Kristen Bell suddenly found
herself with quite a bit of time on her hands.
The film and TV actress (Frozen, Veronica Mars) was filming her latest
project, the Netflix comedy Like Father,
in Orlando when Hurricane Irma struck.
With the production shut down, Bell and the rest of the cast and crew
buckled down to weather the storm at their hotel in one of the Disney
resorts. As they waited, she wondered
what more she could do to help. She
reached out to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to see how she could assist those who
were being impacted by Irma. Enlisting
her friend Bert Rodriguez to accompany her on piano, Bell made her way through
the pre-hurricane wind and rain to an evacuation center set up at the Meadow
Woods Middle School.
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| Kristin Bell Performing at Orlando Shelter During Hurricane Irma |
At the shelter, Bell and
Rodriguez performed an impromptu performance of the songs from Disney’s Frozen
for 200 evacuees. “I thought it might
help take their minds off of what was ahead,” said the 37 year-old mother of
two. Bell was joined on stage by members
of the audience who sang along with “Princess Anna of Arundell”. As she sang “First Time in Forever”, Bell was
arguably upstaged by the “creative interpretive dancing” of a burly, uniformed Orlando
Sheriff police officer. “When you’re singing in a hurricane, your volunteer
back up dancers can and will steal the show,” said Bell. Here is a link to a
YouTube video of Bell’s performance shared by Meadow Hills Middle School: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4PlSZzOvy4&pbjreload=10
Bell also shared a special
treat with the audience. She sang “More
Than Just a Spare”, a song that had been cut from the movie. “This was one of my favorite songs from the
movie. Too bad it got cut. But now,
you’ve heard it,” Bell shared. In
closing, Bell wished “I hope maybe some of these songs are running through your
head and will take your mind off (the hurricane). I hope everyone remains safe”. After her performance, Bell took pictures and
signed autographs for another 30 minutes.
She took some time to ask people where they were from and whether their
homes were safe.
Later, Bell visited with
residents of a senior center who were evacuated to the hotel she was
staying. She called bingo for the group,
organized wheel chair races, and sang duets with WWII vets. Members of the film’s cast and crew decided
to bunk together, making their rooms available for others who were stranded by
the storm with nowhere to go. Bell and
the cast and crew then spent the weekend assisting the hotel staff as they did
their best to accommodate everyone.
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| Stocking Up to Weather the Storm |
“It’s sad that a hurricane
has to bring out the best in everyone but I’m happy that the community will be
holding hands through all this. All you
hear about in these type of situations is all doom and gloom. We are all doing our best trying to be
positive but cautious”.
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| Frozen Star Kristin Bell
Bell and her fellow cast
and crew members did not have to what they did during Hurricane Irma. No one would have taken issue with them
simply hunkering down in their rooms and riding out the storm behind the
studio’s explanation of safety and personal privacy. I do not know Kristin Bell (although she is
on my bucket list as someone I would love to work with on a future project),
but I don’t think it is in Bell’s nature not to help others if she can. In a country struggling through all sorts of
turmoil, it is refreshing to hear a story of people making the best of a
difficult situation. Bell sums up her
feelings, “I may be stuck in a hurricane, but I can still make a difference.”
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