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Special Episode: Buettel and Quintana on the sisterly magic of ‘Frozen’
00:27:21
On today’s episode, I am in conversation with actresses Tristen Buettel and Brooke Quintana. I spoke to them the week before Christmas just as they were getting ready to pack up their things and come down to the Maltz Jupiter Theatre in Florida to play...
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- [00:00]
Brooke Quintana
Foreign.
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Matt Tamnini
Welcome to a special interview episode of Broadway Radio. My name is Matt Tamnini. We are rounding out our holidays with a winter themed episode today as I'm in conversation with actresses Tristan Butel and Brooke Quintana. I spoke to them the week before Christmas, so it was a little bit ago, but of course with the holidays I wanted to make sure that I was able to talk to them because just a few days after we spoke, they packed everything up and headed down to start rehearsals at the MALT's Jupiter Theater in Florida as Tristan will be playing Elsa and Brooke will be playing Anna in the upcoming production of Frozen. The show begins performances on Tuesday, January 7th and runs through January 9th in Jupiter. In our chat, Tristan, who is playing Elsa, talked about finding her character and building the sisterly bond during a short rehearsal period. And Brooke talks about the similarities and differences between Anna and Belle, having led the national tour of Beauty and the Beast as everyone's favorite Disney bookworm. And they both gush about the stage adaptation of this incredibly well known film. Especially since this version that they will be doing at the malt's Jupiter Theater includes the material that was added to the musical for the national tour, then brought to Broadway and eventually to the West End as well. I love Frozen. I love the Malt's Jupiter Theater. I'm incredibly excited to see this show especially led by these two wonderful people and wonderful performers. I really enjoy chatting with them and I cannot wait to see them in this show next week. If you are interested in getting tickets to see Tristan and Brooke in Frozen at the Malt's Jupiter Theater, I'll have information on how you can get those tickets in the show notes. Alright, with all of that out of the way, here is my conversation with Tristan Butel and Brooke Quintana. I would have to imagine Frozen in January in South Florida is a about as both meta and good of a gig as you can get to get out of town. I assume Brooke, you're shaking your head.
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Brooke Quintana
Yeah, for sure.
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Tristan Butel
Yeah, yeah. I'm so excited to be in the warmth. It was like 32 degrees this past week. Yeah, crazy.
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Matt Tamnini
No. So let's for those of us in Florida, please do not bring that with you when you come down. We don't need that here. But Tristan, I know you were down doing some promotional appearances on radio and singing for subscribers and stuff like that. How was your first introduction to the Malt Jupiter in the community there?
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Tristan Butel
That was such a great weekend. I flew down on Friday. On a Friday and then I sound checked and did the Jupiter Christmas tree lighting event and sang two songs from the show. And then Sunday, I had the day to myself to just kind of bop around in Jupiter. And then Monday, kind of full day, we had about a three hour costume fitting. And then I did another sort of promotional singing event to. For. For a lot of the donors of the theater. And it's. I. I got to see a Cirque show while I was there at the Malts. It was such a beautiful. Yeah, it's such a. Such a beautiful theater. There are so many lovely volunteers and just an outpour of love towards the theater. There's just so many volunteers and people who love it and show up and every show is sold out. Yeah.
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Matt Tamnini
Which is always a nice thing, whether it's in New York or somewhere regionally to know that there's going to be an audience there to receive what you're giving them. Now you two are both. Are you both in New York, I assume, right now?
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Brooke Quintana
Yes.
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Matt Tamnini
Okay. Throughout this process, did you. Or maybe even beforehand, did you know each other or did you kind of build that relationship during the, you know, callbacks and all that stuff? Or are you gonna have to start from the ground up building that sister relationship when you get to Florida?
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Tristan Butel
We hadn't met. We actually still have not met in person.
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Brooke Quintana
We've interacted on social media and texting.
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Tristan Butel
Yeah. So it'll be a first day meeting. But I mean, as you can already tell, I mean, look at how bubbly and amazing she is. So I'm super excited.
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Matt Tamnini
That's very Anna of you, Brooke. Do you feel like you've got that bubble, like, knock on the door, want to go build a snowman with me kind of vibe already? Is that natural?
