"The Light Princess" (A.R.T. Institute) Flies Into New Victory Theater

Poster from original production by A.R.T.

It's so interesting to see all the different stage versions of this fairy tale. George MacDonald's fairy tales (full text of The Light Princess is HERE) seems to have come back into public consciousness again in recent years with Twyla Tharp's work (contemporary dance), Tori Amos' musical theater adaptation (the photos look amazing! I will have to do a catch up post...) and now the A.R.T. Institute are presenting their version.

Note: this is one of many current family theater offerings advertising their "sensory friendliness" so for sensitive children and kids dealing with autism, this is produced to be as enjoyable for all as possible.

From the press release:

Can a girl who can’t fall at all, fall in love? The Light Princess follows the journey of a young princess cursed to live without gravity in a new musical from A.R.T. Institute.  

Funny, romantic and buoyed by whimsical original songs, The Light Princess is an enchanting tale for all ages, running at The New Victory Theater from February 27th to March 8th, 2015.

In this delightful musical by writing duo Lila Rose Kaplan (Wildflower, Second Stage Theater; Biography of a Constellation, 2009 National Science Playwriting Award from the Kennedy Center) and Mike Pettry (2012 ASCAP Foundation Harold Adamson Lyric Award winner for musical theater and a 2007 Jonathan Larson Award winner), two witty wisemen sing a story of a young princess cursed by a wicked witch to float through life indefinitely.

With direction by Allegra Libonati, The Light Princess comes from a widely lauded and popular run at the acclaimed American Repertory Theater (Artistic Director, Diane Paulus). Accompanied by live, onstage music and cleverly choreographed byJeffrey Kuperman and Rick Kuperman, our young heroine twirls above the stage, through the kingdom and into a magical forest as she searches for a way to come back to earth by her sixteenth birthday (or be doomed to defy gravity forever!).

Based on the nineteenth-century Scottish fairy tale by George MacDonald, The Light Princess features actors from the A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.

Here's the entertaining trailer. It certainly looks like a lot of fun for actors and audience!

I like this trailer from A.R.T.'s production the year before as well. It gives a different overview (and the actors will be different), but if you're not familiar with the story or production , this may fill in some gaps:

The performances run from February 27th through to March 8th, 2015 and the The New Victory Theater in New York, NY.

More information and tickets can be found HERE.

Fairy tale bonus of the day:

Here's a lovely illustration of The Light Princess by Alteya of deviantArt.

New "Cinderella" Trailer: Not Just About the Magic

As promised, released today, here's the new, second official trailer for Disney's live action Cinderella.

We finally get to see a little more of the driving force behind this retelling as well as a little more of the transformation magic.

Perhaps I'm extra critical because Branagh is a Shakespeare and classics guy who should be well aware of layering, stories, use of symbology and plot points etc so I expect more than average but this trailer is definitely a step in the right direction, even if it still doesn't feel particularly innovative to me at this point. There does seem a chance that people will think slightly differently of Cinderella in the future though but we'll have to wait and see.

Note: Cinderella is going to be EVERYWHERE. The last few days have been filled with announcement upon announcement from various stores and chains collaborating with Disney to handle Cinderella-specific merchandise. You will not be able to escape this during Springtime. It's definitely being boosted by the new Frozen short, Frozen Fever, being included before the movie but the longevity of the Cinderella merch. will depend on a variety of things. Suffice it to say - if you want fairy tale themed clothes, accessories etc now is a good time to start looking around.

In the meantime, enjoy the trailer! It's worth watching to see where they're going with this:

Calling All Writers Who Love To Read!

Our partnership with Timeless Tales has opened up an exciting new opportunity for our readers. We are forming a team of volunteer reviewers, so if you're a fellow fairy tale lover who would like to contribute to this blog (and have the opportunity for a little publicity for your own work), here is how you can apply.

We currently have a team of three regular reviewers and would like to add 2-3 more consistent members to our team and a longer list of intermittent members.  

