playbill vip

Almost a year ago Artstarts received the license to produce Frozen, Jr. Since then, we have dreamed of the time the show would be ready to put onstage in front of a live audience.  At last...HERE WE ARE! We thank all of you for being that “live audience” we’ve been waiting for. There is nothing better than performing a show that you love in front of an audience you love! We appreciate each and every one of you who have come out to see this Disney mega-hit. You can be assured that everyone involved in this production has worked incredibly hard to bring the magic of Frozen Jr. to life, in this beautiful theater.

Frozen, Jr. is what Beauty and the Beast was twenty years ago.  We have been fans of Frozen since it came out and we were thrilled we when received the good news that we would be presenting it to theater lovers in southern Illinois.  Only a few hours after it was released, we were able to share the news with everyone. Our Frozen Jr. journey began in Atlanta, Georgia at the Junior Theater Festival.  That is where we made the official announcement. So, we loaded up some donated snowflake set pieces in a rented U Haul trailer and headed home. Let’s fast forward to NOW….

One thing we quickly found out was that we didn’t have to worry about the cast members learning most of the songs from scratch. The music from this show seems to be embedded into the memory of youngsters, especially “Let it Go” and “Do You Want to Build a Snowman”? Our music director had the fun task of fine tuning and even improving the beautiful vocals we heard at auditions.

People love this show!  They love the story, they love the music, and they love the characters.  We wanted to pull out all the stops and make it our own mega-hit. The buzz word from the beginning was BIG.BIG sets, BIG costumes, BIG dancing, BIG singing.   Our staff made sure that happened.  Incredible amounts of planning and hard work came together to create this show. We could not be prouder of  everyone who helped make it happen…sponsors, staff, parents, families and friends, set builders, sewing crews, volunteers, tickets sellers and board members. It truly takes a village to accomplish this. We are beyond grateful for everyone who has helped in any way.

One of favorite things to do is to bring our shows to the schools in the area.  On Thursday, November 21, our opening performances played to student audiences.  What a joy it is to share this experience with our peers.  Thank you to the Marion Cultural and Civic Center for all the help you gave us. It is not possible to do this without you.

This show follows the familiar plot of sisters Elsa and Anna coming together to save their kingdom from becoming permanently snow bound. Frozen Jr. presents a chilly twist on one of the most humorous and heartwarming stories ever told.  A story of true love and acceptance between sisters provides enough warmth to melt even the iciest of hearts.

We hope you will LOVE this show.  It has been a joy to produce. Sit back and enjoy this beautiful story told be these talented children. Perhaps it will melt your heart, too….

Respectfully,

Jane Ann Cruse   President

On behalf of the Artstarts Executive Board of Directors