Arvada Center production is a topnotch version of the popular Disney tale.

It may not be a holiday show per se, but it’s tough to beat the wintry, family appeal of the musical Frozen now up at the Arvada Center. Directed by Arvada Center Associate Artistic Director Kenny Moten, the now-familiar tale of the two sister princesses, Anna and Elsa, is brought to life in a vivid production that rivals the touring Broadway productions we’ve seen come through the Denver Center in recent years.

Getting this one right technically is a heavy lift, with the magical scenic elements of the Frozen world being intrinsic to the plot. As they’ve shown over and over again in big stage musicals, the team at Arvada is more than up to the task — starting with yet another fantastic set designed by Brian Mallgrave that’s beautifully lit by Jon Dunkle. Emily Valley’s costume designs are augmented by an impressive array of wigs by Debbie Spaur to complete the look.

Stepping into the chilly shoes of Elsa is Anne Terze-Schwarz, a Colorado actor on an extended hot streak of impressive musical performances. With her tremendous voice and a firm grasp on the character’s tortured psyche, Terze-Schwarz brings a lot of depth to Elsa’s story — even as the book doesn’t give her a lot to go on beyond the desire to be left alone with her troublesome powers.

As her warmer, sunnier counterpart, Jennasea Pearce is a delight as Anna. Charged with lighting the mood after Elsa practically wrecks the kingdom of Arendelle, the character has a lot more to sort through — starting with the fact that she’d been utterly in the dark about Elsa’s powers. Compared to other Disney tales where family members can be the real villains, what’s neat about Frozen is its focus on sisterly love and the faith that all can be well in the end. Anna never gives up on Elsa, and that tenacity is played to its fullest in Pearce’s powerful performance.

Anne Terze-Schwarz as Elsa in ‘Frozen.’ | Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography

Colorful cast

With those primary roles firmly established, Moten has a strong cast to work with depicting the rest of the characters. As Kristoff, EJ Dohring checks all the boxes for the humble hero who also drives a lot of the humor with reindeer sidekick Sven (Brandon Guzmán wearing a Lion King-like puppet).

As the scheming Weselton, Brett Ambler is suitably oleaginous — but he really breaks out portraying Oaken at the top of Act Two. As the proprietor of a trading post and spa, Oaken leads the gleeful, over-the-top “Hygge” number celebrating the good things in life. Sure, the action is tangential to everything else going on, but it’s a clever way to kick of the second act following the emotionally charged “Let it Go” finale of Act One.

More laughs come from the snowman Olaf, played with comedic verve by Patric Case. The villainous Hans is brought to live by Zachary Chiero.

The show I caught with our two granddaughters was a few weeks into the run, and this is as tight a production as one could hope for. The pit orchestra, led by Alec Steinhorn, is uniformly excellent from start to finish. Apart from a couple of brief microphone issues, the sound mix is nicely dialed in by Max Silverman to where every word sung is perfectly clear. All of it adds up to a Broadway-quality production presented in the Arvada Center’s intimate auditorium.

This one has been selling strongly, but there should still be plenty of seats available to take the family out to see a true highlight of the Colorado holiday theatre season.

EJ Dohring, Brett Ambler and Jennesea Pearce in ‘Frozen.’ | Photo: Amanda Tipton Photography