I have no idea what kind of response this will receive, so consider this an open invite until May 1, 2015 with the possibility of us extending it.

INSTRUCTIONS

Send an email to Tahlia at 
timelesstalesbookreviews AT gmail DOT com 
with "I want to join the team!" in the subject line. 

Include the following information:

1. Your name and a short paragraph about yourself, focusing on your love of fairytales, your writing background, and what genres you like/dislike reading (so we know what books your most likely to enjoy). Please include links to any blogs or published pieces. Note: you are not required to be previously published to be considered for this position.

2. Are you interested in reviewing ebooks?

3. Do you have an iPad or iPhone? (We have a request at the moment that requires one of these devices) 

By Agata Kawa

General info:

• When you send us your application info, Tahlia will look it over and if she likes what she sees, she'll send you a review to write as a trial run. With the assignment, you will also receive all our review writing guidelines. If she's happy with what you submit, we will use it on the blog and consider you for further reviews. 
• This is sadly not a paid position, but we will give you full credit and a bio blurb at the end of the review, including links. 
• However, you will be allowed to keep any review copies/ARCs of books sent to you.
• The expected word count for your posts will be 250-500 words (not including the published blurb/synopsis).
• We will try to be flexible with your schedule, but must have writers who can commit to an agreed-upon deadline. If we send you a request and you choose to pass, that's totally fine. Once a deadline is agreed to and we send you a book, however, we will need you to meet that deadline (usually around a month after we mail you the book). Note: This is particularly important for books about to be released. We aim to support and promote the work of fairy tale authors, and possibly, one day, you too!

Glass Slippers & Conspiracies

Remember how I mentioned I hadn't seen anything regarding marketing of an iconic Cinderella shoe as a marketing/consumer tie-in to the upcoming movie (and that I wouldn't have been surprised if it ended up being an exclusive thing)?

Ta da! Disney has approached nine luxury shoe designer brands and asked them for their interpretations of a Cinderella 2015 shoe.

(In other words, they went the exclusive route.)

The distinguished designers, in alphabetical order, are: Paul Andrew, Alexandre Birman, René Caovilla, Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo, Nicholas Kirkwood, Charlotte Olympia, Jerome C. Rousseau, and Stuart Weitzman. Each brand has created its own interpretation of the famed glass slipper Cinderella accidentally leaves behind when the clock strikes midnight. 

...Swarovski, which produced the iconic glass slipper for the film under the direction of Academy Award®-winning costume designer Sandy Powell, provided the crystals featured in the designers’ shoes.

 

The words: PVC, perspex, transparent - these all make me think of ugly, squished, sweaty and deformed feet (especially in these heels! Are any under 3 1/2 inches??) Yikes. Feet can be very beautiful but, ironically, this combination seems a conspiracy against that ideal..

You can see the rest of the shoe designs HERE (none of which seem particularly innovative, but what do I know), along with statements from the designers about creating a new iconic Cinderella shoe. The rest of write up from Consumer Products is HERE, including a list of where you're able to order these shoes, if you are so monied, er, inclined. (!)

In other Cinderella movie updates, there is a new TV Spot, focusing on an apparent conspiracy the Stepmother is "in" on, with regard to keeping Cinderella hidden and apparently there's a new full trailer due out tomorrow.

Here's the conspiracy:

I want to be excited, I do, but it's not feeling very unique - not even a different spin on a classic (and fairy tale writers out there know there are many, many ways to do that, even when restricted by using required/classic/iconic material). I know Branagh did his research. I know he read many versions of Cinderella in preparation for making this movie but I'm not seeing lots of evidence of that yet. Cinderella "pre-meeting" the prince so it's not love at first sight has been done so often (heck, Disney made sure this happened for Snow White so she'd have a little history with her guy before being woken up!), I just can't see it as being a different take (Ever After easily did it better and that was a very less-than-perfect movie.)

But... this little featurette came out today about the love story between Cinderella and the Prince so, for people who've never seen Ever After or The Slipper and the Rose (highly recommended) this may feel very fresh.

