The impressive puppet mastery behind Sven in ‘Frozen’

Four times a week, actor Dan Plehal prepares his body for a role unlike anything he has done before — playing Sven the reindeer in Frozen, running at the Academy of Music through April 7.

For roughly 40 minutes onstage, Plehal holds a plank position on four stilts while maneuvering an eight-foot-tall, 50-pound puppet and managing to infuse it with Sven’s adorable charm. No animatronics needed.

“It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life,” said Plehal, who lived in Philadelphia for a couple years and took classes at Pig Iron School in South Kensington.

In learning to act like a reindeer, he took cues from his small dog Oliver. Given the extreme physical demands, he shares the role with another actor on tour, alternating shows.

But the exertion is worth it: Sven always gets applause. Still, when the musical adaptation was first in development, the production planned to cut the character because the reindeer seemed too complex to achieve onstage.

That was until puppet-making master Michael Curry, the co-creator of The Lion King puppets, took on the challenge. The stunning result is made of carbon-fiber composite, foam, and orthopedic braces, allowing the actor to control the larger-than-life puppet’s eyes and ears (though the performer’s vision is limited).

“Michael Curry has created this really beautiful puppet but it’s not a full character until the performers get inside of it. They create this really three-dimensional character that’s such an important part of Arendelle,” said puppet supervisor Sue McLaughlin, who spent years working with the puppets in Lion King. “It’s amazing to watch, and it’s magical in every way.”

Before landing Sven in 2022, Pehal had no experience in stilt walking or puppetry, but he had trained in acrobatics, physical theater, and circus performance as part of his graduate schooling in Italy and Chicago, where he now lives.

“Pig Iron really helped me decide, yeah, this is what I want to lean into more,” said Plehal. “I loved the idea of just spending all day getting to know my body and the other people in the room and how we could interact with each other and create art together, not prioritizing the written word.”

Now that he’s back in town, he’s looking forward to revisiting some of his favorite neighborhood haunts in Rittenhouse Square and the Gayborhood. When the intensive schedule allows, Plehal and the Frozen crew will head to El Vez because, he said, “We are a team that likes margaritas.”

“Frozen” runs through April 7 at the Academy of Music, 240 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, 215-893-1999 or ensembleartsphilly.org.