Elizabeth Lyons played Young Elsa in FROZEN the Musical over an 18-month contract at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in the West End, sharing the role with Samantha Barks and Jenna Lee-James. During her run, Elizabeth performed alongside Martha Bailey Vine, who played Young Anna, in the Disney production, and FROZEN the Musical marked Elizabeth’s professional and West End debut, and she was in the cast when the musical had their closing performance and filmed for the Disney+ release (FROZEN: The Hit Broadway Musical) that began streaming on the platform in June. This year, Elizabeth was a contestant on Britain’s Got Talent singing Let It Go from Frozen, where she received four yeses from the judges, and whilst a performer at the London Barrio Fiesta in July, she had an impromptu duet with Morissette backstage, and the following day Morissette uploaded the video to her social media platforms. With the video going viral, Elizabeth was asked to perform at ASAP England in Birmingham, with the line-up including Carmelle Collado, who she duetted with on Defying Gravity from Wicked, with the event broadcast live in the Philippines. We caught up with Elizabeth about her time as Young Elsa in FROZEN the Musical in the West End, being in the cast alongside Samantha Barks and Jenna Lee-James (Elsa) and Martha Bailey Vine (Young Anna), filming FROZEN: The Hit Broadway Musical for a Disney+ release and seeing her duet with Morissette go viral.

You played Young Elsa in FROZEN the Musical over an 18-month contract at Theatre Royal Drury Lane in the West End, what was the character like to play?

Playing Young Elsa was a dream role for my West End debut. The first animated Frozen movie came out in the year I was born, and growing up I was obsessed with Elsa, so to play the Young Elsa role was something I could relate to knowing the character so well.

The character transitions through a range of emotions, playful and loving through to fearful, isolated and determined. So, it was great to play a character role which allowed me to show these multiple feelings.

How was it sharing the role of Elsa with Samantha Barks and Jenna Lee-James, and performing alongside Martha Bailey Vine as Young Anna?

Martha was so good to work with. We met at auditions, and we actually live very close to each other. We formed an incredible bond and became like off-stage sisters as well as on-stage sisters and often travelled to the theatre together.

Samantha and Jenna are both incredible actors with amazing voices and I was able to learn so much from watching them day in day out.

The entire cast and production team are all amazing, and everyone is so welcoming and have so much time for each other. It was a very special production to be part of, and I made some lasting friendships.

Did you have a favourite scene or song in FROZEN the Musical and what was the musical like to be part of?

My favourite scene which I’m part of is when we stay up late and build Olaf – A Little Bit of You is the song. It emphasises the sister bond between me and Martha. I also like the Hygge scene as it’s such a catchy song with all the ensemble involved, and it’s such a playful scene.

Do you remember how you felt finding out you’d booked the role of Young Elsa and how was it having the character as your professional theatre and West End debut?

Originally, I auditioned for Young Anna and at the very last stage of the audition process, the USA producers asked me to also read for Young Elsa as they felt I was more suited to this role. I was nervous about this as I was only nine years old and very small, and the existing Young Elsas in the show were much older and taller. However, I felt comfortable with both characters.

When my parents sat me down and showed me the email from Disney offering me the role, I was so happy. I had only started auditioning for roles a few months earlier, so I was still very new to the industry, but out of everything I had auditioned for, this was the role I really wanted to get, so I couldn’t have been more happy and blessed.

What did you enjoy most about working on a major Disney musical in the West End, and what are some of your favourite memories from the run?

I enjoyed the bows at the end of the musical, seeing how happy the audience were as they stand up and clap and cheer. It also gave me lots of confidence knowing I have done a good performance.

My favourite memory is also a sad memory, which was the last show we performed. Everyone was so emotional that day, but we had so much fun embracing each other and laughing and talking about previous shows, and all the good times we had shared together.

How was it performing your final show/the musical’s closing performance at Theatre Royal Drury Lane?

After an 18-month run, we had built up such strong connections with everyone and knowing it was all coming to an end was highly emotional. There were a lot of tears from all the cast and crew that final week. However, there was also a feeling of pride that we had been there for so long and got to close the show out, and the added excitement of knowing that FROZEN: The Hit Broadway Musical was soon to be released on Disney+.

The musical was released on Disney+ in June, what was it like filming for FROZEN: The Hit Broadway Musical and how different did you find it to a standard performance?

It was so different filming the musical than a normal live performance. But so so so good.

The filming consisted of a few days without an audience, where we performed on stage with close up cameras on stage with you, along with a live audience show on the last day of filming.

We would do multiple shoots of the same scene, and the attention to detail on every facial expression and line delivery was so important.

It was an amazing experience, and it opened my eyes to what film would be like compared to musical theatre.

How did you feel watching the filmed release for the first time on Disney+?

I felt super proud, and it was so strange to see myself on TV as I had never seen a recording of myself on stage in the West End.

I thought the editing was brilliant, and it was the perfect digi-capture of such an amazing show.

I am so lucky to have this on film and being able to show it to my relatives abroad who were unable to see the show live, and for me to relive the experience in years to come and bring back all the fond memories is the best.