Without doubt, whatever it is, it will be beautiful.

A Greenhouse of Spring Magic (Courtesy of Chanel S/S 2015)

Apologies for the delay in posting. I am under the weather today, (there may be a delay in tomorrow's too just as an FYI) but thought I'd finish off a draft post to make it a little easier on myself, and show you what Chanel put together for their Spring Haute Couture show in January.

This is such a lovely way to reveal color. Bold in more ways than one...

"Florals for spring. Groundbreaking.” Those four words, famously uttered by The Devil Wears Prada villainess Miranda Priestly, have become something of a mantra in the fashion sphere. Leave it to Karl Lagerfeld, though, who showed Chanel’s spring 2015 couture collection on Tuesday in Paris, to turn spring florals into something not only groundbreaking, but downright futuristic. (Architectural Digest)

First the guests were treated to foggy greenhouse with intriguing paper-cut shapes of over-sized plants, then after being seated inside a gardner came out and "watered" it, starting the animations...

...which culminated with the models walking out as if they were living blooms.

I have to say I was so taken with the visuals that, for me, it was almost a disappointment when the models first walked out!

Strangely, it's been difficult to find much on the creation of such a stunning and much-talked-about centerpiece, the 'mechanical blooming hothouse' but this is from Vogue:

One definition of superb haute couture is that it’s the art of making impossibly difficult things seem as if they just—poof!—happened that way naturally. That’s precisely how Karl Lagerfeld’s spring haute couture was, a pleasingly unforced blooming of Chanel flower ideas set in an artificial hothouse. The Chanel conservatory was planted with mechanical plants which (gasp!) opened up and produced origami flowers before our very eyes, a naively childlike moment of transient entertainment, which, of course took an army of experts to engineer. “I thought of it six months ago, in a flash,” said Lagerfeld, cross-examined after the show. “There are 300 machines here under our feet, one to make each flower work.” It is exactly the same with the ridiculously intense inventive work that goes into every inch of Chanel couture embroidery on the runway, as he pointed out. Karl comes up with the vision—in this case, a fusion of Henri Matisse’s cutouts of leaves and 3-D paper Chinese lanterns—and then the ateliers apply themselves to figuring out how the minutiae of such structures can be faithfully conjured up in fabric.

I thought the gauzy floral skirts were very reminiscent of Terry Gilliam's The Brother's Grimm movie design/direction for some of the fairy tale portions of the movie (can't find any images to clips at the moment to show you what I mean unfortunately). Perhaps that's why I held on to it to show you.

In the meantime it looks like three-dimensional florals displayed on white is something we're going to be seeing a lot. Here's something that looks like it's from the same show but isn't: it's the "wedding dress" worn by Mila Kunis' character in the (reportedly insane) sci-fi-with-shades-of-Snow-White movie, Jupiter Ascending. (Note the red and white.. works for the concept of the character too.)This design, however is by Michael Cinco.

NOT Chanel - this design is by Michael Cinco for the movie Jupiter Ascending

Fashion has forever been connected with magic, fantasy and fairy tales but more and more we see the presentation of these shows be quite theatrical, trying to draw the audience into a story they might want to take home a piece of, for a price. (There's always a price...)

I applaud it, myself. It shows me people need stories - even their clothes, no matter how beautiful, are more relatable and desirable when a story is attached. There's something particularly special about haute couture because the pieces are one-of-a-kind, made to fit only one person (sometimes even sewn on to that person!) but a lot of time an attention goes into the making of each piece, like weaving magic spell. (Which always makes me think of The Three Spinners fairy tale and how great magic cost them.)

I don't normally spend a lot of time thinking about fashion (seriously: fashion beanies? Midriffs are bac?!) but I am completely fascinated by process and theater and all those forms of storytelling so for those who like seeing behind-the-scenes like I do, here's a peek at magic in the making:

There's probably a lot more someone who's much better with fashion could write for you on fashion and fairy tales but for today I'll just leave you with the lovely to have your own thoughts.

