FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A magical and musical snowstorm is coming to South Florida, as Slow Burn’s production of “Frozen” hits the Broward Center for the Performing Arts stage.
Audiences will definitely know the iconic songs, but they also might recognize the performers singing them. Some members of the cast are current and former students of the Broward Center.
Young Elsa is being played by students Blaire DiMisa and Stella Macey from Boca Raton. The 13-year-olds have taken classes and been in shows at the Broward Center for several years, and are especially excited to be playing this role together.
“We’re like best friends,” DiMisa said. “When we found out we got the role, we were like, ‘Oh my gosh, we can carpool with each other, we can have sleepovers and run our lines together.’ It’s a lot of fun.”
Macey said she feels more excited than nervous about taking on such an iconic show and role, thanks to her Broward Center education.
“It definitely prepares you in the aspect of acting and singing and dancing,” she said. “It helps you learn how to become a professional, if you wanna do this.”
Lucky for them, they’re also surrounded by professional performers in the cast, including Ashley Valent, who was just like them as a kid.
“I grew up at the Broward Center,” Valent said. “My first national tour I ever saw was here. It was the Lion King and I was like, three years old.”
Valent was born in Miami, but grew up in Fort Lauderdale and Westin. She took Broward Center Education classes, did the Performance Project in middle school and took part in the “Princess Reads-A-Lot” program in high school. Valent recently graduated from Northwestern University and moved to New York to pursue her career in musical theatre. But for now, she’s back to her Broward County roots for a run of productions with Slow Burn.
“Several people in the cast have been in my life in several different ways, and to be able to do a show with them feels really cool,” she said. “Like, our assistant stage manager was my first dresser in my first show here... it is truly a family.”
As the younger cast members are wowed by the talent of the adults, Valent said she also learns lessons from them.
“Having that child wonder is what’s so cool about having them in the room,” she said. “To see them still have the air of, ‘This is fun and this is still magical.’ To see that in their eyes is something that I hope to be able to take on.”
There’s something for all ages in Frozen, and the cast said they’re excited for the magic to come to life on stage. Here’s what they hope you’ll walk away with:
“I just hope they feel the magic,” Macey said, “Because the whole cast has put in so much work, and I just know it’s going to be so fun.”
“The whole gist of the story is like, the sisters always come together and they love each other,” DiMisa said, “So, I hope they feel all the love.”
And Valent said the coolest thing about the show is the “spectacle of it.”
“It is just one of the most beautiful shows I’ve ever seen,” Valent said. “Especially at Slow Burn, like the caliber of technical ability and performance coming together is just one of the coolest things, and I think that audiences are going to be really shocked by it.”
Slow Burn’s production of Frozen runs through January 4 at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts. Get more information and tickets here.
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