My Music Journal 2025: August 15, 2025

 

Friday, August 15, 2025

Time: 10:02 PM
Song: Let It Go
Artist: Idina Menzel
Mode of Consumption: Watching production of Disney’s “Frozen” at Timber Lake Playhouse.

Link to song: https://open.spotify.com/track/0qcr5FMsEO85NAQjrlDRKo?si=e26ad6608fb24deb

They came dressed in gowns mimicking their princess of choice. They came dressed as Olaf, the talking snowman. They bandied about the grounds before the show, and they waved wands hoping to cast the right spell for the show to begin. They ranged in age from toddler to young adult. 

What did it prove? 

I guess it proved to me that “Frozen” is this generations Disney tent pole. The show that even if you didn’t want to watch it, you likely did a dozen times at the behest of friends or teachers or family members. Yes, if you were a youth in the 2010s and since, you likely can recite the tale of Elsa and Anna chapter and verse. 

It’s filled that role that “Lion King” did for those in the 1990s and before that there was “Cinderella,” “Snow White,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Aladdin.” 

And with it, “Let It Go” is that staple song that brings them to their feet. The signature song for this tale that I think is hinting at female empowerment and casting away societal pressure to suppress gifts and talents to fill a “woman’s” role. 

That all said, I came of age in the 1990s and didn’t have kids when this movie came out. So, I had seen the movie once, on a bus trip probably a decade ago. I had a general idea of the story, but couldn’t remember much else, other than the song. No one could escape that totally when “Frozen” hit it big in 2013. 

I think what stands out to me, at least from the production at Timber Lake, is that it is one of the few times that a villainous turn isn’t telegraphed by the villain delivering a monologue or song telling you he is the villain. 

Instead, Hans simply makes the classic pro wrestling ‘heel’ turn with little forewarning near the end of the third act. Yep, he was playing Anna, the kingdom’s people and the audience the entire time. 

He wasn’t in it for love. He was grabbing power. 

I suppose it’s a step forward in Disney storytelling. Although, one of my favorite parts in the “Lion King” is Scar singing out his plans to the hyenas before killing Mufasa and sending Simba into exile.