Frozen star Samantha Barks revealed she walked off stage after singing the show’s emotional anthem Let It Go and collapsed in tears into her co-stars arms.
The actress said Wednesday’s press night performance of the musical at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane was the “most intense wave of emotion”.
Barks, who plays Elsa opposite Stephanie McKeon’s Anna, said: “I walked off stage into Steph’s arms and we just collectively cried but all happy tears and just this feeling of relief”.
The star said the show, which was put back more than once because of the pandemic, had taken on new meaning in a world learning to live with Covid.
She said: “I’ve felt emotional about the idea of tonight for so long.
“I felt it was going to be emotional because we’ve been isolated for so long so when they actually open up the gates in the show I think it’s a very meaningful moment.”
McKeon, who received a huge ovation for her performance of For the First Time in Forever, said: “It felt cathartic you could just feel it on the stage from the audience.
“We needed this, we needed to get back together and to celebrate something joyful because it’s been such a hard time for everyone and this is such a positive fun experience.”
The musical, which was a huge hit on Broadway, is the first show put on at the historic theatre after a lavish £60 million restoration project.
With dozens of people working backstage and front of house, Frozen is one of the biggest shows to launch in the West End since theatre returned and cast and crew are constantly monitored and tested for Covid to try to ensure it stays open.
Barks said its themes of isolation and separation from loved ones were “things we can all relate to” while McKeon joked: “We’re basically method actors now”.
