Streaming Theater: "Disenchanted"s Witty Exposé of Fairy Tales Launches Virtual Events (Fri AEST / Thurs Late Night EST/PST)

This coming Thursday (Friday for Australia), there is a very special opportunity to take part in the newly revised, digital launch of the live stage show, "Disenchanted". Now that they've gone virtual, anyone anywhere in the world can see this hilarious and thought-provoking show! This Thursday/Friday, the virtual cocktail hour with creator and star of the show, Eliane Morel, will begin half an hour before the show, where folks are welcome to mingle and chat online with her, before live-streaming the show.

But what is Disenchanted? 

“France 1699 at the Salon of Madame d’Aulnoy (Eliane Morel), and Fairy Tales have joined the revolution!

Disenchanted is a cabaret retelling from those supporting fairy tale characters, unimpressed at the stories being told to the public… 

Madame d’Aulnoy guides you through an intimate, behind-the-scenes exposé of what's really going on in your favourite fairy tales. It’s an anthology of mini-stories laced with wit, laughter and a healthy dose of very early strong-willed women – those Féministes... 

Witty, musical, topical, and totally original, Disenchanted transports you to D'Aulnoy's 17th Century Parisian salon, hosted by the Godmother of fairy tales herself, where you learn Fairyland's secrets: the truth and nothing but the twisted truth about why the wolf was in Grandma’s bed, the Marxist philosophy of the Goose that lays the golden eggs, what those pigs in the building industry were really up to, why the so-called Ugly Sisters were robbed, why six of Bluebeard’s six wives died unnoticed, what this all has to do with revolution, and so much more! (Note: We've used an edited combo of various promotional materials for an overview and link the unique fairy tale show this is, with how it's evolved to adapt to bringing live theater to you during the pandemic.)

Here is the promo from the stage show (before we all went into lockdown):

And here's a promo from the NEWLY revised digital/online stage show. The different details are outlined from the press material via reviews: "... a new version of this magnifique showcase for Morel (where) the team embraces the opportunities of making a film... freeing up the visual staging imagination while keeping her biting wit intact: split-screen chats, animations, backgrounds, and especially gleeful fun with technical hiccups... Brillante. Not to be missed – join the fairy tale revolution immediately." 

THE SPECIAL EVENT THIS THURSDAY/FRIDAY:

Make sure you book a ticket, as the season is limited. Note that THIS THURS LATE NIGHT (FRIDAY AEST - Australian Eastern Standard Time) is special because I've created a FaceBook event, and I'm hoping there will be quite a crowd. So, if you want to join in the fun, bring your pre-dinner drinks and enter the virtual 'foyer' at 5.30pm this Friday (10:30pm Thurs 12th PST/1:30am Fri 13th EST Thurs for US folks!), 13th November, book now:
https://melbournefringe.com.au/event/disenchanted-a-cabaret-of-twisted-fairy-tales/
Be sure to check your time zone conversions to make sure you don't miss it!

HOW IT WORKS (from an invitation via Ms. Morel):

This is how Melbourne Digital Fringe works: you can book any time, up to half an hour before each show starts. You’ll notice you can choose your price - ranging from $5 to $100 – OR - you can choose to get tickets for free and pay what you like after the show. Everyone has a different budget, so please pay what suits you.

You’ll then be sent an email link and, from 5.30pm (AEST), you can log on and be part of the pre-show crowd. So grab yourself a pre-dinner drink and 'mingle' while you wait for the show to start at 6pm. My team and I will be in that chat room on Monday 9th of Nov (AEST), and I’ll be there every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night (AEST).

I look forward to seeing you online!

REVIEWS:

“Sexy and subversive, audacious and hilarious, this show puts a knife in the back of traditional fairy tales." Katie Mac
"Irreverent, hilarious, cheeky the pace never slowed." Jan S.
“Brilliant at so many levels. I was blown away.” Moira S.
“Sharp, talented, mesmerising!” Greg N.

The project is supported by the NSW Government with a grant from Create NSW.

Warning: Contains mild coarse language, potentially triggering content or themes, including Domestic Violence, Sexual References

"Triune Tale of Diminutive Swine" (aka "The Three Little Pigs" by John Branyan)

The set up for this piece is Branyan sharing that Shakespeare apparently had a working vocabulary of around 54 000 words, whereas the average today is much closer to 3 000. (Really? Yikes.) He then proceeds to reason that this is why reading the classics is so confusing, and that even a simple fairy tale would be difficult for many to understand.

Sent to us by fairy tale friend and mythic filmmaker Lisa Stock of InByTheEye, please enjoy an "enhanced vocabulary" version of The Three Little Pigs by comic John Branyan (recorded live in 2011).

We predict that, within minutes, any person within the vicinity of this recording will be uttering bardic phrases in complete delight.

