Displaying items by tag: The Snow Queen

After their award winning year, The Impostors Theatre Company (ITC) opens Season Eight with the highly anticipated world-premiere of The Snow Queen, a beloved folktale reimagined by ITC ensemble member Mallory Swisher, directed by ITC Artistic Director Stefan Roseen and ITC resident choreographer Anna Roemer. The Snow Queen explores the people who carry our stories when we no longer can – and the courage it takes to let them go. Equal parts whimsical, haunting, joyful, and deeply human, this production warms even the coldest hearts into blooming again. The Snow Queen runs from November 6 to November 21, 2026, at ITC's resident home, The Den Theatre, 1331 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL 60622.

Once there was, and once there was not, a little girl and a little boy...

Best friends Gerda and Kay spend the changing seasons weaving stories and tending their beloved garden. As the flowers bloom, so do they. But when a shard of enchanted glass pierces Kay's heart, everything changes. His laughter freezes. His warmth disappears. Swept away by the enigmatic Snow Queen to her kingdom beyond the aurora, Kay is destined to remain in an endless winter... unless someone dares follow.

Fueled by unwavering love and impossible hope, Gerda embarks on a journey into the unknown. Along the way she encounters unpredictable elements, a talking raven, a band of singing robbers, whispering flowers, deceptive sweetness, and strangers who become family. With every trial she must decide not only how to save Kay but who she is becoming.

Can Gerda withstand the bitter cold and the Snow Queen's relentless desire to control the narrative? Will Kay reclaim the story that was stolen from him, or surrender himself to the silence of the ice?

A beloved folktale reimagined through a new landscape, The Snow Queen explores the people who carry our stories when we no longer can – and the courage it takes to let them go. Equal parts whimsical, haunting, joyful, and deeply human, this production warms even the coldest hearts into blooming again.

The cast of The Snow Queen features ITC ensemble member Courtney Marie as The Snow Queen, with Shannon McEldowney as Gerda, Cee Scallen as Kay, Hilary Sanzel as Storyteller One (The Raven), Bryson David Hoff as Storyteller Two (The Reindeer), Mary Ross as Storyteller Three (Grandma), JA Loyd as Storyteller Four (Old Woman), Mab De Guzman as Storyteller Five (Sprite), Mara Currens as Storyteller Six (The Robber Girl), and Eilish Morse-O’Rourke as Storyteller Seven (Mother).

Following The Snow Queen, ITC’s Eighth Season will continue with the world-premiere of A Portrait of Dr. Gachet – an original musical written by ITC ensemble member Dominick Vicent Alesia. The season will conclude with Footholds Vol. 8, an anthology play written by the community and directed by ITC Operations Manager Courtney Marie.

About the Artists

Mallory Swisher (Playwright) is one of the founding ensemble members of The Impostors Theatre Company. She is a playwright (The Wood, Beyond the Garden Gate), actor, voice actor, and lighting designer. Acting credits include: Mary Poppins (Memorial Opera House), a staged reading of Tippy: Stories from the River (The Impostors), The Altercation in the Underworld (“Best of the Fest” at the Annual Madcap Production Short Play Festival), and Assassins (Crown Point Theater). She was voted First Runner-Up for “Best Theater Designer of 2023” by The Chicago Reader. Lighting design credits include: Footholds Vol.4, Miranda: A War-Torn Fable, Footholds Vol. 3, The House of Baba Yaga, Summer & Smoke, Tippy: Stories from the River, Footholds Vol. 1, Caged: An Allegory, and The Wood, all for The Impostors. Mallory has studied at the iO Theater and received her degree from Valparaiso University. Catch her every other Tuesday on Roll 4 Your Life: a D&D podcast, available on your preferred podcasting platform!

