All the charm in Creative Cauldron’s Disenchanted! is homespun, from madcap performances to powerful voices and kitschy props. But the script lobs too much hate at the House of Mouse (while staying just this side of copyright) to buoy or sustain the funny. Which is unfortunate, cause it has enough dirty wit and wink wink moments to make it a perfect night of bawdy fun.
The big three—Snow White (Candice Shedd-Thompson), Cinderella (Molly Rumberger), and Sleeping Beauty (Karen Kelleher)—act as hostesses in a cabaret, interspersed with skits (most notably one advertising perfume), where, with seven other “sovereigns,” they break down the Princess Complex. You know, the notion perpetuated by fairy tales that to obtain a happily ever after, women must be perfectly sweet specimens, constantly hungry, bereft of independence, blessed with large knockers, nary a dream beyond a handsome man, and skilled in housekeeping.
Snow White is less sugar and more spice; Cinderella’s a nervous twit; and Sleeping Beauty suffers from narcolepsy.
The other sovereigns that grace the stage include a boozy Little Mermaid, an unstable Belle, and a commanding Rapunzel (all Amber A. Gibson); a gay Mulan, a kind but oversexed Pocahontas, and a saucy Princess Baroulbadour/Jasmine, who rolls up on a flying rug (all Sally Horton); and a gloriously golden, Diana Ross inspired, and sadly underused, Princess Who Kissed a Frog, played by Ashley K. Nicholas.
These aren’t your beloved Disney Princesses. Or rather, they are. But, enlightened. And more vulgar. It would seem.
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Disenchanted! is one big swipe at Disney, thinly veiled as a feminist rallying cry. Belle is introduced as someone who has a bone to pick with “old buddy Walt” before she sings about being a girl from classic literature reduced to a laughingstock forced to interact with silverware in “Insane!” Where she also points out that, despite being from France, she has an American accent while others have a British one, but “that’s the Disney way!” And, that’s the issue throughout. Inconsistency in Disney films—and their commercialization, commodification, and proliferation of properties or how they’ve Anglicized German names—none of that really aligns with the Princess Complex.
Not to mention, Beauty and the Beast always took place in an enchanted castle, so talking flatware isn’t entirely on Uncle Walt, which opens a whole can of worms about origin stories that Disenchanted! acknowledges, when it’s convenient as a knock on Disney. Like, it’s totally valid in Pocahontas’ lovely “Honestly” and Mulan’s “Without the Guy,” but not for Belle. And the idea that Disney handed the Little Mermaid a raw deal when she originally committed suicide, of a sort, just feels off.
Ultimately, Disenchanted!— the script—never finds its true aim (lamenting the Princess Complex, which is bigger than Disney) and never fully commits to being a parody or a satire. Also, it was written in 2010 and Disney’s take on the princess as a heroine has evolved leaps and bounds since then, making the take down feel stale.
Director Matt Conner acknowledges the staleness and the largeness of the Princess Complex, giving a shout out to Frozen and inserting a well placed indictment of the more recent Toddlers & Tiaras on TLC, which is the type of social commentary the original script needs to bolster the laughs with impact.
Disenchanted! closes October 27, 2019. Details and tickets
Luckily, Conner and the Creative Cauldron team are on top of their games, as usual. Especially with casting.
Rumberger’s Cinderella is a wide-eyed wonder obsessed with the time allotted to the show and shoes and slippers—she brings the most funny. Gibson’s Rapunzel is the best of her lot, commanding the audience to participate like a true German general in “Not V’One Red Cent.” Shedd-Thompson’s Snow White, as the emcee, keeps the show running; she easily has the best voice. Horton’s Mulan, too, slips in some sly, unexpected laughable moments and her Pocahontas has one of the show’s rare tender pieces, which helps balance it overall. Kelleher, who lays around a lot as the narcoleptic Sleeping Beauty finally gets a chance to shine on “Perfect,” showing off lovely pipes. And, Nicholas’ “Finally” is about the time it took for a black girl to get top billing, which, ironically, comes half-way though the show. Talk about marginalization. But, the whole crew is on fire in “All I Wanna Do is Eat.”
“I had some ribs,” Cinderella chirps, “removed last week!” It’s true. Princesses, writ large, usually are shown to have abnormally small waists if animated or forced to be unattainably thin in the flesh.
While the script may be flawed, the music is fun. And Conner, along with Music Director Elisa Rosman, orchestrates the whole she-bang with magic hands.
Disenchanted! . Book, Music and Lyrics by Dennis T. Giacino. Directed by Matt Conner. Music Direction by Elisa Rosman. Featuring Amber A. Gibson, Sally Horton, Karen Kelleher, Ashley K. Nicholas, Molly Rumberger, Candice Shedd-Thompson, and Morgan Kelleher (u/s). Production: Matt Conner, Choreographer; Margie Jervis, Scenic and Costume Designer; Lynn Joslyn, Lighting Designer; Wynn Allen, Property and Costume Assistant; and Nicholas J. Goodman, Assistant Manager. Stage Managed by Jessica Lucey. Produced by Creative Cauldron . Reviewed by Kelly McCorkendale.
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