We were very pleased to find that Branyan had translated this performance into illustrated print and it is available for purchase through his website HERE.

In the meantime, those with little folk (or other large folk) in the house, are welcome to perform their own reading of Triune Tale of Diminutive Swine, by reading the text loud HERE.

[We aim to procure this volume for our library, with the admitted selfish motivation of encouraging the formation of further volumes of like tales. ;) ]

Tally-ho! It's "Galavant"! (Finally) Huzzah!

Tomorrow. It's finally happening.

Galavant has taken his time getting onto our screens (I was blogging about his imminent arrival in the middle of last year), but this is for good reason/s (I'm led to believe) and both the critical and pop culture buzzes are excellent.

If you're new here and are wondering "What be this Galavant?" (imagine I used an Olde English font there, would you?), here's a brief low-down:

Once upon a time, the dashing hero, Galavant (Joshua Sasse) lost the love of his life, Madalena (Mallory Jansen), to the evil King Richard (Timothy Omundson). Now, our fallen hero is ready to take revenge and restore his “happily ever after.” But it won’t be without a few twists and turns (and random show stoppers) along the way. 

Insert your own snarky caption here...

Galavant's creators have quite the pedigree, which if the premise worries you at all, should give you a reason to consider taking a peek at this one. Here's the promo list from the official website:

Screenwriter/executive producer Dan Fogelman (Crazy, Stupid, Love, Tangled, Cars) teams up with Broadway and Hollywood award-winning musical team -- composer Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast) and lyricist Glenn Slater (Tangled) -- for a 4-week comedy extravaganza. 

They've already managed to attract some celebrity guest stars too (John Stamos, Weird Al, Ricky Gervais), which is almost unheard of on a new series. And then there's this aspect that has me looking forward to it very much as well:

"... we shot it in real, practical locations, as opposed to shooting on sound stages and sets; we went and shot it in England in real castles and real fields. And we had the costume designers from Downton Abbey so even though it's a silly comedy and sometimes people are breaking into song, it is the real thing." ~ creator Dan Fogelman (source)

If you like Monty Python, The Princess Bride, Once Upon A Mattress and musical comedy that doesn't take itself at all seriously with toe-tapping tunes, then Galavant is for you - for us! It's a very ambitious project which is likely to either shine or flop at each point of it's journey.

The Main cast, supported by hundreds of other excellent and silly people

I have my fingers crossed for their success. Mainstream storytelling has been so serious for so long, that despite some of it being excellent, we're incredibly overdue for some smart and fun series to inspire us and the next generation (and perhaps remind us to laugh at ourselves every once in a while).

The mini-series/limited run/whatever you want to call it, is designed, ABC programming-wise, to fill the gap during Once Upon A Time's lengthy hiatus, and it might well do the trick. Or, if it's as good as it looks like it might be, Once Upon A Time is going to have a hard act to follow for the second half of their season with the (now-banished from Storybrooke) Rumple and the trio of wicked women (Ursula, Maleficent and Cruella)!

Take a look at the animated sing-along lyrics for a taste of the style and audience "participation" the cast and crew are hoping for:

And here's one of the best promos for any new show that I've seen in a while (and yes, this is an official one):

What are you waiting for? Go set your alarm clocks (or DVRs) and get ready to find yourself humming tunes and snatches of ridiculous/hilarious lyrics in inappropriate places... ;)

OUAT: The Ice Queen (press release - no spoilers) & "GALAVANT" Is the Bridge For How We Get There (TRAILER ALERT!)

Hi Elsa! (And probably Anna too.) This is your official welcome by ABC to the world of Storybrooke, Maine and the Once Upon A Time fandom:

 

By the way, I've been seeing complaints (and occasionally outrage) that there are "so many people" getting upset that ABC is doing the Frozen version of Elsa instead of The Snow Queen. I just gotta say.... well that's interesting! (And it's not from me.) While I'd personally love to see a little traditional fairy tale Ice Maiden/Snow Queen input, it's pretty clear that OUAT's format and popularity relies upon using known fairy tale characters (usually, but not always, from the Disney canon) in order for the twists in their stories to have so much impact, so, of course it's going to be Elsa from Frozen. I'm very curious to know where all these "fairy tale hipsters"(their term, not mine) causing such a ruckus are from. Although I think it's a little misguided because of what the show essentially is, I kinda love that they're making fans of OUAT and Frozen take somewhat of a look at the old tales, even if it's only to note that they exist.

The other main beef on the interwebs today? That Dreamworks owns the Jack Frost character that a huge portion of the (various) fandoms want to 'ship with Elsa (who is Disney) - and the tears of despair that there is no way that can possibly happen because Dreamworks/Disney = mortal enemies. O.o

Elsa & Jack cosplay by Akatsuki Tsukasa
(click this to see more amazing cosplay including with Anna)

We're so far out from how they're going to manage this yet... I'm just going to say it: let it go, people!  (Don't kill me. )If you're a fan, odds are you will love what they do, if for no other reason than apparently the writer room is like a Frozen mini-fandom and cares just as much as you do. Chill. (And please don't kill me.)