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Brooke Quintana
So, yeah, something a little fun. I actually was sharing this with Tristan yesterday when I was in auditions for the show. I was actually in a boot and on crutches. I had torn my calf and my Achilles in April. And so I got this audition and I was like, well, this is about as Anna as anything could be. And so I, like, walked in, like, hobbling in, and I. I just think it lended me to be really who I am, because I was like, all I can do is completely be myself in this audition because this is. This is what's going on right now. So I feel it felt very Ana, and I do feel like I have a lot of Ana essence about me in general.
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Matt Tamnini
Well, Tristan, do you. Conversely, do you feel like you've got some Elsa in you too, whatever that might be?
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Tristan Butel
I do. I think Elsa is forcibly has to be grounded and careful and calculated. And I definitely have that part of me. I'm, I'm, I try to be at least. But it's going to be so fun because the, you know, Elsa and Anna are so different from one another and ultimately bring out the best in one another. And so it's going to be just like, it's going to be so great to have this sisterhood with Brooke.
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Matt Tamnini
Well, and that's such an important part of this show. I mean, it's the heart of the show. It is what the show is about. But when you have such a short turnaround time for rehearsal process, what do you have to do as actors and performers to build that relationship so that when you do get into the nuts and bolts of learning the blocking and the choreo and all of that stuff, you don't have to worry about, oh, do we actually feel like we're sisters? Do people actually gonna buy us as having this bond?
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Tristan Butel
Yeah. Brooke and I were just talking about this last night actually. You know, it's tough because we really do have a short amount of time for rehearsal. So you do have to show up and I guess know the melodic lines of the songs you're singing, you know, but then when it comes to sort of the script and the dialogue, you know how much of it is practiced and rehearsed before you get there and how much of it is really looking the other person in the eye and having this conversation and bouncing off one another. So I think it's a balance. I've, I've, I've done shows where I am 110% memorized before I get there. And I don't know if that set me up the. I don't know if I was set up for success the mo. As much as I could have been if I was just, if there were more nuances and I was more kind of memorizing as I went. So this is definitely going to be an, an experiment. You know, I'm, I, I'm about 60 to 70% there. I don't know if I want to get a hundred percent before it because there's so much that can be learned and, and informed from just standing in rehearsal. But yeah, and just going back to Brooks audition, like that's my jaws on the floor. Like, that's, that's insane. It just is a testament to like, I was just in an acting class and the teacher said, oh, only one person is going to get the job. Stop trying to get the job. Just have fun. And be you and just go in and do the work. And that was kind of. You had no control, Brooke, of what was going on. You literally had physically no control. You were in crutches, and you just kind of. The men. The mental space of, like, well, let's just give it a go. You know what I mean? It's like.
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Brooke Quintana
So I did ask them in my call back. I was like, why didn't I get invited to the dance call?
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Tristan Butel
That's hilarious.
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Matt Tamnini
Well, Brooke, as you kind of look to head down to Jupiter next week, hearing what Tristan said, like, how are you approaching? Are you approaching it any differently than she is about going in? And you have to have this familial connection that people believe on stage from the drop or everything that happens afterwards that they see on stage isn't going to make sense.
- [09:09]
Brooke Quintana
I think something very special about actors is because we all tend to feel so deeply, maybe too much sometimes, I think that we are blessed in a way that we're often able to meet one another and connect really quickly. And when you're spending, like, anywhere from, like, six to 12 hours together in a day and living in the same place, and people start connecting in a very different way, it's also such a vulnerable thing, like just putting your soul out there for everyone to see and hear. And so I think it allows us to more quickly bond and connect with people. So, honestly, I mean, same situation, like, I'm learning as much as I can. It's Anna. I was saying last night, Anna, she talks a lot. She never stops speaking in the show.
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Tristan Butel
Anna, Brooke has way more than I do.
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Brooke Quintana
I've got a couple of lines, a whole handful. But it's. I think, for me, I'm trying to be as familiar as possible with, like, the verbiage. And, like, I have spent the last two weeks, like, going into voice lessons with my teachers, like, learning the music so I can go in and know what's happening. But then again, like, being able to find those authentic moments when you start bonding with someone in person and, like, finding those real. Those, like, real moments, as opposed to, like, trying to create something out of. Out of nothing, out of no feeling at all.
