The Broadway tour of "Disney's Frozen the Musical" is headed to the Hippodrome in June, and taking the stage is Maryland's own Caroline Bowman, as Elsa.
WMAR-2 News was able to sit down with Bowman when she stopped at home in between shows.
Coming back home, to perform is a dream come true, "I've never performed at the Hippodrome so this is my first time performing at the Hippodrome in a professional environment. When I was in high school I was a part of the high school Cappie awards, which is like the high school TONY awards and we did the awards ceremony here, so I got to perform on this stage when I was an amateur, as they say. But I am so thrilled to be back in my hometown and be doing this show in particular, it means so much to me. I have been waiting for this for so long so it's gonna be... it's gonna be pretty epic."
Caroline was cast to the role in March of 2019, but it wasn't until August of 2021 that she was able to get on tour. She has performed the role of Elsa 700 times, and counting, "Frozen is such a special story, and the musical, I think is actually a little better if I do say so myself. We have everything you love from the movie plus so much more. We dive deeper into these characters and we really get to learn who Ana and Elsa are and their sisterly love story and how powerful their love is and how they are stronger together. And then playing Elsa from a very young age she has a lot of expectations put on her and she is also told that she is something that makes her so special is something she needs to conceal and something she is not allowed to show to the rest of the world because her parents are very worried that people might not understand her. She's a very complex character and you get to see her journey of being this very fearful, unsure, character to really deciding to own exactly who she is, she actually becomes the most powerful when she does own exactly who she is and steps into her power and becomes the woman she is destined to be."
Her love for performing started at a young age. She says she went into high school knowing what she wanted to do, "I wanted to do musical theater and I knew I wanted to be on Broadway and be doing exactly what I get to do every day."
She credits a teacher at Glenelg High School for giving her the space to grow, "Her name is Sue Miller, and I got to do so many different musicals and plays in school because of her, and she really kind of stretched me and let me see where I fit in the world, but also she didn't pigeon-hole me, she didn't put me in a box. She let me be everything, which is so special because the theater world likes to decide who you are and she let me be everything."
And it wasn't just high school plays. Caroline performed at Toby's Dinner Theater and at Olney Theatre Center. When she was 18, she won second place in the Howard County Rising Star Competition.
The impact her role, as Elsa the Ice Queen, has on children, young and old, is not lost on her, "I have a lot of friends from high school that now have kids, that are going to bring their kids, to see me, playing Elsa which is a character they look up to and admire and I get to have that honor and that is what it is, it's an honor. It's a true honor to come back here and do exactly what I said I was going to do."
"It's so fun. There are some times. I spot a little Elsa in the front row and I sing the song to them and they just beam and it's just so special. I love it so much."
"Disney's Frozen the Musical" will be at the Hippodrome starting June 7th and runs through the 18th.