Let It Go in Denver as Disney's Frozen Returns to the Buell Theatre

For Jeremy Davis, Olaf isn’t just a role — it’s a joyful partnership with a puppet that’s brought warmth and laughter to countless audiences. Davis first stepped into Olaf’s snowy shoes full-time during the national tour of Frozen in 2022 and has since become synonymous with the lovable snowman.

"Initially, the biggest challenge was working with the puppet," Davis says. "If the puppet doesn’t come alive, then nothing else really matters. I’d never done any kind of puppeteering in my career, so I had to bear down and really get to know Olaf, learn his mechanics bit by bit until they were second nature. Now, after all the time we’ve spent together, Olaf and me, puppeteering is my favorite thing about the role. I’ve always got this fun, wild and supremely positive partner up there with me."
Davis joined the Frozen cast as an ensemble member in 2016 and made his pre-Broadway debut at the musical's Denver tryout in 2017. The next year, Davis traveled to New York as a member of the original Broadway production, for which he continued to play an ensemble member as well as an understudy for Olaf and the Duke of Weselton. In 2021, he joined the North American tour as an ensemble replacement before taking over as Olaf in 2022.

"Because I’ve seen the show from so many different angles, I think I have a little bit of a bird's-eye view of it," Davis shares. "I understand both the small details and the overarching themes, and that really helps inform the choices I make every night."
Davis and the rest of the Frozen cast return to Denver on Wednesday, June 19, and will continue to captivate audiences at the Buell Theatre through July 3. The Tony-nominated Best Musical includes hit songs from the original 2013 Oscar-winning Disney film of the same name, as well as a dozen new numbers written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, who also wrote the movie's original songs, like "For the First Time in Forever."

The musical numbers in Frozen are iconic, and Davis has his favorites. “I don’t know if I can rank them," he admits. "They’re all so great, and my favorite changes depending on my mood, but some highlights for me are "Love Is an Open Door'; one of the new songs, 'Dangerous to Dream'; and of course, 'Let It Go.' I also really love 'Do You Want to Build a Snowman?' because it’s my origin story.”
Frozen tells the heartwarming story of sisters Elsa and Anna, whose bond is tested when Elsa's magical ice powers accidentally trap their kingdom of Arendelle in an eternal winter. With the help of an iceman named Kristoff, his loyal reindeer Sven and the endearing snowman Olaf, Anna embarks on a perilous journey to find Elsa and save their home.

The national tour of Frozen is a marvel of modern theater, with production design inspired by Scandinavian culture and the indigenous Sami people. The production has 154 costumes on stage, plus an additional 144 for swings and understudies. With the exception of socks, a few pairs of shoes and men's gloves, each costume piece is custom-made for production using fabrics and trims from eighteen different countries. For example, Elsa's ice dress alone contains more than 10,000 stones and takes 42 days to bead.

For Davis, one of the most memorable moments in the tour came during the first rehearsal after the pandemic shutdown. “We’d all been away from the stage, away from music, away from art for so long," he recalls. "It was one of our first days of rehearsal, and we were going over the music for 'For the First Time in Forever.' We stood around the piano, and when the intro came in, a bolt of electricity shot through the room. By the end of the song, every one of us was in tears, belting our souls out.”
The actor's favorite scene in the musical is during “Fixer Upper,” where he finds himself surrounded by the cast in a moment of playful interaction. This scene takes place in the second act, when Kristoff takes Anna to meet the hidden folk, his adoptive family, to see if they can help reverse Elsa's spell that has frozen Anna's heart.

“In the middle of 'Fixer Upper,' a large clump forms in the center of the stage, and I happen to be slap-bam in the middle of it," Davis says. "Although playing Olaf is a joy, I don’t get to interact with many people, so this moment when the rest of the cast is all around me is so dear to me, because it gives me a chance to play with everyone."

Davis cherishes his return to Denver. In addition to fondly recalling the energy of local crowds during the show's 2017 tryout, his parents met and married in a chapel on the University of Denver campus, where he has been pursuing an online master's degree in creative writing for the past two and a half years.
"I can’t wait to be back!" Davis says. "The audiences are so responsive and invested, and I really love the city itself. The food, the access to nature, the groovy vibe. I’m really excited to be there again.”

As the cast and crew gear up for their return to the Mile High City, Davis reflects on how embodying Olaf has not only influenced his career, but also his outlook on life. The character's unwavering positivity and infectious joy have left a lasting impact on him.

“Olaf has a beautiful perspective on the world," Davis says. "He sees everything as an opportunity for joy and fun. After hours and hours of seeing through his eyes, that way of looking at things has eased its way into my own real-life perspective. I’m so grateful to him for that.”

Frozen runs Wednesday, June 19, through Wednesday, July 3, Buell Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex. Get tickets at denvercenter.org.