The excitement for the cast and crew of Broadway North’s Junior cast and crew is building for opening night on Friday after a few years of pandemic interruptions.
The 70 children aged seven to 18 in the cast have been rehearsing since September and are bursting at the seams.
“They can’t wait to do it for a big audience, that’s the whole point at the end of the day.
The mood is electric,” said Director Roxanne Dicke.
It’s a beautiful gift to see them get ready for this and they’re ready to explode emotionally but in a good way.”
The show is based on the Disney movie and is about the love between two sisters but also required a certain personality to depict Kristoff, the main male character.
Enter 14-year-old Theo Enchanh, who shares some of Kristoff’s traits, Dicke said.
“It’s a perfect fit because of the comedy, because of the kindness, because all the characteristics of Kristoff are in some way part of who he is as well,” she explained.
Comedy is required for Kristoff but also an earnestness. Being kind and thoughtful and he and Sven together are just liquid gold on stage.”
Even with the size of the cast and the young ages of some, the actors are still focused and ready for Friday, Dec. 3, the first of four evening shows.
“The mood is very good. We’re really excited. Our sales for the evening shows are really good.
We did a costume parade and that really flipped a switch for them that this is coming and this is real,” said Dicke.
With COVID restrictions changing over the last two years, they managed to have a season last year but had to modify how they did it, splitting up groups of actors by age range and choosing performances accordingly.
Being a part of the company is like being a part of a family for many of the actors and stage staff.
“It’s a really safe place. They get to come, be themselves, meet kids from across all the schools.
They’re incredible kids,” Dicke said. “This fills an enormous need. Sometimes the artistic kids will find a spot in high school. Even so, this is another outlet. For all the ages, this is a place they can be expressive. They can live out loud – and they do.”
The actors like the modern message in Frozen, which is that finding a mate does not need to be the goal for happiness and that family love is very strong.
Even Kristoff, despite the fact that the play is set in days gone by, is a modern male hero.
“I tried for three different characters and I didn’t get them but I got Kristoff in the end. I don’t know what they saw in me but they picked me and I’m really glad they did.”
I look at his persona very closely to try to match it – but I don’t want to copy it. If I do it won’t be like me. I try to mix my interpretation of the character with his and it kind of works in that way,” Theo explained.
While he has no plans for an acting career, Theo enjoys being part of the company and he enjoys entertaining others.
“I like performing for people and making them happy. It’s a wonderful thing that we’re doing not just for us, but for other people that are going to see it,” he said.
Despite some pre-opening night nerves, Theo says he is confident the performance will go well.
Tickets for all four evening performances are available at https://www.earc.ca/ and by clicking on the Frozen link.
Normal COVID rules apply for wearing of masks and attendees should come early to allow for time to have vaccination records checked.