,” Baja said.
As for his favorite part of playing Sven, he says, “I think at first it was the reaction. Then the challenge for it for myself. I chose to do it because it was something so new. I’ve never puppeteered before and that really excited me. And then it’s, it’s still kind of cheesy, but the effect it has on the audience. It’s a beautiful story. And I really love being part of it.” Baja remembers being a kid and going to shows like this and the curisosity of how this were done on stage sparked his interest in doing what he does today.
When he is not on stage Baja works with others as a life coach through his business, a)plancoaching. “Our company is democratizing coaching education for everyone, whoever needs that, whether company or an individual, changing your life for the better [and] making sure you’re living your whole life,” explained Baja. He caters his services towards the LGBTQIA community. He loves that he has the flexability to provide this service during the day and then tap into his artistic creative sense of self at night and on weekends. “This is kind of the work I believe in the most.”
Tickets for Disney’s Frozen are still avalible at https://www.tpac.org/event/2024-05-07-to-2024-05-18-disneys-frozen/.