Ask Baba Yaga: How Can I Create Stability?

Baba Yaga for Sketch Dailies by Daisy Spiers in style of Jan Pienkowski

Today's question and answer (via poet and oracle Taisia Kitaiskaia* of The Hairpin):

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

I'll admit, it took me a couple of reads to feel comforted by this, maybe because Baba Yaga's answer describes the inherent exhaustion and seeming transformation to insubstantiality so well. What I take from this is that it's OK to transform, that sometimes it's necessary to survive. We tend to think of transforming to something frog-like as devolving, a negative thing, but sometimes what's needed are those odd-looking "jellied feets" that let you stand on silt...

What do you think of Baba Yaga's advice?

Want to ask Baba Yaga a question of your own?

You can!

There's now an email address where you can send your questions

directly to Baba Yaga herself.

AskBabaYaga AT gmail DOT com

To encourage Baba Yaga to continue imparting her no-bones-about-it wisdom (ok, there may be some gristle in there... bones too), I suggest we not to leave her box empty... 

Thank you Baba Yaga (& Taisia).

* Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. Born in Russia and raised in America, she's had her poems and translations published in Narrative Magazine, Poetry International, and others.

Timeless Tales Magazine Issue #4 Open for Submissions

Announcing a paid publishing opportunity from Timeless Tales Magazine:

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Starting today, Timeless Tales is accepting short stories for their summer issue. 

Submissions must be retellings of the Greek myth "Perseus and Medusa" and follow the guidelines presented on T.T's submission page. 

Writers will be published on the website and have their story narrated for the magazine's audio edition. 

You only have until March 23, so don't procrastinate. 

This is T.T's fourth issue. Previous themes have included:

• "Puss in Boots"
• "Pandora's Box"
• "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Timeless Tales Magazine is "bringing new life to old classics" with retellings of myths and fairy tales. 

Timeless Tales Magazine is now a partner of Once Upon A Blog and will be releasing notices, updates and announcing publishing opportunities here. To contact the Editor for T.T. directly, please send all correspondence via the "Contact Us" form on the magazine's website HERE or through our partnered Facebook page HERE.

Exclusive Cinderella Merchandise Now Available for Pre-Order At Hot Topic

For my fashion conscious readers, Hot Topic has announced a pre-order sale of their new Disney Designer Collection based on the upcoming live action Cinderella movie. At least some of the pieces will be available in stores come February 24th, but like their Maleficent collection, probably not all. (You can look at the pieces in detail and order HERE.)

Though I'm not a fan of what I've seen of the movie to date (apart from Cate Blanchett), I would agree that sometimes the best things to come out of these large productions can be the limited-availability merchandise.

I have to say that lined coat did catch my eye, but what I'd really love is just some of those buttons...

There's a lot of clothing and accessories coming out for this movie, it would seem, so if this is your thing, keep your eyes peeled.

While everything shown here is from Hot Topic, Kohl's will have a line of casual summer dresses for Cinderella too (which might be a little more budget friendly).

You know what I haven't really seen yet, though? Special Cinderella shoes. Maybe they're being saved for an exclusive release later (or will be exclusive to some wedding line somewhere).

Happy hunting fashionistas!

JC Penney Cinderella Ad Debuts During Oscars

This glass slipper is made of ice... has anyone told THAT story yet?

I told you it would be hard to escape! JC Penney has joined forces with Disney to bring (yet another) line of Cinderella fashion and merchandise and debuted their ad during the Oscar coverage last night.

Not the most creative of ads but it was sweet nonetheless.

Here 'tis:

Fairy tale bonus of the day:

JC Penney also held design contest for ten fashion school graduates to design a gown for that #CinderellaMoment, something which must have felt like spinning magic out of paper and pencils for those designers (complete with the sweat and hard work) and a royal-like party to celebrate the effort:

(Ten) talented graduate students in the Fashion School of Kent State University (had) under two hours to conjure up a glam outfit-inspired by this wondrous Cinderella ballgown-that was straight off the live-action film's set (eta March 2015)---in homage of the store's collaboration with this modern day take on the timeless tale.