Worried about how you're going to last that long? Enter Galavant (the musical comedy fairy tale show I've posted on HERE as being in development at Disney).

But before it gets too boring to keep reading, look! A crazy, fun, Princess-Bride-meets-Monty-Pythonesque trailer (but with less dirt) to show you we're very unlikely to be bored while we wait... From the writer of Crazy, Stupid, Love and Oscar-Winning Composer Alan Menken… ABC brings you… um, this:

This is so much better than expected. I'm heaving a huge sigh of relief. (And I'm going to take it as an excellent sign that my kid thought it was funny too.)

And yes, it makes complete sense that Galavant would be the bridge show for Oncers. We also know that this time they're not going to screw up the between season programming for this show either, after what happened with OUATinWonderland (for OUATinW it was a mid-season kafuffle, but still, cancellation is a serious price to pay for an oops).

So: fairy tale shows from ABC for the next year at the least. Woot!

(Note: Fairy tale writers: got an ice maiden or Jack Frost story bubbling away? This is the year to get it out there. Just sayin'.)

Zooey Deschanel to Exec Produce New Animated-Workplace-Comedy On Difficulties Of Running A Fairy Tale 'Queendom'...

The show is a modern fairytale about an evil queen who realizes that running a Queendom isn’t easy when you have no people skills and everyone hates you. But with a little help from her staff, she will try to change her ways.

So the quote seems to indicate someone watched a few episodes of Once Upon A Time, sympathized with Regina's character and her groaning at the rest of the characters (who run around declaring loyalty one week and changing their minds the next) - with a little magic mischief thrown in the mix, and thought: "Ya know? Being an 'Evil Queen' boss of fairy tale people would be so frustrating - it would make a perfect workplace comedy!" And someone at Fox said "Yeah - we need some sort of property to get a piece of that profitable fairy tale pie - let's do it!"

(Um.. ok then!)

The show will be half an hour long and the title is: Queen Of Everything.

No mention of a series, so it appears to be a single-show project for Fox. Not sure how they intend to slot it into Fox programming, especially as a one-off (I can see this better as a short series). Fox doesn't have any other real fairy tale properties right now, though the two dramedy/fantasies of Almost Human and Sleepy Hollow show the mix of magic and wry one-liners should work well for their viewers.

It could be good...

I'm being optimistic. Are you being optimistic? Because ya never know... and Regina is the most consistently interesting character in OUAT so... *shrugs*

No word on who's designing or animating yet, although Ali Waller (American Dad, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) will be writing, so there are lots of ways this could go. It's going to be a tough one to pull off well! Hopefully Ms. Deschanel will use her star-status well and get really skilled people on board who can make something surprising and fun out of this, because, honestly, the premise is a little cringe-worthy (and the writer isn't exactly known for having a subtle touch). I guess we'll just have to wait and see...

(Note to show: please prove my gut reaction wrong and make this awesome.)

Sources: HERE & HERE

Disney Picks Up "Happily Ever After" (Note: This is NEW news. Not a repeat of yesterdays, I promise)

Yes. I admit it. I nearly missed this completely because I thought I told you about this yesterday. Except that it's new for today and a totally different project. Totally. Really.

The only thing is that the exclusive news from The Hollywood Reporter doesn't mention if it's a movie or a TV series. Right now, all the language suggests "movie" so I'll run with that.

(Disney) has picked up (the fairy tale comedy) Happily Ever After, a pitch from Nahnatchka Khan, the creator of Don’t Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, that has Reese Witherspoon attached to star. 

Witherspoon is also on board to produce with her Pacific Standard partner Bruna Papandrea. John Jacobs of Smart Entertainment is also producing. 

The idea is to catch up with a prince and princess about 10 years after they have ridden off into the sunset for their "happily ever after." The couple discovers that even in fairy-tale land, you have to work to keep your relationship and your life together.

And Reese Witherspoon gets to be a Disney princess. Finally.

(Remember when Brave was still The Bear & the Bow and wasn't quite Disney yet? She was almost-Merida for a while there but missed her opportunity to be added to the Disney equivalent of the Bond-girls canon.)

But Ms. Witherspoon isn't a stranger to fairy tale movies. She's been in a few before, just never as a princess (which is odd, really, because she has been compared to Cinderella more than once, yet I had to resort to perfume ads for a Reese-as-princess look).

It will be quite a departure from Freeway... (understatement of the year) or even her role in Penelope (as a supporting character, although she produced on that fairy tale too - one worth seeing by the way, if you haven't already; sweet, simple, solid).

