From Front Square to Arendelle We catch up with Stephanie McKeon – Trinity graduate and star of the musical Frozen currently running in the West End When Stephanie McKeon was cast in the iconic role of Anna in Disney Theatrical Productions’ of the musical Frozen for the West End, in early 2020, it was her dream part. The Trinity graduate has been landing plum roles since her appearance in Fair City as a teenager and is no stranger to musicals – credits include The Commitments and Beautiful–The Carole King Musical , both at the West End – but, as she says, this was different: Anna is a lead role; Frozen is a cultural phenomenon with legions of adoring fans worldwide, and a Disney production is huge. And then, just as she was confirmed in the role, the world went into lockdown. ‘We honestly didn’t know when, or if, it was going to happen and it was a bit heartbreaking when you’ve just landed the biggest job and role of your career.’ What saved her was having ‘someone to go through it with’ - co-star, Samantha Barks who plays Anna’s sister, Elsa. ‘We hit it off as soon as we met and we kept in touch throughout lockdown. We were very lucky to have each other.’ This bonding seems to have paid off: when the show did finally open in Theatre Royal Drury Lane in September 2021, one year later than planned, the Guardian critic, Arifa Akbar, noted that ‘What is more surprising than the uniformly storming singing voices and the theatrical razzmatazz is the sense of a real, beating heart in the relationship between the two tortured sisters - Stephanie McKeon’s Anna (bold, goofy, full of yearning) and Samantha Barks’ Elsa, a melancholy ice queen.’ The opening few shows were ‘overwhelming’ says McKeon – ‘our minds were just blown by the audience response, and it was so cathartic for us, as for the audience, to be re-experiencing live theatre after all this time.’ They are playing to packed crowds – an astonishing 2,000 people in the renovated Theatre Royal – for eight shows a week. The role is physically demanding, with dancing as well as singing. It is, says McKeon, a bit like being an athlete – ‘You’re watching what you’re eating, what you’re drinking - no alcohol obviously and not too much caffeine - and you’re making sure you get enough sleep. And for my days-off, I might make plans, but when they come round, I’ll just be in recovery mode, and careful not to talk too much because I really need to rest my voice.” It is, she agrees, the opposite to the glamorous partying, red carpet lifestyle that people might imagine actors lead, but while this is certainly ‘the biggest, most challenging role of my life’, she is over sixteen years in the industry, comes from a theatrical family, went to stage school as a child, and was cast in Fair City while still in secondary school. She did think about studying science, which she loved, but when she decided to apply to do drama in Trinity, she knew exactly what she was getting into.
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