Samantha Barks

Samantha Barks to play Elsa in Frozen the Musical in the West End

Will Longman
Will Longman

Samantha Barks is set to take on the lead role in the upcoming West End premiere of Frozen the Musical.

Barks, known for her roles in the film version of Les Miserables and lead role in Pretty Woman: The Musical on Broadway, will play Elsa in Michael Grandage's production when it opens in London at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in October 2020.

Barks appeared in the West End production of Les Mis prior to appearing in the film, and her other stage credits include City of Angels at the Donmar Warehouse, Nancy in Oliver, Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years at the St James Theatre, and a UK tour of Cabaret. She first found fame when she placed third in the 2008 BBC talent show I'd Do Anything.

She will be tasked with performing one of the show's biggest numbers, the Grammy and Academy Award-winning song Let It Go, which was first performed by Idina Menzel in the original film, and Cassie Levey in the Broadway production.

Directed by Grandage, the musical adaptation of the Disney film premiered in New York in 2018, receiving Tony Award nominations for best musical, best book of a musical (Jennifer Lee) and best original score (Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez).

The story is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Snow Queen, and follows a princess who journeys to find her estranged sister and free her from a kingdom trapped in eternal winter.

Earlier this week, it was announced that tickets for the musical will go on sale in March.

Frozen the Musical is at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from October 2020.

Frozen the Musical tickets will be available in March 2020.

Photo credit: Sean Reynolds (flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Originally published on

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