For years, Charlotte Morphett was Chloe Stevenson’s drama teacher and mentor. Now the pair are performing together as sisters Elsa and Anna in Free-Rain Theatre Company’s production of Frozen, a Broadway musical based on the Disney movie, running at The Q from 15 September to 11 October.

Based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy story “The Snow Queen”, Frozen is considered one of Disney’s best films since the 1990s. It became the fifth-highest grossing film of all time, and scooped the pool, winning two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and two Grammys, while its award-winning hit song, ‘Let It Go’, reached top five on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

When the cartoon movie was adapted into a Broadway musical in 2018, it aimed at a more adult audience, taking “a deeper dive into the princesses’ psyches”. The Guardian commented: “What is more surprising than the uniformly storming singing voices and the theatrical razzmatazz is the sense of a real, beating heart in the relationship between the two tortured sisters.”

That relationship is the work’s emotional centre; although the sisters spend much of the story apart, Morphett says their long real-life connection helps when they do share the stage.

“Most musicals are about romantic relationships,” Morphett says. “This is an intimate relationship, but it’s so far from a romantic part. It’s trying to find those tiny little moments when we do have scenes together: how can we play with that type of intimacy?

“A lot of people who have come to watch rehearsals have said that there’s this genuine connection in the acting. You can only attribute that to the fact that we’ve known each other for so long.”

Morphett was Stevenson’s drama and performing arts teacher in high school, and co-directed her in Free-Rain’s production of & Juliet earlier this year.

“She’s been my mentor – I’ve always looked up to Charli,” Stevenson says. “Most of my theatre performance knowledge would have come from Charli’s teaching – I’m so grateful for that.”

“Sometimes you forget how much impact you have on your students,” Morphett says. “When you see a student thrive in the space that directly links to your passion and what you’ve taught them, it’s extremely special. I’m so proud.”

Now the two women have developed a genuine friendship, Morphett says.

“It’s a full circle moment. I’ve taught Chloe since Year 7, so it’s been really nice to see her blossom. Now we get to be side by side as peers on stage, which is quite beautiful.”

“This story teaches us to embrace who we are, to celebrate what we can achieve when we’re united, and to remember that love, in all its forms, will always triumph,” director James Tolhurst-Close says.

The musical has a dozen more songs than the movie, deepening the characters.

“We sit with them more and get insight into their internal world,” Morphett says.

Elsa’s ‘Dangerous to Dream’ is like an internal monologue, letting the audience know how measured and controlled she has to be, because she hurt Anna in the past.

“You get to sit in Elsa’s turmoil,” Morphett says. “She’s constantly surveying everything around her, double-checking that she’s eliminating risks, making sure that she’s not putting herself into a situation where she’s going to lose control. It’s not right until the very end that she quite literally Lets It Go.”

Morphett says she feels extremely privileged to sing such a well-known number.

“But you underestimate how musically difficult the song is! In the movie, at the very end, there’s this calmness to it. Whereas in the stage show – classic musical theatre – they up the ante, and you’re belting for your life!”

Stevenson’s Anna is almost the opposite: energetic and impulsive. Having grown up isolated inside the castle, she’s desperate for connection once the gates open.

“She doesn’t really know how to speak to people, so she’s quite awkward and quirky, which is really fun to play,” Stevenson says. “She’s also loving and kind, and really cares for the people around her.”

Anna and the mountain man Kristoff have a playful duet that extends their relationship more than in the movie.

“They dig at each other – I wouldn’t say that they dislike each other, but they definitely are sussing each other out,” Stevenson says. “It’s a really fun song, almost jazzy.”

Elsa and Anna have a duet, ‘I Can’t Lose You’, in which they express the same fear from different sides.

At the time of the interview, the cast was just about to move into The Q, where the technical team will add sound effects and lighting projections.

“There’s a lot of magic in this show, so a lot of the beauty sits within the tech world,” Morphett says.

She is especially looking forward to performing for the younger members of the audience. When she played Belle in Beauty and the Beast in 2019, the best shows were matinees filled with children dressed up as the characters.

“I’m not taking for granted how magical singing in front of all those kids is going to be,” Morphett said. “I’m really excited for that moment, to just be sitting in that joy with those kids in the audience.”

Stevenson says she was once one of those youngsters herself – she grew up with Frozen.

“When I was a kid, I was watching it when it first came out; I was obsessed with the show.”

But, like the best of Disney, this is a show for young and old.

“It’s a show for the entire family – even if you don’t have kids,” Morphett said. “It’s still a show that you can come and enjoy. It’s funny; it’s sentimental; there are some really beautiful character relationships that you get to dive into. It’s a show that everyone’s going to enjoy.”

Disney’s Frozen – The Broadway Musical, directed by James Tolhurst-Close,runs at The Q, Queanbeyan, from 15 September to 11 October. Tickets start at $40, and are available online from theq.net.au.