On this year’s series of Britain’s Got Talent, you auditioned as a singer with Let It Go from Frozen, how did you prepare for your audition and how did you find the experience performing on the show?

For the audition preparation, I prepared about five song choices and practiced them for several weeks at home. I didn’t make my final song choice until a couple of hours before the live audition after discussing it with the BGT song choice team.

The experience was fantastic, and everyone working at BGT was really nice. I also recognised one of the backstage crew as he worked at FROZEN before, and the chaperones at the venue were all really nice and knew the chaperones I had during FROZEN.

It definitely helped having the West End experience of performing in front of large audiences, but I was still nervous stepping out in front of the judges who I hadn’t met before and performing to over 4k people.

The audience were cheering so loud which was great, but it was hard to hear yourself on stage, especially when talking to the judges.

How was it receiving feedback from the judges – Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden, Alesha Dixon and KSI (and having all say ‘yes’), and what do you feel you learnt from auditioning?

The feedback I received was really positive, and there was additional feedback which wasn’t shown on the TV airing. It was especially great to receive positive feedback from Simon, who had also judged my mum on The X Factor UK in 2015 and given her four yeses also. He said it was like watching someone at their own concert.

It was, of course, upsetting that I wasn’t selected for the live shows, but I appreciate that BGT showed my audition on the TV, and I was able to get lots of exposure.

Can you tell us about your recent performance with ASAP England in Birmingham in August as part of their 30th anniversary celebration?

Performing at ASAP England in Birmingham was the highlight of my summer. It was actually a last-minute guesting, which occurred due to the production team at ASAP having seen my impromptu duet with Morissette, which went viral, and they decided to ask me to join at ASAP.

I arrived the day before the event at rehearsals, which was such a good day. I got to meet the super talented Carmelle Collado to practice our duet of Defying Gravity and met up with all the other legendary icons and mega pop stars that were performing, and the show producers.

I was made to feel welcome by everyone and treated no different from these superstars.

The rehearsals went well, and we ran through the staging positions. It was a huge stage and so many cameras and lighting.

I also got to watch all the other acts rehearsal performance.

The following day, we arrived at the venue a few hours before the concert started and everyone had lunch all together in the large canteen backstage. I was then sent into hair and makeup and costume whilst I could hear the arena filling up, I think there were around 10k people in attendance.

I was part of the Musicals segment of the concert, and the performance went to plan with a standing ovation from the audience at the end of the segment.

Although it was only a couple of days, I made some great friendships, and I am looking forward to meeting up with these talented artists again soon.

The concert was shown on the TV back in the Philippines, which was great for my relatives who live there to be able to see the concert I was part of, and also for me to watch the performance back.

How was it singing at the London Barrio Fiesta in July and performing an impromptu duet with Morissette backstage?

I was lucky enough to be asked to perform at the London Barrio Fiesta as one of the local UK talents, and sang two songs, one in English – Titanium, and one in Tagalog – Ikaw Ay Ako. This was as a warm-up act to three superstars from the Philippines who had flown over to the UK to perform.

The performances were good, and the outdoor crowd were enjoying the event.

Later that evening, after the Barrio Fiesta had finished, I was introduced to Morissette backstage, and when she found out that I know the song Ikaw Ay Ako, she suggested we did an impromptu duet there and then. It was so kind of her to do this, as I could see she was extremely busy, but she made the time and effort for me, which is something I will always be truly grateful for.

The following day, Morissette posted the video of our duet, and it went viral on social media gaining over five million views across various social media platforms.

It was so good to then meet up with Morissette the following month at ASAP England in Birmingham, all of which was made possible by her being kind enough to duet with me and post it.

Where does your love of acting and singing come from and how did you get started in the industry?

Singing has always been a part of me, it’s in my blood, with my mother and uncle being professional singers. When my mum realised I was in tune at the age of two, that was it, she started training me.

I would sing at family parties and occasionally the odd song at one of my mum’s singing events.

At the same time, I started dance lessons at the age of six at the Pixie Lott Performing Arts Academy, focusing on Tap, Ballet, Modern and Street. I also started learning the piano. At age eight, I started taking LAMDA classes and soon realised that I also had a passion for acting.

At the age of nine, I decided to apply to the Sylvia Young Agency for representation, and I was lucky enough to be accepted, and they put me forward for auditions, one of which was FROZEN just a couple of months into joining SYA, and I was able to land the part of Young Elsa.

What are some of your favourite theatre shows to watch and music artists to listen to?

I am in love with the musical SIX. The songs are so clever and catchy. It has helped me with my history lessons at school.

I like to listen to Ariana Grande, and I really like Golden by Ejae in K-Pop Demon Hunters.

How do you like to spend your time away from performing?

I like to hang out with my friends and play video games.

Do you have any projects or events coming up that you can tell us about and what are you hoping the next year brings for you?

Currently I don’t have anything confirmed. I am going to the Philippines for Christmas and New Year and hope to do some singing events whilst there and meet up with some of the legendary artists I met earlier this year.

I am hoping that the next year will bring me more singing opportunities, and also, I hope to land a part in a film or TV production, as I really want to expand my TV/film resume.

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