Colac actor Thomas McGuane commands princely role in Frozen the Musical

It’s a long way from Colac to the big stage of Broadway musicals. But a rising star from the town has a princely role in one of Disney’s biggest hits.

Nui Te Koha

@nuitekoha

less than 2 min read

April 26, 2021 - 5:05PM

Entertainment

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A country boy from Colac has been given the keys to an epic Disney kingdom with a princely role in the hit Broadway musical Frozen.

Thomas McGuane, who grew up in the country Victoria, plays the villainous Hans in the musical based on the 2013 film.

“I come from a family that has a background of hard yakka work,” McGuane said.

“I found my love of theatre in Colac. I did the atypical thing of doing the school musical, and I fell in love with it.”

Asked about having a Broadway dream while growing up an hour’s drive from Geelong, McGuane said: “I didn’t think it was a possibility. I used to think, ‘Oh, it’s an American thing.’ It took me a while to figure out these opportunities can happen on home soil.”

Thomas McGuane as Prince Hans in Frozen The Musical.

Thomas McGuane at his parents’ property in Colac. Picture: Nicole Cleary

Frozen The Musical, which opens at Her Majesty’s Theatre in June, has released new tickets.

Melbourne’s Jemma Rix stars as ice queen Elsa, Courtney Monsma as Elsa’s sister Anna, Matt Lee as snowman Olaf, and Sean Sinclair as ice delivery guy Kristoff.

“It’s a show that has the scale of nothing I’ve ever experienced before,” McGuane said. “Disney really puts on a spectacle to entertain audiences and allow them to escape into these fantasy worlds. They are truly epic and astounding.”

McGuane, whose theatre credits include Miss Saigon, My Fair Lady and Jersey Boys, said it was fun to play ever-changing, eventual bad guy Hans.

“I liken him to a chameleon. Hans can become whatever people need him to be at that time,” McGuane said.

“He’s a character who can put on different masks, and he’s never quite himself at any point in the show, until he reveals his true colours. I always want to make that moment very piercing for the audience.”

Get Frozen tickets at frozenthemusical.com.au