Although it will be nice to see something focusing on fairy tales AFTER a wedding (life after a fairy tale wedding? Is there such a thing Disney? You never told us..) but is it just me, or do I feel like I'm suddenly drowning in fairy tale comic light, courtesy of Disney?

Although it would actually be very refreshing to see somebody take on the problems inherent in getting a real "happily ever after" for the rest of the prince and princesses' lives, I'm not truly confident that Disney is able to handle comedy with serious issues depth that could actually make this good. (Sorry. But happily-ever-after is the seriously difficult part of fairy tales and it's just not as exciting or visually spectacular - usually - as the rescue-the-prince, er, princess part and firework-worthy nuptials.)

With all the other fairy tale projects in development and production right now it feels like something else that got pushed out of the fairy tale franchise room as a half-formed idea. Did somebody spill some bibbidi-bobbidi-boo dust in the water cooler there or is everyone getting bitten by Enchanted bugs? Seriously, it's getting a little bizarre...

Here's hoping Ms. Witherspoon's recent "life experience" will help inform her in how to go about making this project both smart and satisfying (while still keeping the attention of Disney dreamers).

A little note on the emerging trend of fairy tale musical comedy & associated bandwagons: 

I should probably just shut up and be over-the-moon happy we'll be discussing fairy tales in popular culture for some time to come, right?

Although part of me is happy about that, my bigger concern is that the intensity of fairy tale image rewrites at present are once again changing the way we - (society/pop culture/"we the people") - will be viewing fairy tales in the future.

I had hoped with the darker re-visioning and anti-hero views, that it would have paved the way for people to rediscover the older tales once again and perhaps be writing/telling a few more, new ones, of their own (like Angela Carter did). I think it had started to, but that movement barely got off the ground before being suddenly awash in grownup glitter. The musical comedy bandwagon is being jumped on with rather desperate enthusiasm by Disney at present and it feels very much like an attempt to take back that "fairy tale crown" - ie all things fairy tale must belong to Disney. It's almost as if we're getting an intensified concentration of the princess/enchanted life culture again, but this time it's aimed at adults. Unfortunately, I know all those mothers who are horrified their little girls are choosing Monster High over Barbie will happily sign on to this trend.

Myself, I find it a little disturbing. *checks night sky for wishing stars to put to work on changing this*

Once Upon A Musical? (ABC Orders a New Fairy Tale Musical Comedy Pilot)

Enchanted's Prince Edward

Take some Once Upon A Time, add a (liberal) dash of Alan Menken, grab some Glee fans, a few extra princes and princesses, find an ABC prime time family slot and voila! You have the formula for ABCs next ordered pilot.

And it shall be called "Galavant".

Here's (a mash-up of) the announcement(s):

Galavant is a musical comedy from Dan Fogelman, who created ABC’s The Neighbors—perhaps the most unheralded turnaround story from last season—and also wrote Crazy Stupid Love. Music and lyrics will come from legendary composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater. It won’t be the first time the trio works together, as it previously collaborated on Disney's Tangled, as well as a musical episode of The Neighbors.It centers on the handsome Prince Galavant, who is looking to fight for his one true love. Unfortunately, a king stole her and Galavant is out for revenge. (Sources: Variety, AV Club &  Celebrity Cafe)

ABC (and Disney) are going all out in fairy tale rehash land right now. We have Once Upon A Time going to Neverland and new spin-off Once Upon A Time In Wonderland debuting, a live action reboot of Cinderella (spring-boarding off the animated classic by the way), Maleficent being the anti-hero du jour, soon to be followed by Cruella de Vil in the same vein (as confirmed yesterday) and if that goes well I going to predict Ursula as next antihero cap off the rank, considering their brand new villainess cosmetic line - in which Ursula apparently got a hold of some sort of Slim Fast potion... (topic for another day...!)

Bizarre? Yes. Surprising? No.

Since Glee's smashing success, which manages to tap into both popular prime time viewer popularity and geek-extreme fan-bases we've seen musical specials and episodes increase their frequency of appearance. When Nashville proved it could easily holding it's own musical niche on TV, (and Disney suddenly noticed enthusiasm for Enchanted hadn't waned at all but that people were eagerly awaiting news of just when the sequel would be greenlit) it wasn't too surprising that Disney started looking to add a family fairy tale musical project to their slate.

I just don't know if it's going to be truly awesome or truly terrible.

TV writing and production is crazy-fast and musical comedy is one of the hardest genres to successfully write (both in terms of lyrics and music, let alone for a weekly series) but I wish the team luck (a lot of it).

They certainly look like they're going to make a serious go of trying to make this good and if Menken is adding his name you know they're sure this is at least possible to do well (and not ruin his reputation of eight Oscars and counting).

So what do you think?

Could you handle another fairy tale series, a la musical comedy style?