Stefan Roseen (Director & Sound Designer) is a Chicago-based director, designer, and playwright. Since its founding in 2016, Stefan has served as the artistic director of The Impostors Theatre Company (ITC). He most recently directed ITC’s Static-Head and the critically acclaimed, Jeff Award winning Helena & Hermia in the Enamored Odyssey, earning him the award for direction in the short run category. Additional directing credits include Pilot Island & Her Keepers, Beyond the Garden Gate, The Last Living Gun, Miranda: A War-Torn Fable, Windwalkers, Hertha Nova, Summer & Smoke, Tippy: Stories from the River, Caged: An Allegory, The Wood, Art, and The Terrible Tragedy of Peter Pan. His direction of the short play The Altercation in the Underworld won “Best Of” at the MadKap Productions Short Play Festival. Stefan has been Jeff Nominated for his direction of Helena & Hermia and Hertha Nova, as well as his artistic specialization of sound design for Pilot Island & Her Keepers. All three productions were also nominated for Best Production (Short Run), which Helena & Hermia recently won. By day, Stefan is an educator teaching Performance Art and Fine Art. Recent design credits include sound design for Rising Water and Big Time Toppers (Theatre L’Acadie), as well as scenic design for 7 Minutes to Live, Eurydice, A Doll’s House, 25/25, Occidental Express, the Jeff Recommended They, and the Jeff Nominated The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (Trap Door Theatre).

Anna Roemer (Director & Choreographer) is a Chicago-based choreographer, director, actor, and teaching artist. She is an ensemble member and the resident choreographer for The Impostors Theatre Company, as well as the co-founder and artistic director of Schoolhouse Shakespeare Company. Recent credits include choreography for the Jeff Award winning Helena and Hermia in the Enamored Odyssey, Monstrous, and Miranda: A War Torn Fable (ITC); as well as Sweeney Todd (Big Noise Theater) and 35 Millimeter: A Musical Exhibition (Three Brothers Theater Co.). She also acts as resident choreographer for the youth performing arts company Music House Inc., where she has choreographed and/or directed over 40 productions. Anna is passionate about creating spaces where stories can be told freely and joyfully, and she is so excited to share one of her favorite fairytales with audiences through The Snow Queen!

The Snow Queen

Parking and Transportation:
The Den Theatre is located in Wicker Park on Milwaukee Avenue. There is limited street parking available and The Den Theatre does not currently have parking or valet.

ITC recommends the usage of the ParkChicago and SpotHero apps. Metered parking is available on Milwaukee Avenue and surrounding side streets. Pay boxes are enforced from 8:00 A.M. – 10:00 P.M. on Milwaukee Avenue and from 8:00 A.M. – 6:00 P.M. on side streets. Pay boxes accept quarters and credit cards and can be fed up to two or three hours, depending on the location.

The theater is easily accessible via the Blue Line to Division or Damen stops and by bus from #56 (Milwaukee), #70 (Division), #50 (Damen), or #72 (North).

About The Impostors Theatre Company

The Impostors Theatre Company stages stories at the crossroads of retrospect and innovation, where the fantastic collides with the everyday. In order to better our discourse, our relationships, and ourselves, The Impostors aim to inspire an urgency for the arts by embracing the art of pretend.

In our eighth season of storytelling, The Impostors endeavor to share stories that weave directly throughout our objective to excite among youth a passion for the arts and to inspire alike the wide-eyed and world-weary. In a rerendering of a fairytale classic, our characters will chart course through a wintery landscape and its garden of lost things, focusing on the beating hearts of its heroes and its resigned foe. In the spring, a brand new musical will unspool the inner lives of those closest to the once unsung artistic genius, Vincent Van Gogh. And, in the fashion of perennial plants, our traditional anthology Footholds will return with an appreciative nod to other avenues of creating and sharing art.

The Impostors Theatre Company is a 501(c)3 non-profit arts service organization. For more information about The Impostors Theatre Company and donating to our mission, we invite you to visit theimpostorstheatre.com. Follow ITC on facebook.com/theimpostorstheatre and on instagram.com/impostorstheatre.