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Tristan Butel
Yeah. And I think knowing. I mean, this is such a. The backstory, but, like, really thinking about. Okay, this conversation where I'm saying the first. The first scene between you and I, Brooke, of. Hi. Hi, me. You look beautiful. Like, is that the first. Maybe it is the first time we've spoken since we were kids. Like, we. There's this, you know, the sisters Are, you know, Elsa has been kind of contained, and they've both been alone. And, you know, so just. Even just thinking a little bit about is this. You know, the timeline and what it may have been, you know, all of these. These things. I think the lines and everything will come easier with all of the thinking that we've done before. Yeah.
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Matt Tamnini
And I imagine that rehearsal process will obviously deepen that. And when you are going into. Well, I mean, first off, I think doing a show like Frozen, directed by John Tartaglia, just feels like the perfect thing when you're thinking about, like, this guy who's made a career working with puppets in one form or another. Like, I'm excited to see what he's able to do that might be different from what we've seen in past versions of the show, not only with Olaf or anybody else, but just, you know, bringing a different insight and a connection between all of those characters in ways that maybe other directors who don't have his resume and experience would be able to do.
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Tristan Butel
Yeah. I honestly. I mean, of course, we are always auditioning, and there's tons of auditions that I have been gone to, and I just remember standing, and John was sitting, you know, with all of the. With the artistic director and everyone behind the table, and I just. He was so nice. Yeah, he was so nice. He was so kind. I mean, really, when you think about it, like, what is it? It doesn't cost, so it shouldn't cost so much to just be. And I literally thanked him in the room. I was just like, thank you so much. This has been so lovely. I mean, I left. I went in smiling, and I left smiling, and. And it just. He was so wonderful. So I'm. I'm so excited.
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Brooke Quintana
I very much feel the same way, because I remember going in and, like, feeling kind of vulnerable, obviously, but I was like, that was the nicest room of people I have been in for. It was just, like, such a lovely, fun, positive environment. And it was not, like, cold and you're doing this thing. It was like, we're so excited to see you. This. Thank you for being here. And it was just like, you're welcome. Thank you for having me here. It was lovely, and, like, the whole process was kind. It felt kind. And that's so special.
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Tristan Butel
Yes.
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Brooke Quintana
Sadly, kindness is so special.
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Tristan Butel
I know. I know. It's true.
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Matt Tamnini
Well, I know you both have done a lot of different shows in your past, but, Brooke, I know this is not your first time playing a quintessential Disney princess. Belle and Anna, though, very Different, I feel like. Or maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you tell me. But I feel like they are coming at their. Their, you know, their stories from very different perspectives.
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Brooke Quintana
Yes. I feel like there are aspects of them that I think have the similarities of, like, finding that strength within them and, like, not really letting others, like, bring them down. And, like, I mean, yes, finding that inner strength, but there are a lot of very, very different aspects of them. Like, Belle's much more, like, stoic and well read, and Anna is, like, talking about farting and eating chocolate. So, I mean, I do relate a little bit more to Anna, but Belle was, like, in my soul. I think I've done something like 400 performances of beauty.
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Matt Tamnini
Oh, my.
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Tristan Butel
Oh, my gosh. It's such a great show.
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Matt Tamnini
Yeah. And I mean, it's like, it's such a classic that has now move people for so many generations and so many decades of people that I would imagine when you go into and it's for both of you for a role like Anna and Elsa, but also for Belle and any other of these characters that people have these strong connections to, does that give you a little bit more excitement, a little bit more nerves about it? Do you feel like you have to live up to the expectations that people have from different versions, or do you feel a little bit more freedom because people already know who those characters are, that you can kind of experiment with the individual people, whether it's these or any other character that you might go into in that situation.
