Review: Disney princesses hilariously rage against the machine in ‘Disenchanted’
San Jose Playhouse musical satire lets Disney princesses have their say -- and they have a lot on their minds.
The princesses are done with this namby-pamby nonsense, and they ain’t taking it no more.
They’re not speaking about their dreams of possessing feet or meeting frogs who await just around the riverbend. These foul-mouthed fancies have desires less to do with landing a milquetoast man with sweet hair; they are all about wearing their tiaras with a ‘tude, blazing an overdue, long-awaited feminist trail with butane.
The San Jose Playhouse production of “Disenchanted” is a delight with a razor’s edge, pushing mightily against the Brothers Grimm and Disney marketing magic. The edge tends to be dulled in moments in an otherwise solid direction of Scott Evan Guggenheim’s staging. The satisfying production lands with a verve, offering a good time while railing against marginalized nostalgia.
The show features three of the more archaic princesses in Disneydom: Snow White (Susan Gundunas), Sleeping Beauty (Krista Wigle) and Cinderella (Osher Fine). In modern sensibilities, the theme of these three icons awaiting a handsome prince to save them from their perceived pathetic lives is problematic. Happily ever after is challenged early and often from this collection of would-be damsels in distress, which includes more modern iterations such as Belle and the Little Mermaid (Shannon Guggenheim), Hua Mulan and Pocahontas (Eiko Yamamoto) and the Princess Who Kissed the Frog (Juanita Harris).
While lots of ground is covered within the book, music and lyrics of Dennis T. Giacino, the story is more revue than narrative, moving from low- to high-brow with mixed results. Some lyrics and their surprises are snappy and sharp, yet others feel too base for maximum effect. The strength is in how the cast of six mostly maneuvers the various styles of the songs and their kitschy lyrics.
Some of Giacino’s most insightful moments in the show have to do with the tardiness of Disney’s most progressive history. It’s wonderful that studio heads have finally arrived at understanding there may be an entire generation of BIPOC girls who can finally see themselves represented consistently in the Disney canon; but the fact that it took so long to arrive there is the issue. It’s a firmly feminist thesis that Giacino thankfully does not shy away from.
It’s not just the racial component that is exposed. It’s with humor that the princesses yearn for a deep dive into eating junk food like burgers, pizza and Hot Pockets. The smiles and laughs within these moments raise deeper questions about what is considered positive or harmful representation. “In a fairy tale, only skinny (expletives) prevail” expound the princesses.
The six-person cast features terrific individual voices, but their divinity is in their collective choral blend. Wigle and Fine both do the effective heavy lifting of physical, bawdy humor, of which they are presented many opportunities that feature big, bold energy.
Shannon Guggenheim carries a veteran presence, not just within her perverse portrayals of Belle, Little Mermaid and Rapunzel, but in how the cast as a whole implements her choreography. Yamamoto’s turns as the most marginalized princesses go into some unpredictable directions, questioning why the true story of Pocahontas is compromised for the purposes of sexualization.
While the story does dive into some of darker elements of Disney princess lore, the aim of the show is really about having a good time. The broad humor that each cast member is tasked with lightens the load and dives fully into joyful panache. Numbers such as “Finally,” “Two Legs” and “A Happy Tune?” turn the idea of light perseverance on its head. Another song — the title of which we cannot print here — examines the virtues of a woman’s breasts, wading deeply into comical irreverence.
If one wants to bring the little girls with pretty, pink dresses out for an evening of Disney diva worship, they’d best find a 3Below Theater movie auditorium playing a sing-along flick with bouncy lyrics and elementary-aged little mermaids dressed as Ariel. On the weekends, the theatre hosting “Disenchanted” is fully reserved, unapologetically, for mama and her buddies.
David John Chávez is chair of the American Theatre Critics Association and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (‘22-‘23). @davidjchavez
‘DISENCHANTED’
Book, music and lyrics by Dennis T. Giacino, presented by San Jose Playhouse
Through: Nov. 5
Where: 3Below Theaters, 288 S. Second St., San Jose
Running time: Two hours with an intermission
Note: Not suitable for young children
Tickets: $25-$75; sanjoseplayhouse.org