Producers Don Frantz (Beauty and the Beast) and Jonathan Pollard (I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change) present the new musical comedy DISENCHANTED!, in its limited Off-Broadway engagement at Theatre at St. Clement’s (423 West 46th St. at 9th Avenue). With book, music and lyrics by Dennis T. Giacino, DISENCHANTED! is directed by Fiely A. Matias and features musical staging by Matt West (Lestat). The production’s Opening Night is Thursday, December 4, for a nine-week run through January 25, 2015.
Poisoned apples. Glass slippers. Who needs ’em?! Not Snow White and her posse of disenchanted princesses in the new musical comedy that’s anything but Grimm. Forget the princesses you think you know – the original storybook heroines have come back to life to set the record straight. After multiple sold-out runs nationwide, these royal renegades toss off their tiaras to bring their hilariously subversive, not-for-the-kiddies musical to New York City – and fairy tales will never be the same!
The idea for DISENCHANTED! was conceived by Giacino, a former history teacher. When teaching his class about the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, he couldn’t help but wonder: What would the ‘real’ Pocahontas – a circa 1616, rough-and-tumble 10-year-old Powhatan girl – think of the fringed deer-pelt miniskirt and long, flowing hair donned by her 20-year-old counterpart in her 1995 comeback? A musician at heart, Giacino penned a musical number skewering the ‘princess pop culture’ that transformed Pocahontas from a revered Native American heroine into a pin-up vixen of the silver screen. Soon, Giacino found himself discovering a number of other ‘princesses’ who had been similarly wronged, and DISENCHANTED! was born!
The “princess posse” is comprised of original cast member Michelle Knight (Jersey Boys) as Snow White; Becky Gulsvig (Legally Blonde) as Cinderella; Jen Bechter (Elf 1st National Tour) as Sleeping Beauty; original cast member Lulu Picart (David Friedman’s Listen To My Heart) as Hua Mulan/Pocahontas/Princess Badroulbadour; Alison Burns (RENT National Tour) as Belle/The Little Mermaid/Rapunzel; and Soara-Joye Ross (Les Misérables 2006 Broadway revival) as The Princess Who Kissed the Frog. Erin Leigh Peck (Grease) and Karen Burthwright (Jesus Christ Superstar 2012 Broadway revival) are the understudies.
DISENCHANTED! played a sold-out, award-winning run at Orlando’s International Fringe Festival in 2011 (‘Best of Fest’ – Orlando Sentinel), and subsequently licensed over a dozen productions nationwide, from New Jersey to California, all of which were met with widespread critical acclaim.
Featuring Scenic Design by Gentry Akens (“The Mickey Mouse Club”), Costume Design by Vanessa Leuck (Disney on Ice: Frozen – assoc, The Little Mermaid – asst), Lighting Design by Graham Kindred (Love Linda directed by Richard Maltby), DISENCHANTED! features musical arrangements by Robert Meffe (Little Women) and additional arrangements and musical direction by Michael Raabe.
Don Frantz and Jonathan Pollard are joined in producing DISENCHANTED! by Dave Smith/ Randy Klein, Musical Theater China and Michael Feldman.
Tickets are now available via www.DisenchantedMusical.com.
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- DISENCHANTED Off-Broadway Production Photo by Matthew Murphy
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- DISENCHANTED Off-Broadway Production Photo by Matthew Murphy
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- DISENCHANTED Off-Broadway Production Photo by Matthew Murphy
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Musical Theatre Magazine 