San Antonio native Preston Perez is making his National Tour debut starring as Hans in Disney’s Frozen, and we spoke to him for all the exciting details. I’ll be the first to admit that when I think San Antonio, Musical Theater is not exactly what comes to mind, but Perez was quick to set me straight by explaining all the incredible acting opportunities SA has to offer, “I performed at the Woodlawn Theater and I did a few programs in the San Pedro Playhouse, but the biggest thing that led me to Broadway is there’s a high school here called the North East School of the Arts. It’s a magnet program [where] you can have an arts discipline. So, I majored in Musical Theater when I was there and that was so pivotal to getting me to Broadway.”
Though getting on Broadway isn’t quite the extent of his accomplishment, as Perez is now the first Latino to ever even play Hans. In a lot of ways his getting this role is a testament to the mindset he formed during his years at Texas State University, a steel determination to never limit himself to roles only revolving around his ethnicity, “I think a lot of my educational experience in college was about not putting myself into boxes and not limiting myself. And so I think being the person to play Hans is like a validation of everything that I learned because anything is possible. My teachers never put me into boxes and they believed that I could play the roles that I wanted if I could sing them and act them well. And so getting to do it just validates that theory.” Perez graduated from Texas State University in 2022, with a degree in Musical Theatre.
While he’s played many characters since then, Hans is a special case. There’s so much dimension to him. When I asked Perez what it was like portraying such an iconic Disney “villain” he didn’t hold back his enthusiasm, “It’s so exciting,” he chirped. “Hans is so interesting because he spends the whole first part of the show not being the villain. So I get to be a prince for a few moments. I get to be charming and fun. And then he does become a villain. So it’s a really dynamic role and I get to do so much with it!” His favorite part, unsurprisingly, is performing the iconic song “Love Is An Open Door”.
“It’s a duet with Princess Anna and it’s a really hard number and it requires a lot of trust between us because there are so many dips and it’s scary. The first time I learned it, it was a little bit intimidating, but when it does land and when we do trust each other and we nail it, it feels so gratifying because it’s a partnership and [I’m] getting to work with someone as spectacular as the person who plays on Anna.”
Disney’s National Tour of Frozen will have Perez traveling up until September, with the long flights and even longer drives I was curious as to what pieces of home he kept with him on the road, “I have a lot of little things at my dressing room station, from home, gifts that my friends got me when I booked Frozen and little Christmas gifts. They’re all small things like little figurines that I have in my makeup kit. It reminds me of my friends and family here in San Antonio and New York City because I had such a supportive community there too.”
Perez’s family, while initially uncertain about his career choice, have always been supportive, “I don’t have anyone in my family who does theater, so they were kind of unsure what that was. They didn’t understand what going to school for musical theater was, but they have always supported me in whatever it is that I wanted to do and they came to see the show and they were like Oh, you’re kinda good at this…They were like this is what you wanna do, we’re gonna stand behind you.”
While doing research on Preston, I came to realize he may be a fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race like myself. Given that this interview took place during Pride I simply had to ask about it, “I am a huge Drag Race fan,” he confessed, “and a lot of people in the Frozen company are. And so we get together on Fridays and we watch Drag Race at whoever is hosting, it’s the best.” When I asked who he was rooting for to take the Crown on All Stars the answer was instantaneous, “Definitely Gottmik. Gottmik is one of my all-time favorite queens for sure. The looks are insane, Gottmik’s entire message is just so inspiring and powerful. So, definitely my front runner.”
Whether Perez understood it or not, he was breaking down barriers just as Gottmik was. His portraying Hans was opening the door for other Latino actors to follow in his footsteps, and potentially for casters to open up their minds. Perez has a long, and exciting, road ahead of him on tour, and once it’s all over he’s optimistic about what’s to come, “I definitely would love to be in Wicked someday. I’m also excited to just move back to New York City. I had just signed a lease on an apartment when, four days later, I booked Frozen. So I got to live in my apartment for about a month before it was time to head out.” I couldn’t help but laugh. Perez’s kind nature put me at ease so much so that I’d almost forgotten I was talking to a Broadway performer. But Preston Perez was so much more than his talents, after talking to him for all of ten minutes he felt like a friend, and couldn’t wait to see him perform in Austin this week.
Preston Perez will be on Disney’s National Tour of Frozen up until September, and you can click here for more information on tickets. And here to follow him on social media!
