Nearly a decade ago, Disney’s “Frozen” (2013) became a pop-culture phenomenon and won two Oscars for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (“Let It Go”).
This weekend, the NSO Pops will perform Disney’s “Frozen” in concert at the Kennedy Center for three screenings on Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at both 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“Families are in town visiting for Thanksgiving, so we typically end up doing some sort of family-friendly movie on the weekend,” conductor Steven Reineke told WTOP. A big movie screen is hung above the orchestra, and “Our orchestra of approximately 80 musicians brings this score to life, synchronized to the entire film.”
Set in the kingdom of Arendelle, the story follows Anna (Kristen Bell), who falls for the handsome Prince Hans (Santino Fantan). Together with iceman Kristoff (Jonathan Groff), reindeer Sven and silly snowman Olaf (Josh Gad), she ventures to the North Mountain to find her sister Elsa (Idina Menzel), whose magical powers control the wintry elements.
“The animation is so good,” Reineke said. “It’s so cleverly crafted; it’s such a great story; it’s different than a lot of Disney stories in the sense that this is about strong women and the bond of these two sisters. They don’t necessarily need the men to take care of them, which is a normal trope in these sorts of movies.”
The film also features a beautiful original score by Christophe Beck and original songs by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, the youngest EGOT winner ever and also the only double EGOT winner in history. The NSO will play all the hits: “Love is an Open Door,” “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?,” “First Time in Forever” and “Let It Go.”
“It is a great song,” Reineke said of the latter. “Sometimes you just strike gold with a song like that. I remember when this movie was out, people got kind of sick of it because their children were singing it constantly, so poor parents were like, ‘God, I never want to hear that song again.’ Now that the song has died down around it a little bit, it’s fun to listen to it again.”
Find more ticket information here.
Listen to our full conversation here.