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Brooke Quintana
I know personally, I have really especially come into this in the last few years of my life, like, really realized I can be no one but myself. And the time I wasted trying to be this, like, picture of what I thought people wanted was when things didn't ever line up for me. And the more I just am exactly who I am, that's when things tend to work out. Like this example. But I think. I think that. I know there's other versions. And, like, Beauty and the Beast was like, my mom's favorite movie when I was growing up. So I was like, that's my favorite movie as well, because my mother likes it. But Beauty and the Beast was like the. The thing for me. And then when Frozen came out, I was like, oh, this is so amazing. I love this. But I actually. I don't know if I should say this. I never saw the Broadway musical. I've only seen the cartoon. And people were like, oh, are you nervous about that? I was like, no, because I'm gonna. I'm gonna do Anna exactly how she's gonna come out of my soul, and I won't be trying to, like, emulate anything or, like, imitate something that isn't who I am. So I'm kind of excited for that.
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Matt Tamnini
Yeah, Well, I mean, I think you've got the job at this point. I think they're gonna take it away from you because you didn't see it on Broadway.
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Brooke Quintana
You gotta go next.
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Matt Tamnini
No, yeah, absolutely.
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Tristan Butel
There's so much freedom in having not seen it almost. Yeah, I saw it. I can't say I. Of course I. I remember so much of it, but I don't remember, you know, specific acting choices that Casey Levy made. You know what I mean? But, yeah, it's. I mean, Let It Go is gonna be so fun to sing. And I hope there are little kids singing along with me, you know, like.
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Matt Tamnini
Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. So you mentioned Let It Go. You also earlier talked about you had, like, three hours of costume fittings. No, no spoilers here. But, like, the costumes in Frozen are amazing. But, Tristan, you've been in a run of shows with, like, some pretty fun and, dare I say, iconic costumes. Recently you did Boop in Chicago and then bad Cinderella. I mean, I think those costumes are iconic already. So, I mean, like, how does a costume inform what you do? Like, obviously, the colors and, like, the character piece of it, like, that's all thought of. It's all well thought out and it's all planned. But, like, when you put on a costume, how does that change how you. I don't know how close and intimately you feel that character, you know, when.
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Tristan Butel
It'S all a collaboration. So what's really fun is. Well, what's actually very rare and amazing about Frozen at Malt's Jupiter is that they're building the costumes from the ground up. Everything is made for me and Brooke and many of the members in the entire company, which is so rare, and I can't believe that that is happening. And so what's really cool is, you know, in my costume fitting we're having, we had Lee on Zoom, the costume designer, and there's idea, like, even in his mock up of what the costume would be and the drawing, there's so much that I can pull from creativity, creatively, and ideas from the drawing. And, you know, we were talking and, you know, small things like how tall should the slit be, The Let it Go dress, you know, those are all specific decisions made and they inform the way I. They help inform how I play Elsa or things like that. So it's definitely. That's like the fun part that, you know, all the collaborations between the director and me and the light, you know, the lighting and the sound and the costumes, and it's. It's all. It all. It infuses everything. It's just like, wow, this. This tiny thing was placed right there and it has so much meaning. You know, I remember in. In Boop I, one of the characters I played was Raggedy Ann in. There's this whole. There's this whole scene where we're in Comic Con and I'm Raggedy Ann. Anyway, so there's a heart that was sewn onto my costume for Raggedy Ann that Greg Barnes designed. And that stitcher. The stitcher actually had just passed right before we went to Chicago. And Greg told us that that was the last thing that that person had stitched before they passed. And it was the heart that was on my Raggedy Ann costume. And it's just. It's so special, you know, and the little details really matter and everything, you know, it's like, oh, my gosh, I'm wearing this Raggedy Ann custom made handmade costume with so much sentimental value of a heart. That's that, you know, if you, you know, you zoom in and you see. But, you know, in the. In the balcony, you might not be able to, but you wear it with pride and you wear it with excitement and joy and you hope to share it. So all of the small details come as a collaboration with everyone. And so. Yeah.
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Matt Tamnini
Yeah, I love that.
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Tristan Butel
And she's crying.
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Matt Tamnini
Yeah.
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Tristan Butel
No, that's.
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Matt Tamnini
That's lovely.
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Tristan Butel
I know. It's very sensible.
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Matt Tamnini
That's perfect.
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Tristan Butel
Yeah.
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Matt Tamnini
Yeah. Well, like we said, you're going to be kicking off the new year. I don't know what the holiday plans are, but essentially kicking off the new year down here in Florida. Once you guys get settled, once things are up and running, are there any Florida specific plans that you have in the back of your mind about what you want to do on a day off or maybe a day trip or something like that?