Just in time for the season’s first snowfall and the holidays, the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire serves up a delightful rockin’ adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, perfect for the entire family as its finale for the 2023 children’s theatre season.

Billed as the story that inspired the Disney megahit Frozen – indeed, there were many young audience members in full Elsa garb – the story follows the adventures of the brave, young Gerda, who is determined to find and rescue her best friend, Kai, who is trapped forever in the Snow Queen’s winter palace.

The Snow Queen is one of Andersen’s most highly acclaimed fairy tales, with its timeless story of the struggle between good and evil. In this production, Andersen’s beloved tale is transformed into a musical, set to an original pop-rock score that has something for everyone’s musical tastes.

The story itself is a bit complicated. Struck in the eye and heart by the splinters of a mirror stolen from the Snow Queen and cursed by a malevolent troll, Kai forgets his friendship with Gerda and becomes cruel and mean-spirited. Undaunted by her beloved friend’s rejection, the intrepid Gerda begins her journey to reclaim her friend, which takes her into a magical world filled with singing flowers and a zany group of talking crows, a wicked witch, who casts a spell to trick Gerda into becoming her daughter, a kind-hearted prince and princess, a hard-rockin’ punk robber girl and mother, and more!

Whether the Frozen devotees were disappointed that their favorite princess, Anna, Olaf, or Kristoff, were not on stage (there is a talking reindeer!), it didn’t appear to be the case. The mostly under-ten audience paid rapt attention throughout the hour-long production.

While the staging was kept to a minimum, with scene changes accomplished through a well-placed prop (cleverly camouflaged alongside the Marriott Theatre’s signature circular stage) and through two video screens flanking the stage, the talented ensemble kept their young audience engaged through non-stop action onstage and foot-tapping music that ranged from soulful ballads to a dance-party beat to a homage to punk rock.

This was my first time seeing a production at Marriott Theatre as well as my seven-year-old granddaughter’s first live theatre performance. It is the perfect venue for introducing children to live theatre as the sightlines are good and the audience is close to the actors and action. There’s even a question-and-answer session after the performance with the actors to further educate the next generation of theatregoers.

The production comes to life under the sure-handed direction of Landree Fleming with music direction by Michael Mahler and choreography by Katie Johannigman. The ensemble of five actors works hard throughout the show with the majority playing multiple roles through a deft change of costume – a hat, a coat, change of shoes – or a change of accent.

Veteran Chicago actor Caron Buinis (who’s also appearing in Marriott Theatre’s production of the Carole King tribute musical Beautiful) is simply wonderful as Gerda’s grandmother, the wise woman of the North, the witch, and the robber mother. Also returning to Marriott Theatre stage is Jeremiah Alsop, who plays the troubled Kai, as well as the prince and a singing flower.

The ensemble is rounded out with three actors making their debuts at the Marriott. Ryan Stajmiger captivates the audience in his multiple roles as the troll, the reindeer, the rose, and the head crow, Reginald, which he hilariously portrays as a droll, but proper British soldier. Add to that Alanna Chavez, who dazzles as the Snow Queen (my granddaughter’s favorite character), but who also can rock as the lonely, punk-rocker robber girl.

But it is Joryhebel Ginorio, in her debut at Marriott, who shines as the loyal and devoted Gerda. Ginorio brings a sweet soulfulness to her portrayal of Gerda and charms the audience with her vocal versatility and range. She has a beautiful voice, and I, for one, hope that this will not be the last Ginorio will be heard on Chicago’s stages.

As with all proper fairy tales, love, goodness, and friendship triumphs in the end – to the delight of the audience. And who knows? Maybe the young Elsa fans in attendance have found another heroine in the kindness, bravery, and determination of young Gerda.

The Snow Queen provides families with the perfect holiday entertainment with shows on most Fridays through Sundays at 10 am through Dec. 31. There are select 12:30 pm performances and plenty of holiday week performances scheduled.