In a show about princesses finding their voice, it may seem inappropriate to rave about an unfaithful Prince Charming – it’s not his fault, he’s written that way, he insists – but the charismatic Justin Guarini’s turn as the narcissistic royal is one of the musical’s highlights. Aisha Jackson’s ditzy Snow White proves a solid sidekick with a powerful voice, but it’s the supporting cast that command the spotlight. Here, played by Briga Heelan (another Broadway debutante), she’s a solid if unsensational protagonist. In the past year, she has also been a character in both a first-rate revival of Into the Woods and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s short-lived Bad Cinderella. Adam Godley, in a complete 180 from his last Broadway outing (the weighty Lehman Trilogy), plays the narrator, who keeps all the princesses in line like an authoritative father.Īnd Cinderella is certainly having her moment as a Broadway heroine. Suddenly, instead of doing what’s expected of a proper princess and prepping for the ball, she’s rallying her troops – Snow White, Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty among them – to rebel and become the authors of their own tales.īest not to think too much about the logistics of the plot, although it does bear a passing resemblance to Spears’s own troubles with her father, who, as her conservator, exercised tremendous control over her life until recently. (Concertgoers – sorry, audience members – even get an LED wristband that lights up during the final number.) But the story, by another Broadway newbie, Jon Hartmere, aims for both impishness and profundity, with muddled results.Ĭinderella’s OFG (Original Fairy Godmother, played by Brooke Dillman) raises her consciousness by introducing her to Betty Friedan’s Feminine Mystique. Instead of giving Shakespeare’s tragic teenager a happier outcome, however, this plot concerns a malcontent Cinderella yearning to forge a more meaningful life than the one she’s been saddled with by her fairy-tale overlord (aka the narrator).Īt its best, Once Upon a One More Time is an arena-style concert full of rousing numbers (Baby One More Time, Crazy), agile, athletic dancers and pulsating light displays directed and choreographed by husband-and-wife Broadway newcomers Keone and Mari Madrid. The creators of Broadway’s new Britney Spears jukebox musical have ventured into & Juliet female-empowerment territory.
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