Ketchikan High School selected as the only Alaska school to produce Broadway’s “Frozen” – KRBD

Ketchikan Excessive College was lately chosen as the one highschool in Alaska with the rights to carry out the Broadway model of the Disney musical “Frozen.” College students in the highschool’s drama membership are trying ahead to placing on the present subsequent fall.

College students in Tommy Varela-Kossak’s drama class say they didn’t know their trainer had utilized for the grant that may win the Kayhi Drama Kings membership the rights to Frozen — and put them among the many first college students within the nation to take action. 

Sophomore Neila Urquhart is hoping to hitch the solid. 

Urquhart has about seven native theater productions underneath her belt already — when KRBD caught up along with her, she was ready to audition for yet one more manufacturing. She’s hoping so as to add Frozen to the listing. 

“I like every thing about it,” she stated. “I just like the costumes, singing, dancing, simply every thing.”

She stated that her trainer, Tommy Varela-Kossak, had been hinting at an enormous reveal for a while. That’s very a lot in character for Varela-Kossak — he attracted the eye of Olivia Newton-John and the solid of Broadway’s “Beetlejuice” on TikTok this spring by filming himself stunning his college students with what theater productions they’d be producing.

“Mr. VK didn’t inform us something about it,” Urquhart stated. “He stated it was speculated to be a secret.“

The “United States of Frozen” contest is a collaboration of the Academic Theatre Affiliation, the Disney Theatrical Group and Music Theatre Worldwide. A complete of 51 colleges have been chosen for a grant — one in every state, plus Puerto Rico. 

“And there’s all these questions on how my college students or my group embody the idea or the thought of ‘love as an open door,’” Varela-Kossak defined.

That’s a nod to one of many songs within the 2013 Disney film. 

“That is sort of our second yr as an precise program on the faculty,” he stated. “And so I actually, actually leaned into that, as a result of final yr with these children confirmed me and confirmed, I feel our group within the faculty, is that they’re an open door. And so they have been so accepting of anybody who desires to do that out.”

He discovered Ketchikan Excessive College had received the competition late final month, however needed to maintain the key till the official announcement got here out on Sept. 9. That’s when he was in a position to inform the scholars and their households. 

“And I used to be so scared that one of many college students was going to see it on-line someplace, however someway it slipped previous all of them,” he stated.

He estimated that it saves the college between $6,000 and $7,000 — cash that may now be used on extra elaborate units and costumes.

Freshman Elaina Etten is aware of the present fairly nicely — she was Elsa within the junior manufacturing. She’s hoping to make the solid for the complete present.

“It was fairly enjoyable,” Etten recalled. “I obtained to be taught much more about myself musically. And I’m actually excited to have the ability to try this with this manufacturing, as nicely.”

Varela-Kossak expects to solid the principle roles by the tip of the college yr, and carry out the present subsequent fall. A gap date has not been set.

Raegan Miller is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps maintain her writing tales like this one. Please take into account making a tax-deductible contribution at KRBD.org/donate.