Disney Princesses with a Modern Twist
The Spectator
By: Kelli Bailey
BANGOR, Maine – Disenchanted the musical will be coming to The Gracie Theatre on April 22, 2017. We are all familiar with the traditional Disney princess tales. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, Pocahontas, Rapunzel, The Little Mermaid, Princess and the Frog, and Cinderella, the classics. Disenchanted takes the tales that we know and love, and adds a little twist to it.
With a tag line of, “Who P*ssed off the Princess?”, I’d say the kiddos should skip out on this fairy tale. Adding a spin of humor to these timeless tales, the ladies of Disenchanted are sure to have you laughing. The cast of Disenchanted showcases, Merritt Crews as Snow White, Madison HayesCrook as Cinderella, Daniella Richards as Sleeping Beauty, Miriam Drysdale as The Little Mermaid, Belle, Rapunzel, Ann Paula Bautista as Hua Mulan, Pocahontas, Badroulbadour and Cherise Thomas as The Princess Who Kissed the Frog.
The idea behind the musical is to take a different look at the situations that the Princesses find themselves in. Instead of Pocahontas falling in love with John, which is what happens in most fairy tales, how would she really reacted to someone trying to take over her homeland? What if The Little Mermaid didn’t sprout legs, and fall in love with Prince Eric? The Princesses come back to set the record straight.
The idea of Disenchanted sprouted from the mind of Dennis Giacino, a former history teacher. As a history buff, Giacino knew that what the stories were portraying, simply just wasn’t realistic. Not only did he have a knack for history, but also a passion for music. After combining his two passions, Disenchanted the musical was the end product. This Off-Broadway musical was one man’s vision, and now has blossomed into a nationally recognized show.
Behind all the humor, and sassy banter, one of the key take away messages is; you don’t need a man to be your hero, you can the hero to your own story. The stories that we are used to hearing put the male character in the spotlight, where Disenchanted says that you can be your own hero to your idea fairy tale. Adding the jokes, and wit is just an added bonus to the powerful message.
It’s not too late to get your tickets to Disenchanted, you can find tickets at gracietheatre.com, including times that the show will be performing.