Magical journey

Just embody the iconic Disney characters kids love and look up to.

No pressure!

"You have to always put 110% into it,” said Joscie LeFevre. “Little kids look up to you. They want to imagine themselves in you. And you really have to be that inspiration that they're looking for.”

LeFevre and her cast mate Ella Kremer got a taste of what it’s like to be Elsa and Anna when they made a visit last weekend to Fort Recovery Public Library.

"Beforehand, it's really nerve-wracking,” said LeFevre. “You're scared you're going to walk in and they're going to be like, 'You're not Elsa. You're not Anna.' But then when you get there and they love you …”

"They hug you over and over and over again,” added Kremer. “And they'll sing songs to you. And they take a million photos with you.”

The full experience begins Thursday when LeFevre’s Elsa and Kremer’s Anna are joined on stage by Olaf, Sven, Kristoff and the rest of the familiar characters in Fort Recovery High School’s production of Disney’s “Frozen Jr.”

"I wanted to do something fun, that the kids loved, and that would help build our program from the ground up and get us excited about theatre,” said director Reid Knuth of the show selection this year. "I'm excited to have a show that I know people are going to want to come see and a show that the cast really wants to put on that they're excited about.”

Part of growing the program is including elementary school students in the show, as Finley Thompson and Whitley Rammel play the younger version of LeFevre and Kremer’s characters.

In addition to LeFevre and Kremer, the high school cast also features Trevor Heitkamp as Kristoff, Olivia Smith as Olaf, Isaac LeFevre as Hans and Caden Marchal as Oaken.

Joscie LeFevre’s favorite moment of the show is when her character finally gets to reveal her true personality.

"Because it really shows what's actually inside Elsa,” she said. “She's scared of herself the whole time and she can finally just, 'Let it Go,' and give it all she has and show everybody how much her life means to her and how much she cares about her sister, that she would leave her behind to keep her safe."

As for the director, he’s thrilled any time LeFevre is showing off her vocals.

"Joscie LeFevre kills it every time she sings,” said Knuth. “Which I knew going in was going to be the case, because she's always like that. But she's kind of taken it to a whole new level as Elsa and added dimension to the character that you often don't see in Frozen Jr."

While LeFevre is a veteran of the stage — she played the title role in the school’s production of “Annie Jr.” in 2016 — being in the spotlight is new for Kremer. It was her effort in a smaller role in last year’s production of “She Loves Me” that earned her a bigger opportunity, and she’s enjoyed the challenge.

"It's super, duper scary — definitely a learning curve,” she said. “But it's been fun. I'm definitely excited to show people what I can do."

The production opens at 7 p.m. Thursday in the auditorium at Fort Recovery Elementary/Middle School. Additional shows are at 7 p.m. Friday and Sunday, as well as 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets are $6 for students and $8 for adults and will be sold at the door. (Children 5 and younger will be admitted for free.)

"It's going to be fun,” said Kremer. “We’re hoping to do all kinds of things and show you things that you didn't see in the movie, things that you see in the movie but never would experience in a live-action kind of setting."