Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
A group of approximately 100 students at Lake High School will help produce five showings of Disney’s Frozen, the Broadway musical, in early March.
For musical director Tom Mahas, it is the fourth production he will lead, which follows up The Wizard of Oz, Mamma Mia, and the Addams Family. In choosing Frozen, it avoids repetition in fantasy shows and also features a fun opportunity.
“We haven't done a show like this before, so we wanted to try it out,” Mahas said. “And the rights to the show just came out. We're actually the first school in the Toledo area that's going to get to perform the show, the full version of it. That’s a cool opportunity for kids in our area to debut it.”
Mahas said the production will also provide some learning opportunities for his students.
“There's a lot of design challenges because we have to make a talking and walking Olaf puppet and a reindeer Sven that has to traverse in some interesting set pieces, like a bridge that has to collapse,” he said. “I like the challenge for our design team and for our students and all that to kind of build some of that. And just also the magic of making an ice castle on stage and having all of that is something that I like to do — challenge our students and our team to figure out how to accomplish these problems.”
Mahas estimates that there will be approximately 85 stage performers, and then there’s another 20 or so who help with the production side of things, such as helping paint sets or running lights and sound.
Elle Tilton, who is one of the seniors in the production, is playing the role of Elsa.
“It's a really good one to end (my high school career),” she said. “I feel like every year as we keep getting closer to graduation, our senior class has just gotten closer. I feel like every year we've been able to work together even better than the last because of all the challenges. This one has definitely been the best so far.”
Mahas said he believes the students are excited for this one because Frozen came out at a time when these students were the target demographic age for the movie.
“They were children when Frozen fever hit,” he said. “They grew up with all these characters. I think it's kind of cool for all of our cast in general. ‘I have watched Elsa on stage or on screen for my entire life, and now I get to be Elsa.’ ‘I have fallen in love with Olaf songs, and now I get to sing Olaf songs and be Olaf-like.’ I think just in general for any of our characters, it's kind of a cool opportunity to embody something you grew up with.
“This is their childhood. I think that's what's kind of a cool experience for all of them, but as a cast they all have a lot of great chemistry. They all are incredibly hard workers. We've had a lot of snow days, and they'll get on group chats, and they'll just run their lines together and be practicing. I think that just shows the dedication that they just want to put on a fantastic show.”
Mahas said the group works four to five hours after school Monday through Friday, and then they do seven hours on Saturdays.
“Then as you get closer to the show, we start right after school and we’re here until 10 o’clock running stuff,” Mahas said. “They’re spending a minimum of 40 hours of week in preparation, but as we get closer to that, it definitely jumps up. And that’s just practices, so that's not even like them studying lines and rehearsing songs at home.”
With Tilton, Mahas said she has performed a broad range of characters since her freshman year. She was Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz previously, for example. Most of the seniors have been involved all four years.
“I’m both nervous and excited, honestly,” Tilton said. “I'm really glad this is our last one. I'm excited to go out with a bang, but it's really sad at the same time because of how close we've gotten to everybody. It's just like you create one big family with how much time you put in. I'm sad about leaving everybody, but I'm really excited that it's this show that we all got to connect one last time with.”
For fellow senior Daniel Herman, who is playing Kristoff, Frozen presents a fun challenge. Last year, he played Lurch in the Addams Family.
“I went from a very specific kind of emotion, and I didn’t really do a lot,” he said. “I didn’t talk at all. I didn’t sing until the end. Now it’s completely the opposite. Kristoff definitely talks a lot. He has a very specific demeanor that is really important to get across that is much different than previous roles I’ve played. It’s been an adventure almost to get that character across in a way that I think presents itself well.
“I’m pretty excited. I feel like over the years I’ve played a very specific character that has always fit me really well. This one definitely gives me a lot of new challenges because it’s unlike anything I’ve played before. I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.”
Mahas said his students are in the top tier locally in terms of theatrical performing arts.
“They put on a really good show, and our production values are normally really high,” he said. “And the students just really rise up to that. So, if you have not come to see a high school musical in a long time, I think this is one to come see.”
“We’ve had schools such as Perrysburg and Anthony Wayne — schools that are big schools that do giant productions, and they come see our stuff the last couple of years, and they are floored by how good it is.”
Lake will present Frozen March 4-7 at 7 p.m. each night, and the final performance will take place March 8 at 2 p.m. Senior and student tickets are $10, while adults are $12.
“It’s a great show,” Mahas said. “It's a family-friendly thing. We normally do four shows every season, or four performances. We added a fifth this year just because we figured we'd have a lot of community interest in that, so we just want people to come out and see it.”