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Brooke Quintana
Brick, Hugo, I don't even know how close are we to Disney World?
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Tristan Butel
I think we're pretty close.
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Matt Tamnini
Dang it. I mean, it's a couple hours. I live in Orlando. I live 10 minutes from Disney, and I drove out to sea once this weekend. Thank you, Miriam, by the way. And it was about a two hour drive, so it's not too bad at all. And it's almost all interstate, so you could do that on a day off pretty easily, you know, and as long as you time it right Right.
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Tristan Butel
I am getting married. And when I was down in Florida when I was doing those press performances, there's a store in that shopping center in Jupiter that has like, the most insane collection of just like, after party dresses and shoes and jewelry. So I will definitely have to make a stop there.
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Matt Tamnini
Okay.
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Tristan Butel
Yes, please do. Take my. Hold back. My credit card.
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Matt Tamnini
Make sure there's a little extra room in your luggage that. So you can put more things in than you actually come with. Well, yeah. Well, I will wrap it up here with. With one last question. You know, you kind of mentioned the fact that Frozen, everybody knows Frozen. Everybody's seen it. Everybody has some sort of attachment to it. What is it about this show that is you, before you really start rehearsals, that you are most looking forward to? Whether it's a moment, a song, and even if it isn't anything from the movie, if it's something that you've just discovered in the script itself, what is the thing that you are most looking forward to, whether you're involved with it or not?
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Tristan Butel
I. I think Andrew and I, the artistic director, were talking and we were talking about how it's not just a kids show and how the theatrical adaptation from the movie really shines a new light on it not just being a kid's movie, you know, and so I think that there's a lot of heartfelt moments in the show with, you know, family and relationships and sisters and community, and I think that it'll warm a lot of the hearts in the audience.
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Matt Tamnini
Well, you mentioned that. And just so I. Doing my journalistic best here. I assume the script that you guys are using is what, Frozen 2.0. It's the one that they adapted for the tour and for London after the Broadway run.
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Brooke Quintana
Yes.
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Tristan Butel
So there's the most beautiful duet called I Can't Lose youe. It's just.
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Matt Tamnini
Oh, and look at Brooke's face right now as you're explaining it. She's got her hands by her face. She's breaking down already.
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Tristan Butel
It's so beautiful. I just got chills. And that was not in the original Broadway company, but when they switched the Anna and Elsa's. When Casey Levy and Patty Murin left and they were also building the tour. Tour they created. They added a few little gems in. And so it's Broadway 2.0. Is correct, Matt.
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Matt Tamnini
Yeah. Yeah. Brooke, what about you? What are you looking forward to? Is it that duet that you just melted over when she brought it up?
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Brooke Quintana
There's some, like, really good, just emotional sister scenes between Anna and Elsa and just like, they just really get me in my soul. I feel like I can relate to them really well. But that duet, especially, I just think is so beautiful. And when you really, like, read the lyrics, you're like, oh, my whole soul.
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Tristan Butel
Ow. But because they're saying the same thing, but they're meaning something different, and it's like.
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Brooke Quintana
And it's just. It's. Oh, it's. It's so good. It's so good. It's so beautiful, and just, like, it's one of those heart songs that just gets you right in the soul. But I think that especially. And then, like, Tristan, like, the families and the little kids, like, one of my favorite things when I was on tour with Beauty and the Beast was all the little kids coming in their bell costumes or, like, we had a little beast one time, and it just, like, it's so special for these kids to get to see something magical. And it. It feels like it's so. It's so real to them. And there's, like, this beautiful light and energy and joy in children that we all had at one point, and I think we tend to lose it as adults. And I think getting to see that is such a beautiful reminder of, like, how much there is to be thankful for and, like, how much love and magic there really is in the world, even when it's hard to see it. And I think that is something that always just. It makes me feel like this is why I do this, to, like, help people find that joy and that magic in their own lives again.
- [26:57]
Matt Tamnini
Well, I am incredibly excited to see the show. Enjoy your last few days back in the cold at home in New York before you head down here to Florida and have a wonderful rehearsal period and wonderful run. And I am really looking forward to checking out the show in January.
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Tristan Butel
Thank you.