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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

‘Frozen’ sing-along offers family fun

Spokane singer Nicole Lewis spotted a dress a friend of hers wore as a contestant in the Miss Washington pageant. With a cape, she thought, it would look like the outfit worn by Queen Elsa in the hit film “Frozen.” Maybe, Lewis thought, she could use the dress and parlay it into gigs singing songs from “Frozen” at birthday parties.

When she saw an Olaf the snowman costume for sale online, she snagged it, too.

So it was serendipitous when the Bing Crosby Theater came calling, asking if Lewis was interested in developing some kind of show with Friends of the Bing.

“I had these two costumes, so when Jerry (Dicker) asked me, I went ‘I know what we’ll do,’ ” Lewis said.

The “Frozen” singalong, being staged Saturday and Sunday afternoons, will not only feature Disney’s Oscar-winning animated musical – with song lyrics – projected on the Bing’s movie screen. Actors portraying the characters – Queen Elsa, Anna, Kristoff, Olaf, and even a real reindeer as Sven – will come on stage and act out some scenes, then lead the crowd through the singalong portion of the show.

Lewis, who won Washington’s Gimme the Mike competition in 2007, has become a regular performer in the region, playing at Pig Out in the Park and Art on the Green, singing the national anthem before Gonzaga University basketball games, and bringing her tunes to numerous bars, wineries and private events.

She’s heading up a cast that features Jackie Bertagnolli as Anna, Nick Daemon as Kristoff, Megan Sherer as Olaf, Daryl Johnson as Oaken, Ella Dae Rose as Helga and JoLynn Yates as Alice.

While Anna’s is the bigger role in “Frozen,” it’s Elsa’s big song that has become a cultural juggernaut. Broadway star Indina Menzel sang “Let it Go” to the top of the Billboard charts. It won the Oscar in 2014 for Best Original Song. Lewis admits she’s been working to perfect her performance.

“I had that crisis moment,” she said. “I realized, oh my gosh, I really need to watch the movie more and know my songs … It’s great movie. I will have seen it a lot of times by the time we’re finished.”