Rave reviews for young Frozen star from Four Marks

A seven-year-old girl from Four Marks has received rave reviews for playing Young Anna in Frozen - The West End Musical on the Isle of Wight.

Elsie-Marie Moody, a pupil at Medstead Primary School, earned the part after what her mother Hannah Caudle called a “rigorous and highly competitive” audition process.

A local theatre reviewer said Elsie-Marie gave “an energetic performance full of fizz and vim” while delivering “chirpy vocals and zippy dialogue”.

Hannah said: “We are incredibly proud of Elsie-Marie. She has worked so hard for this opportunity and showed such dedication by travelling to rehearsals every weekend while continuing with school and all of her training. Watching her perform her dream role has been a very special moment for our family.”

Young Anna was Elsie-Marie’s first principal role in a musical, and Hannah made sure it was a big surprise.

Elsie-Marie said: “When Mummy picked me up from school, she gave me an Anna Barbie doll. Then she told me I’d got the part of Young Anna. I was so excited I was jumping up and down!”

But there was plenty of hard work ahead for Elsie-Marie and her mum.

Hannah said: “The Frozen rehearsal period involved travelling to the Isle of Wight every weekend, but once she sets her mind on something, she’s incredibly committed. Once they find something they truly love, the miles and busy weekends somehow become worth it.

“She’s our only child, which definitely helps with the logistics. I fund all of her activities through my teaching, while her dad works incredibly hard to provide for our family, meaning my income can go entirely towards supporting her training. We’re very lucky that we’re able to make it work.”

That performing arts training involves singing tuition from Hannah, tap, ballet, modern and street dance lessons from Vanessa Golborn, jazz and junior jazz team dancing instruction from Kahli Lewis in Farnham, and an online musical theatre class.

Elsie-Marie also has swimming lessons and does two sessions a week at Alton Gymnastics Club - but she gives herself Tuesdays off to meet friends down the park or practise gymnastics on the lawn.

All the skills she is learning will help towards her ambition of becoming a professional performer. But for that to happen in the future, it must remain a joy for her - which is certainly the case at the moment.

Elsie-Marie said: “My favourite part about playing Young Anna is that she’s super fun and I get to run around and play on stage. I also love performing with Ffion because she’s the best Young Elsa. I like all the funny things Young Anna says too, especially ‘Freeze my butt!’ That always makes me laugh.

“I was really nervous before performing in Frozen, but as soon as I got on stage it was the most fun thing ever. My first show was the best day of my whole life! I loved being on stage in the finale with the big Elsa and Anna, and doing my bow because I got to throw the magic snow just like Elsa!”

Hannah has some background in treading the boards but is not a stereotypical stage mum.

She said: “I always loved performing myself and trained at drama school before performing professionally for a while. I eventually chose to move into teaching, which is where I’ve found my passion.

“That said, this definitely wasn’t something we pushed on to Elsie-Marie. If anything, I encouraged her to try as many different activities as possible so she could discover what she genuinely loved.

“It’s a wonderfully rewarding industry, but it’s also a very tough one. If anything, I hoped she’d discover another passion. Instead, theatre chose her. She is incredibly driven and determined, and this is completely off her own back. We’re simply supporting the dream she’s chosen.”

That dream began to come into focus around four years ago.

Hannah said: “Dance came first, and Vanessa Golborn really nurtured that love.

“When Elsie-Marie was three, she came with me to a singing competition where some of my students were performing. The next day, she simply asked ‘Elsie-Marie sing?’ We started having little sing-songs together at home, and it just grew from there.

“The following year, aged just four, she entered a local singing competition in the ten years and under category and came second.

“The acting followed naturally too. By the age of five she’d already seen 13 musicals and, instead of circling toys in the Argos catalogue at Christmas, she’d sit with the Mayflower Theatre What’s On guide highlighting all the shows she wanted to see!”

Hannah said Elsie-Marie was happy to keep her options open regarding the future: “She always says she doesn’t mind what she’s doing, as long as she’s on a stage!

“Her long-term dream role is Elsa in Frozen. She also absolutely loves Six and would love to play Anne Boleyn one day. At the moment she’s simply enjoying becoming as rounded a performer as she can through singing, acting and dancing.”

The final word was left to Elsie-Marie: “Next I’m really excited for my dance show with Vanessa. One day I’d really love to play Annie, and I’d also love to be in a KPop Demon Hunters show because I love all the songs!”