The drama, directed by Doug Hughes, opened on Broadway to mixed reviews. In his Broadway.com Review of the show, Eric Grode wrote: "With the help of three fine actors, Lavery continually surprises with her even-handed tone and droll wit, drawing from a deep well of compassion. Only a somewhat tidy ending and an over-reliance on one largely tangential character mar this sharp, haunting work… Hughes keeps the tension at an almost unbearable level, and Kurtz and O'Byrne push each other to perfectly calibrated heights. Suddenly, the meddlesome shrink and pat summation don't seem so problematic. Suddenly, Frozen becomes a harrowing example of how fine writing and even better acting can help us imagine the unimaginable."
Frozen, which transferred from an off-Broadway run right in time for the 2004 Tony deadline, was nominated for four 2004 Tony Awards: Best Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Kurtz, Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play O'Byrne, and Best Direction of a Play Hughes. O'Byrne won the Tony for his performance.