Charleston Light Opera Guild opens "Frozen" at The Clay Center

Charleston Light Opera Guild presents “Frozen”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. 7:30 p.m. February 13. 2 p.m. February 14 and 15.

WHERE: The Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences

TICKETS: Start at $20

INFO: theclaycenter.org

Some Disney stories are for the whole family, but Charleston Light Opera Guild’s production of the Disney musical “Frozen” seems like a show for the girls.

The musical, which begins its two-weekend run at the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences this weekend, is big on girl power and the bond between Elsa and Anna, a pair of sisters in the land of Arendelle.

Based on the wildly popular animated film, which spawned a couple of sequels, a thousand merchandising tie-ins and millions of little girls singing “Let it Go” at the top of their lungs, the film was a certifiable phenomenon when it arrived in theaters back in 2013.

It earned over a billion dollars at the box office, before becoming a home video favorite and a Tony nominated stage musical.  

In the Guild’s production, Megan Sydnor-Collins plays Elsa. Meredith Aliff is Anna.

Both remember the film well, though they said they were a little older than the girls who latched onto the film when it first arrived in theaters.

Aliff said, “I want to say I was probably getting ready for high school, if not already in high school, but I have a little sister who was the perfect age and the movie completely consumed our lives for a little bit.”

Her family even went to the movie-house sing-a-longs.

Aliff didn’t mind.

Sydnor-Collins, a self-proclaimed “Disney adult,” said she’d seen the film “Frozen” multiple times and been to see the stage show.

“I love ‘Frozen,’” the actress said. “And the stage show is so, so good compared to the movie. It just added so much to the story itself.”

The story revolves around mystic powers, a curse and some backstabbing, but instead of the women being damsels in distress or lesser sidekicks to male hero, Anna and Elsa are the heroes.

The show is really only ever about them and how they grow.

Sydnor-Collins said the idea of female empowerment or the importance of family isn’t unique among Disney stories.

“Lilo & Stitch has that,” she said. “Mulan is very much about female power, but I think ‘Frozen’ was the first Disney film that really put sisterly love at the forefront of the entire story. It’s the basis for everything that happens.”

Women at the center extends beyond just the story. It’s built into the production.

Aliff said, “It’s a small thing, but I don’t think we realize how much women get passed up on Broadway, in general.”

For example, Belle in “Beauty and the Beast” is the lead. Beauty gets top-billing in the title of the show and the story revolves around how she helps to change the heart of ‘The Beast’ and remove his curse.

At the end of a show, it’s common during the curtain call for one of the leads to step forward and acknowledge the orchestra.

“But it’s always the male lead who steps forward and motioned to the orchestra at the end,” she said.

At least, that’s what’s happened in the shows she’s watched and (as far as she can remember) the shows she’s starred in.

Aliff played Belle in the guild’s production of “Beauty and the Beast.” She was also Anastasia in the company’s production of the same name.

“They’re like these, you know, high profile characters,” Aliff said.

They’re central to the story, but she didn’t do that little task at the end. The gesture went to one of the male leads.

“I didn’t think a thing of it at the time,” she said. “It didn’t bother me, but with this show, Elsa and Anna both step forward, together, and acknowledge the orchestra.”

And it made her think. It was the first time she’d seen that.

Aliff said, “It’s a very small gesture.”

But meaningful.

Even if the show has a strong appeal to young girls, Sydnor-Collins said “Frozen” is meant for everyone. There’s music, adventure, comedy and some inventive costuming.

The show features a reindeer and a talking snowman.

Both said rehearsals have gone well, minus a couple of days lost due to bad weather, but Sydnor-Collins said the biggest challenge was probably the music.

“The kids know these songs by heart,” she said. “They’re going to know every time we miss a word. They’re going to know. So, that’s nerve wracking.”

The actress said the cast is even ready in case some of audience decides to sing along.

“We’re hoping that parents will explain that it’s to watch and not a sing-along, but kids are kids,” she said. “We’re prepared for that to happen.”

Charleston Light Opera Guild’s “Frozen” runs through February 15 at the Clay Center.