Scenes of ice and snow blanketed the stage of the Lancaster Elementary School on April 24, when actors from the Atlantic Coast Theatre for Youth presented their adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen’s timeless fairy tale “The Snow Queen.” The show was originally scheduled for December 5, 2025, but was cancelled due to an ice storm.
In two separate shows, the actors took 541 students (PreK through 7th grade) and 54 students from Chesapeake Academy on a theatrical adventure to the Arctic Circle. The performances were hosted by the Rappahannock Foundation for the Arts (RFA) as part of its Arts for Youth Program.
In the play the Snow Queen casts an icy spell on the world and turns a young boy’s heart to ice. The Queen takes the boy, named Kay, and imprisons him in her ice palace at the very top of the world. Kay’s friend, Gerda, tries to save him, traveling far to the north and braving wild adventures, including an encounter with a Robber Prince. She is aided by friendly reindeer, which are herded by the Sami, the people native to the arctic reaches of Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Donna McGrath
A traditional reindeer herder, actor Noel Holland, teaches students how to evoke the animals and identify with them with a special style of Lapland singing. Students are, from left: Charleigh Ludwig, Belle Perez, Kyng Redmond, and King Kelly. The herd formed during the April 24 production of “The Snow Queen” at Lancaster Elementary School performed by the Atlantic Coast Theatre for Youth.
With a lively assist from students brought up to the stage, as well as those in the audience, the actors demonstrated the traditional Sami form of musical storytelling, Joiking (“yoking”), that is still used today to share history, express feelings, and evoke a person, animal, or landscape. Similar to the chanting of Native Americans, joiking is thought to be one of Europe’s oldest continuous vocal traditions.
“For those of us lucky enough to see this live performance, surrounded by students forming antlers with their hands, weaving and chanting, to see the pride in their smiles as they are called onto the stage, well, it really stays with you,” said Jamie Tucker, RFA president. “This is community support at its best.”
“The Snow Queen” was performed by Noel Holland and Don Gruel, who co-founded the Atlantic Coast Theatre for Youth in 1999, and have since reached roughly 900,000 audience members in 19 states. Touring year-round, the Orlando, Florida-based company has given more than 4,600 performances of 48 different productions. “The Snow Queen” was written by Gruel, with music by Holland. They were inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s 1844 tale, which often finds expression in today’s visual art, books, cartoons, music and movies, including, loosely, the Disney movie “Frozen.”
Donna McGrath
Actor Don Gruel answers questions from the audience.
The actors tied their performance to classroom instruction through a web-based study guide that provides discussion questions, activities and background information. They also talked with students during question and answer sessions following the show. Asked how they got the Snow Queen’s costume on, Gruel explained that they used a robe with magnetic snaps and a mask that an artist in Virginia created just for them. “We added thick ropes to make the hair,” he said. Noel added that the mask “is hot and heavy and just sits on our heads, so we can’t ever bend over or it would fall off.”
“We perform to help young people learn how to handle all the emotions they see,” Gruel said later. “On stage we get scared, angry, sad, and mad as well as happy. They learn to use their imaginations to see how they fit in with the world.”
Teacher Alyssa Westerman prepares her first graders for the performance by talking about things to look for, so “they have hooks for the new knowledge they will gain from the show.” Afterwards, she has them study maps and locate Norway, and write about their reactions to the performance. Westerman sees students of all ages making connections in ways both large and small. “I heard two 4th grade girls singing the Sami song as they played during recess, ‘Lay, Lay, Lay, Lay, Lay.’ They were singing it the entire time.”
For 2025-26, the RFA received grants to support the Arts for Youth Program from The River Counties Community Foundation, The Tidewater Foundation and the Mason & Lulu Cole Trust Fund. In addition, the RFA receives grant monies from the Virginia Commission for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts to support school performances.
