Connie Fenner is a local business owner, community connector, and proud breast cancer survivor. She’s committed to supporting orgs that bring people together to create healthier communities, including powering our Go See This series this season. The spring thaw has arrived to warm the hearts of Chatham County, and we invite you to Go See This . . .
Though spring has sprung and flowers bloom, Jordan-Matthews High School finds itself frozen in an enchanted winter. From April 19 to 21, the beloved kingdom of Arendelle will come to life on stage in Siler City, in one of the first-ever high school productions of Frozen: The Broadway Musical. This production is a rare opportunity for audiences to see what makes our Chatham community so magical. Only one school in each state was selected for The United States of Frozen: Love Is an Open Door national competition. The contestants were asked to demonstrate how they would use their production of Frozen to strengthen their school communities, provide outreach, and support diversity and inclusivity. Everyone, from talented faculty and students to devoted parents and passionate supporters, is 100% behind fulfilling that promise. This is a show you won’t want to miss!
Frozen explores many forms of love and friendship, but most especially the bond between sisters. When young Princess Elsa accidentally injures her little sister Anna, it causes a chain of tragic events throughout their childhood. Elsa’s mysterious and volatile powers bring a permanent winter to Arendelle during her coronation, and she flees to live alone in the icy mountains. Anna and her friends Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven must embark on a dangerous journey to save Elsa and bring back summer to the kingdom.
Jordan-Matthews student Karsyn Vann, who plays Princess Anna, shares her excitement on getting to tell this story alongside her dear friend, Clara Rojas: “It’s like a dream come true! Me and Clara, who plays Elsa, have been friends since third grade and when we came to high school, we started doing all the theater stuff together freshman year. This is a full circle moment. She called me when she got the casting email. She was like, ‘Karsyn, I’m Elsa!’ I was like, ‘I’m Anna! We’re going to be sisters!’ And we both freaked out! So that’s one of the best parts about this experience is getting to share that with my best friend. It makes my heart so happy.”
The movie Frozen has been a favorite with children since its theatrical release in 2013. The 2018 Broadway musical, and now this ambitious community production, follow in the same tradition of putting children at the center. The high school students take the lead, but the cast is filled out by an ensemble of twelve 2nd-5th grade girls, two of whom are featured as Young Elsa and Young Anna. “I’m so excited to see the little kids’ faces light up when we bring these characters to life,” says Miss Vann. “The costumes are so beautiful, and they feel like they’ve come right out of the movie. The kid inside me is like, ‘OMG! I’m a princess!’ It’s so healing for the children and for the inner child inside all of us.”
So much loving care is being put into making Frozen an unforgettable experience. Rather than recreating exactly from the movie, set designer and Jordan-Matthews art teacher Laura Newman looked to the real world for inspiration. The fictional kingdom of Arendelle is heavily influenced by Norwegian art and culture. Swirling multicolored florets and scrollwork, based on a Norwegian style of folk art called rosemaling, cover the backdrops. “There aren’t really any discernible roses. The floral patterns are created by dipping a brush in one color on one side, and then dipping the brush in another color on the other side,” says Newman. “The colors blend together a bit, and everything starts with this kind of center ‘C.’ The flourishes emerge from these ‘C’ and ‘S’ shapes.” Newman, along with a team of students, are recreating the rugged fjords, mountains, and villages of Norway on massive 12-foot foam panels. The stone and wood textures reflect the actual architecture of the region, and the building details are all drawn from examples found in churches and other traditional buildings.
Because of the immense challenge presented by the musical score, all generations are being called on to share their talent and expertise. The orchestra is composed of both students and professional adult musicians, many of whom are teachers pulled from schools throughout the county. This is made possible, in part, by support from the Chatham Arts Council and the Grassroots Arts Grant. These grant funds go towards paying a stipend to all the teachers who will provide orchestral backing to the stage performers, as well as mentor the student musicians and provide accompaniment during the rehearsal process.
Jordan-Matthews band teacher Aaron Partin, who will run the lighting and sound booth, remarked about how different this has been from past high school productions. “This is something the students have never seen before, something they’ve never experienced before, and this is something they have to work towards. It’s not something you can give somebody on a Friday and expect them to do by Monday. It is a multi-month process.” The same thing goes for the professionals. Chatham Middle School band teacher Noah Marcus agrees: “I got my book back in October or November. We gave plenty of lead time for the adults to become proficient on their parts so that we can continue to mentor the young ones. That process, the building of the pit, really started with who we had available as professionals, whether that be teachers or people from the community. And then, what students do we have here who are proficient enough to play this really advanced book of music?”
One of those community professionals is Zachary Wills, who teaches band and general music at Silk Hope School. He has taken on the responsibility of pit conductor for the orchestra of Frozen. “We are really grateful for the funding from the Grassroots Arts Grant. For a lot of those kids, it’s one of their first opportunities to be a part of a professional experience. The student musicians we have, for the most part, are all-state level musicians or all-district level musicians. Several of them have committed to pursuing music or music education post high school. It’s meaningful for them to know that the arts are valued and worth the time and effort to study seriously.”
As the community comes together to weave a magic spell of love and friendship, Frozen: The Musical promises to be an unforgettable experience for audiences of all ages. Your family won’t want to miss this chance to witness these beloved characters come to life on stage. Get your seats now, because “For the First Time in Forever” the kingdom of Arendelle opens its gates and invites you to Go See This!
The Short Version
- Who: JMArts and friends
- What: Frozen: The Broadway Musical
- When: Friday, April 19 and Saturday, April 20 at 7:00pm.
- Sunday, April 21 at 3:00pm.
- Where: Jordan-Matthews High School
- 910 E. Cardinal St., Siler City
- Cost: General Admission $8
- Parking: Parking available
- Accessibility: Accessible parking and seating available
- For more info: https://www.jmarts.org/frozen
Leave a Reply