Doesn't every little girl want to grow up to be a fairy-tale princess? Be careful what you wish for, say the tiara-wearing denizens of "Disenchanted," the Casting Spells Productions musical currently showing at Illusion Theater. "Happily ever after" ain't all it's cracked up to be, and glass slippers can be downright dangerous.
Led by Jen Burleigh-Bentz' bold and sassy Snow White, a bevy of disillusioned fairy-tale princesses dish on the way modern media has distorted their images in this often hilarious musical revue. From Cinderella to Pocahontas, Sleeping Beauty to the Little Mermaid, just about every Disney version of a princess is represented by the six-woman ensemble over the course of 90 minutes
"Disenchanted" offers no plot to speak of, just a series of witty and bitingly satirical musical numbers separated by short comic sketch transitions. Burleigh-Bentz serves as the emcee, bringing chutzpah, excellent comic timing and extravagant vocal gifts to the role of Snow White.
Bonni Allen's Cinderella is the perfect foil as one of Snow White's two sidekicks, a good-humored airhead whose charming goofiness is tempered by mischievous glimpses of subversive defiance. She's joined by Katherine Tieben-Holt as a sleepy Sleeping Beauty.
These three ringleaders call forth the other princesses one by one to tell their tales of woe. Kim Kivens is a hilariously boozy Little Mermaid, delivering a torchy "Two Legs" as she laments her bad choices in giving up everything for a man. Her Belle, from "Beauty and the Beast," is a twitching, nervous wreck who's been driven half-mad by the spectacle of dancing cutlery and singing teapots, while her Rapunzel is a cranky German hausfrau.
Stephanie Bertumen is an energetic Mulan, who speculates that perhaps she's a lesbian, and a Jasmine (from "Aladdin") who slyly points out that she's the only Disney princess who's a second fiddle to the man. Joy Dolo appears in the latter half of the show as "The Princess Who Kissed the Frog," taking Disney to task in fine style for waiting so long to produce a black princess.
"Disenchanted" definitely comes with a message, but it's delivered with a large dose of often naughty humor (and be warned, this show is not appropriate for a younger audience). Big bawdy musical numbers that mock male illustrators' obsession with mammary glands, for example, more than make up for some uneven transitions and a couple of songs that are more predictable than fresh.
A powerhouse ensemble, aided by Lori Dokken's crisp musical direction, delivers a "Disenchanted" that's bold, smart and a lot of raucous fun.
