Beneath the Tiara, a Lot of Attitude
Laura Collins-HughesDecember 17, 2014: Cinderella is kind of a nitwit, Snow White can be a little mean, and Sleeping Beauty? Narcoleptic, apparently. When it comes to fairy-tale princesses, those are the Big Three, but in Dennis T. Giacino’s Disenchanted!, they’re not the way Disney, let alone the Brothers Grimm, drew them. In this musical comedy for grown-ups, directed by Fiely A. Matias at the Theater at St. Clement’s, the trio lead an all-princess revue aimed at upending their popular portrayals. “Misguided messages,” insists Snow White (Michelle Knight), who can get a bit preachy. “They make us look weak,” complains Sleeping Beauty (Jen Bechter). “Like helpless damsels in distress,” adds Cinderella (Becky Gulsvig). But this is feminism light, with sparkly costumes (by Vanessa Leuck) and high heels to keep the fantasy alive. A “ho” joke isn’t beneath the playwright’s dignity, and when the princesses rail against princes who expect them to do all the housework, the show feels like a girls’-night-out retro rebellion for the suburban oppressed.
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