Disney on Ice brings ‘Frozen’ to Spokane

“Frozen’s” Elsa, Anna and Olaf are taking up residence at the Spokane Arena this week.

The Disney on Ice retelling of the Academy Award-winning movie opens Wednesday.

“It really takes it a step above, you feel like you are in the movie,” said Becky Bereswill, who skates the role of Elsa. “It creates this atmosphere that’s so fun and so special to be a part of every night.”

If you’ve been living under a rock, or perhaps a snowball, for the past two years: “Frozen” tells the story of royal sisters Elsa and Anna. When Elsa’s icy powers trap the kingdom of Arendelle in perpetual winter, Anna sets off on a journey to find Elsa and fix things, with the help up mountain man Kristoff, reindeer Sven, and Olaf the snowman. Sisterly love wins the day.

Bereswill said audience members will feel like they’re in Arendelle and guests at the coronation. And later, they’ll feel like they’re on the North Mountain. The ice show captures the movie’s whole storyline, complete with snow and a giant, inflatable snow monster.

It’s Bereswill’s first time in a Disney on Ice show, and after 500 performances, she’s still having fun.

“The show just keeps getting better,” she said in a phone interview last week from Boise. “I think we all really love the show and we all know it really well. It’s been great.”

Bereswill, 25, was senior at the University of Michigan studying business when she won the role of Elsa last year. In her years as a competitive skater, she was the 2008 Junior Grand Prix champion, a six-time national competitor in ladies and pairs, and Team USA member.

Among her stops as a competitor: Spokane for the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She placed 13th in the ladies free skate.

“I do remember Spokane very vividly as being a very big, supportive group,” she said. “I’m looking forward to coming back and getting to see a lot more of the city.”

Being part of Disney on Ice makes skating, which usually is so individually focused, feel much more like a team sport, she said.

“I love the team aspect, that we’re all working together to tell the wonderful story of ‘Frozen,’ ” Bereswill said.

“We really do become like a family on the road. I think it really helps with the story,” she said.

That’s especially true with co-star Taylor Firth, who plays Anna. Bereswill said the two knew each other “just kind of” from competing on the national level.

“We’re really close now. I love working with Taylor.”

In a story that’s all about sisterhood, Bereswill says that’s easy for the two leads to show.

“We both know what it’s like to be a sister and how important that role is,” said Bereswill, who has an identical twin. Firth has three sisters.

Plus, after working together on this show for more than a year, she and Firth “feel like sisters on and off the ice, so it’s really natural for us to tell the story.”

Bereswill said they’re always amazed by all the children who come dressed up as Anna, Elsa and other characters from the movie. And she loves hearing them sing along, especially during her favorite scene: “Let it Go.”

“We love it as performers, we can hear the singing from the ice … it’s really motivating for us,” she said. “Just to hear these thousands of little voices is really, really special.”