Kristen Bell hopes to be in ‘Frozen’ on Broadway
BELL. In a very good place. Photo by Ruben Nepales
LOS ANGELES—Kristen Bell is raring to play Princess Anna, the character she voiced in “Frozen,” in the planned Broadway version of the movie that is now the highest-grossing animated feature film of all time. “Yes, without question,” Kristen eagerly answered us when we asked her if she’s interested in playing Snow Queen Elsa’s younger sister again in the musical stage adaptation of “Frozen.”
“There are a lot of variables involved,” Kristen said in our recent interview. “I plan on jumping those hurdles and figuring it all out, should I be invited to be a part of the cast.”
She said she had “a splendid time” working with Fil-Am Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who won the 2014 Oscar Best Song award for “Let It Go,” the powerful ballad sung by Idina Menzel who voiced Elsa in “Frozen,” which also won the 2014 Oscar Best Animated Feature Film honors. “They are unbelievably talented.”
The 33-year-old Michigan native revealed that she’s also working on another project with the Lopezes. “We have talked about working on a different show altogether and other upcoming projects. We are figuring out what works for everybody.”
Natural progression
If Kristen does get to play Princess Anna onstage, it will not be her first time on Broadway. While still a student at New York University, Kristen made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in a musical version of “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.”
Of the “Frozen” phenomenon that spawned videos of folks of all ages singing “Let It Go,” Kristen remarked, “It’s really cool.”
“But what is really special to me is that the movie is not about romantic love,” she explained. “It’s about committing to someone, to believing in someone even when they don’t believe in themselves. It’s a wonderful set of ideals to give to kids in this modern age.”
She admitted that she didn’t expect the film’s spectacular success. “But I knew that ‘Frozen’ was very special. It was an amazing experience to be a part of it. By the time the movie’s release came, I was giddy with explosive excitement to show off what we had worked on.”
As to what we’d expect between Kristen’s Jeannie van Der Hooven and Don Cheadle’s Marty Kaan in the next season of Showtime’s power suit world, “House of Lies,” she said, “Fire and brimstone, maybe. Even more so than the second and third seasons. You will see the burnt rubble, the silence that happens when you are just looking at rubble. Because Jeannie let her greed blind her. She was so crafty and manipulating this season that she didn’t even consider the consequences of her actions.
“So next year, you will see two really raw characters who have no choice but to change because the way they are currently living is not working. Jeannie’s life has been the destination, not the journey, so she really needs to flip the script.”
Kristen and her husband, actor Dax Shepard, who have a 1-year-old daughter, Lincoln Bell, are in the news for their social media campaign to keep celebrities’ kids out of pictures in the media. “The most obvious answer is that I had a kid,” she explained about her advocacy using the Twitter hashtag, #NoKidsPolicy. They are supported by Jennifer Garner and Halle Berry who successfully led efforts to the passing of a California legislation that imposes harsher fines on paparazzi who hound celebrities’ kids.
Personal issues
“The issues that my child will now face became very relevant and personal to me,” Kristen emphasized. It’s a cause that she was obviously very passionate about as she talked about it. “What Jennifer and Halle have done for their kids is amazing. I wanted to start a public conversation.
“I have a personal investment in this because I really care about my little girl. I know I signed up to be an actress but I also signed up to be a mother and I take that job very seriously. I want to create a safe and healthy environment for her. I think people who look at pictures of children do it because they like children. But I don’t think they realize that a lot of these kids are really scared because the reality is that they are followed by strangers all day. That is not a very cool environment.
“I don’t mean to challenge the First Amendment by any means. I think it’s very important. But I think it’s also very important to keep an ethical boundary when it comes to children being able to conceptualize why they are being followed by strangers and what that sort of lifestyle means to them on a daily basis.
“I like to be a participant when I am giving an interview. But I don’t like to be approached at the grocery store. I like to be a private citizen once in a while. Dax and I have the same view on that. The majority of paparazzi pictures of us are walking with our heads down because we are not out strutting on the street. We understood that it was like a mutual agreement that when we had a baby, we were not going to all these famous parks. We want to keep her existence a little bit quieter until she decides that she wants her image out there.”
With a laugh, Kristen commented, “Now, knowing that I have taken this stance, I am sure that at 11, she (Lincoln) will want to be a Nickelodeon star. All of this is going to bite me in the ass. But I will still feel proud about how I acted as a young mother and the fact that I chose to let it be her decision.”
Kristen is also making a splash these days with her naked photos on a beach, along with those of Jenna Dewan Tatum, Minnie Driver and Nia Long, in Allure magazine’s annual “Nudes” issue. “I talk a big game about being comfortable in my skin,” the beauty magazine quoted her. “I wanted to put my money where my mouth was.”
With the adaptation of her TV breakout show “Veronica Mars” becoming the most successful Kickstarter film fundraising project to date (a mind-blowing $5.7 million was raised), there is talk of a TV spin-off series. That and being part of the most successful animated feature of all time puts Kristen in a very good place.
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