Theatre Review: Frozen The Broadway Musical

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Presented by: Northern Light Theatre Company
Reviewed: 10 October 2026

The last few reviews of Northern Light Theatre Company (NLTC) shows I’ve written have been glowing, and with good reason. The standard of amateur theatre in Adelaide has lifted substantially over the last decade or so, led in part by the great work that NLTC has been pumping out.

NLTC’s latest offering, Frozen The Broadway Musical, is no exception. It’s visually and auditorily spectacular, packed with talent, and completely entertaining. My 11-year-old daughter and I saw the sixth performance of their 11-show season, and with only three shows left this Friday and Saturday the best advice we can give you is to book now. It’s a brilliant show, and the last two performances will likely sell out.

The stage design and construction teams led by John Sheehan, Brad Munt, and Lauren Scarfe, have transformed the Shedley Theatre stage into a mesmerising, evolving world of wonder and fascination. Starting right at the proscenium, with visual effects I’m not going to give spoilers of here. 

Kristian Latella’s animations are well done, without being cheap and nasty, or over the top, and they complimented Chris Golding’s excellent lighting design nicely. Kari Lindsay and Damon Hill’s scenic art is wonderful, and the electronics and puppetry of Brad Munt, Vincent Alexander, and Julia Sciacca incite awe-inspiring reactions from young and old alike. 

Everyone sounds fantastic too. From the principal leads to Billy St John’s booming chorus and his tight, precise orchestra. Tim Freedman and Marty Gilbert let nobody down with their audio management. The volumes of performers and musicians alike were always spot-on, and if any audio cues were missed, we didn’t notice. 

And the cast looked as good as they sounded. Ann Humphries’ costume design, costume construction, and costume sourcing teams have excelled once again, with many of us still racking our brains trying to work out how “that costume moment” was pulled off. Literally theatrical magic.

In regard to cast, it’s difficult to say who shone brightest on the night. In any production of Frozen you need your brightest shining stars to be Elsa and Anna, and Bec Pynor and Catherine Breugelmans outshone everyone. Not that the rest of the cast wasn’t also outstanding, but Pynor and Breugelmans as Elsa and Anna respectively, gave the performances that every child in that audience came to see. 

Pynor with her commanding presence and Breugelmans with her comedic timing and delivery, both also delivered stellar vocal performances and heartfelt, believable moments of emotion. 

Olaf and Sven delighted the audience, played by Londyn Foreman and Holly Abbott. Abbott with her impressive physical feat of depicting a reindeer on all fours, and Foreman’s loveable and animated snowman portrayal. Sam Mannix’s Kristoff was good fun, although he did appear lost on occasion. 

Deon Martino-Williams’ Hans was delivered well, but could have benefitted from maybe a tad more stage direction. Weselton, played by Leo Edwards, provided many laughs throughout, in a role that could have easily been overdone, but wasn’t. 

For her two cents’ worth, my daughter’s critique was: “I loved it when Elsa sang ‘Let it Go’ and (that costume magic moment happened, no spoilers). I also loved all of the dresses.”

On the choreography, she opined: “Even when the dancing was just very light hand movements, it gave off the right vibe and wasn’t boring at all”. I’d go further to say that Rebekah Stonelaitken’s choreography was fun, funny, cleverly crafted, and well considered.

Her take on the vocals and audio was: “All of the cast sung and spoke at an appropriate volume, but some could have had a bit more enthusiasm”. I disagree with her on the enthusiasm levels, but we’re each entitled to our own opinion. 

As Director, Lauren Scarfe has much to be proud of in this production. She’s certainly maintained the high bar that NLTC has held for the past few years. There really wasn’t  anything to criticise. I mean, I don’t even like Frozen (don’t tell my daughter), but I had a great time, and so did close to 400 other theatre enthusiasts and Disney-schmaltz-lovers.

Reviewed by Doug Phillips and Miss H

Photo credit: supplied