Photo provided
Members of the cast of Frozen Jr. pose together during a dress rehearsal. (From left) Addison Eaton, Hannah Kilbourne, Jerry Kilbourne, Kynlie Brown, EJ Bazlyluk, Lily Tompkins, Rachel Jones, Cora Kieft, Gabby Tompkins, Rachael Small, Miykha Woodard, Madison Gresham, Maddy Parry, Alyssa Botts, Hannah Jones, Kaylie Hekter, Lily Bazlyluk, Bryn Wiles, Ava Schultz, Julianna Chavez, Layla Koyama, Lexi Gresham, and Ashley Schultz.
Krueger’s Parry acts in popular Frozen Jr. musical
By Jackie Ramirez
Staff Writer
MICHIGAN CITY – Maddy Parry’s first production for Centerstage Youth Theatre was a great success.
Parry, an eighth grader at Krueger Middle School, played the role of Bulda in Centerstage’s Frozen Jr. from Jan. 14-16 at Michigan City High School.
The musical, which was a take on Disney’s animated film, Frozen, sold almost 900 tickets over three shows in one weekend.
“At first it was a little overwhelming, but then I felt really happy about it because it was finally getting done after all this time,” Parry said.
The musical was supposed to be shown to the public in 2020, but was delayed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The auditions were held in 2020, so there were changes in roles that had to be made. Parry said that wearing masks made it more difficult to practice the play.
“It was just harder,” Parry said. “Because, a lot of the people – due to the delay – had not done plays from (2020) to this time, and they had to get back into it.”
Despite all the difficulty, the kids remembered everything from 2020 and made the musical possible.
Director Becky Tiedeman was glad to see it happen.
“To finally see it on stage is the biggest relief I have felt in a long time,” Tiedeman said.
She also was delighted with the result.
“Overall, I am thrilled about the production,” she said. “Every little thing we wanted to happen, happened.”
Frozen Jr. shows how Anna, played by Madison Gresham, teams up with Kristoff (Ashley Sparks) to find her sister, Elsa (Isabelle Kieft), to save their home from perpetual winter.
Kieft hopes that people were inspired by the musical.
“I hope that this story gives everybody a feeling of the importance of family, and the importance of embracing who you are and not (being) scared,” Kieft said. “Especially in times like these over the last few years, with everything that has happened, you have to fully embrace who you are, and you have to face those challenges (and) look to the people you love.”