Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s Drama Club performed their latest musical, “Frozen,” on Friday, May 2, in the auditorium, drawing an audience of fellow students and visiting elementary schoolers alike.

“Frozen” is a classic kids’ movie and has been a fan-favorite since its original release by Disney in 2013. “Frozen” depicts the journeys of the royal sisters Anna and Elsa from the kingdom of Arendelle. After the tragic loss of their parents, the elder sister, Elsa, was crowned queen. Elsa had a secret that not even her sister knew about though—she has magical ice powers. Further, after having worked her entire life to conceal the secret, it was revealed to the entire kingdom on her coronation day.

“I was so excited when I heard I was cast as Anna because it’s always been a dream role of mine,” sophomore Jesse Jimenez said. “I admire Anna’s quirkiness and funny attitude as well as her amazing songs. This was also my second time playing Anna in a musical, so I was so excited to bring some fun aspects to the stage from last time and also some new ones.”

“Frozen” is the third play that MSD Drama has produced this school year. The two others were “Six: The musical,” performed in November, and “Alice By Heart,” performed in March.

The Drama Club rehearsed daily after school, preparing to perform their play for MSD students as well as elementary schoolers. Young students from nearby elementary schools visited MSD during the day as a class field trip to watch the Drama Club’s production unfold before their eyes.

Students from all grade levels were part of the show, which made it feel particularly special. Two younger actresses even played little Elsa and little Anna—journalism teacher Melissa Falkowski’s daughter played young Elsa and English teacher Jaime Lyons’ daughter played young Anna. Their roles helped portray the story of “Frozen” from the beginning, making it easy for the audience to connect with the characters at every age.

Additionally, the backstage crew, despite often going unrecognized, played an important role in making the play come to life. They worked with lighting, helped with outfit changes and performed other unseen jobs necessary for the performance. The students and staff who worked backstage had the unique opportunity to watch the play unravel before their eyes from a perspective that audience members never witness.

“Something people don’t realize about working backstage is that there are so many factors that people don’t think about when putting together a show like this,” backstage staffer Hailey Glasgow said. “For example, makeup and hair crews that work in case of any emergencies backstage with costumes or microphones, and the rails—having backdrops and snow being able to fall from the fly system is something that people see, and nobody really thinks that somebody is backstage pulling a rope to have the magic that happens on stage.”

Whether they were on stage performers or behind-the-scenes staffers making the magic happen, every student involved in the production played a vital role in bringing “Frozen” to life. The performance was not just a musical; it was a celebration of creativity, teamwork and storytelling. As snow gently fell on stage and young voices sang along from the audience, it was clear that this production left a lasting impression on those who experienced it, and on the visiting elementary schoolers in particular.