FRINGE REVIEW: Disenchanted! questions values Once Upon A Time
Disenchanted! is a hilariously fiery, feminist denunciation of the classic Disney princess stories that we all grew up watching. Told from the perspective of the princesses post-happily-ever-after, this Off-Broadway musical blasts the disreputable parts of Disney fairy-tale movies that went over our heads as children, but we now perceive with a dubious eye. With truly impressive vocals and delightful choreography, the princesses comically call out issues relating to feminism, racism and Americanisation – to name a mere few – which keep the audience captivated and choking with laughter.
Snow White (portrayed by Cassie Skinner) superbly co-hosts the evening with the wonderfully ditzy Cinderella (Georgia McGivern) and uproarious Sleeping Beauty (Imogen Rabbitte). The three kick off the show taking turns reading passages from each of their own stories, emphasising (with great exasperation) the classic fairy-tale endings, whereby each of them were saved by a handsome prince, got married, and thus secured a happily ever after. The notion that marriage is the ultimate goal and reward for female characters is promptly rejected by the princesses, however.
Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty periodically share the stage with the rest of the Disney princesses, each belting out their own reasons for estranging from their confining storylines. The wraths and disgruntlements of the characters on stage were surely felt by every woman in the room, from Ariel’s (Jess Lally) relatable displeasure towards the hassle of shaving her legs, to Cinderella’s blasting of the extremely small waists and concurrent large breasts that the princesses are all too frequently drawn as having.
The team of princesses call Disney out for more than just the problematic portrayal of women. Among other disputes, the fantastically vibrant and sassy Princess Tiana (Delicia Cooper) contends with the considerable amount of time it took for an African American princess to get the spotlight, while the blatant Americanisation of European fairy-tale stories is homed in on. While the performance is largely witty and jaunty, emotions occasionally dip to powerfully nail some points – such as the sombre moment when we are reminded that Pocahontas, presented in her film with double D cups, was only ten years old at the time the movie’s events took place. Finally, mixing in some cultural references that only true-blue Aussies would understand does the trick in tailoring this worldwide show to an Aussie audience. The performance draws to a close with Sleeping Beauty’s empowering anthem, staunchly asserting that she is perfect just the way she is, followed by an assembly of raised fists, Rosie the Riveter style.
This hilarious and refreshing take on the classic fairy-tale princesses grants them more personhood than their archaic film portrayals. This show resolutely rejects the notion that domestication, marriage and beauty are the gauges by which a woman’s success is to be measured and unapologetically stands up to other questionable qualities of Disney’s film portrayals of these classic fairy-tales. Through admirable assertiveness and self-confidence, these kick-ass princesses ensure that these misguided notions are, and ought to remain, merely “once upon a time”.
A wonderfully entertaining show – I highly recommend catching this side-splitting performance before Fringe World Festival concludes for 2020.
