Frozen on Broadway to Incorporate New Song for Anna and Elsa

On February 18, Frozen on Broadway will welcome its new royals, but that’s not the only thing new about the musical. Ciara Renée and McKenzie Kurtz will begin performances tonight as Elsa and Anna, respectively, and they will get to sing a new song. In the second act, instead of singing the reprise of “For the First Time in Forever,” the two will sing a new duet called “I Can’t Lose You,” which was first seen on the Frozen tour.

In Frozen, after Elsa accidentally uses her ice powers to plunge the kingdom of Arendelle into a perpetual winter, she runs away and her sister Anna has to go after her. According to a representative from Disney Theatrical, “I Can’t Lose You,” is meant to deepen the relationship between the two sisters. While in the reprise of “For the First Time in Forever,” the two sing it as individual monologues, “I Can’t Lose You” has Elsa and Anna singing to each other. The song takes place after Anna reunites with Elsa in act two, with Anna pleading Elsa to come back to Arendelle with her, and Elsa wanting to stay in isolation so she doesn’t harm her sister.

That’s not the only new song in the show. Kristoff, who accompanies Anna on her journey and is played by Noah J. Ricketts, is also given a reprise of “What Do I Know About Love?” to better express his growing feelings for Anna. To make room for these new changes, the Frozen creative team, which includes composers Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, made trims to other parts of the show. The second-act opener “Hygge” was trimmed, and Anna’s second act solo song, “True Love” has been cut, in order to expedite the concluding action of Frozen. These new changes to the musical first appeared in the North America Frozen tour, and will be included in the upcoming productions of Frozen in London, Japan, Australia and Germany. Unfortunately, there are currently no plans to record the new Frozen songs.

This is not the first time Disney Theatrical has changed a show after opening; The Lion King was cut by 10 minutes, Beauty and the Beast added a new song (“A Change in Me”) and Mary Poppins replaced one song with another ("Playing the Game" replaced "Temper, Temper”). 

In addition to Renée and Kurtz, Ryan McCartan is the newest Hans and will perform for the first time on February 18. Since its opening in 2018, Frozen has been popular with audiences, its cumulative gross for the two-year period since it opened places it in the top five in grosses and attendance on Broadway.

Below, see the new cast photos from Frozen.