You can see photos from the event and the designs HERE.

Multimedia Ballet: "Belle Redux: A Tale of Beauty & the Beast" to Premiere Valentine's Weekend

It would seem that 2015 is the year of Beauty and the Beast.

Ballet Austin, known for technical excellence and innovative productions, is about to launch their World Premiere of Belle Redux: A Tale of Beauty & the Beast in time for Valentine's Day weekend.

(Funny thing: when I first saw the image used in the little poster below I could have sworn the rose glowed in a pulse - that it was a gif. It was the pulsing of the rose in connection with the rose "multimedia" that caught my attention in the first place. But I can't find it now...)

"Once upon a time... Escape with Ballet Austin into the mysterious world of a beauty, a beast and a ballet, as Artistic Director Stephen Mills seduces you with a modern take on the timeless story of Beauty and the Beast. Commissioned by the global innovators at 3M, this sleek and sexy new production is an exciting evolution of the fairy tale you remember. 

Fall into a dark and intoxicating world of passion and intrigue, featuring Mills' classically innovative choreography and a haunting new score by renowned, Austin-based composer Graham Reynolds."

The production was commissioned by 3M Innovations with the intent that it will contribute to the evolution of the way in which this tale is told.

The sets for Belle Redux / A Tale of Beauty & the Beast draw inspiration from the film noir genre and Jean Cocteau's ground-breaking film La Belle et la Bête. Sleek and mysterious, Michael B. Raiford's designs give dancers the freedom to move about the space while lending a sense of gravity to Stephen Mills' innovative production.

If you're confused, bear with me - I shall explain, with the help of some quotes from the development notes on the production (words in bold and underlined, are my emphasis):

“Belle Redux / A Tale of Beauty & the Beast is unlike anything I’ve previously brought to the stage, and much of that has to do with the way this work was conceived,” Mills acknowledged. “Four years ago, Joaquin Delegado, who was then running 3M’s Austin businesses, approached me with an idea and a concern. He was worried that young people might grow up in a world where the art of innovation—the act of making something better, more interesting or more useful—would be lost or confused with advancements in technology, which is not the same thing. He wanted Ballet Austin to create an original dance work underscoring the complexity of innovation and how it differs from invention, or creating something from scratch.

It turns out the Beauty and the Beast fairy tale is an excellent case study for innovation with regard to storytelling forms - one which Ballet Austin are seeking to continue the tradition of, as well as develop the evolution of with regard to how the story is told (and therefore received/what impact it will have).

From the press notes:

Belle Redux / A Tale of Beauty & the Beast follows the well-known storyline of the French novel La Belle et la Bête (Beauty and the Beast) first published by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve in 1740 and then abridged and re-released by Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont six years later. Over two centuries, this tale of a beautiful young woman, who becomes entrapped and then enamored of a prince-turned-beast, has evolved through various art forms. 

French filmmaker Jean Cocteau advanced Beauty and the Beast storytelling through his groundbreaking movie La Belle et la Bête in 1946. Fifty years later, Cocteau’s film noir inspired American composer Philip Glass to create an operatic score that serves as an alternative soundtrack for the movie. In 1991, Walt Disney Pictures transformed the story into an Academy Award-winning animated motion picture, which Disney then adapted into a Broadway musical four years later. Over the years, Beauty and the Beast has constantly transformed and is now a case study on innovation.

In 2015, Stephen Mills again innovates the Beauty and the Beast story and its presentation by unveiling a 21st century, multi-media experience...

Having seen several stage versions of Beauty and the Beast, including ballet and contemporary dance (none of which were Disney, by the way), I'm reserving judgement on how well the innovation aspect of this production is perceived (though I have little doubt the production itself should get excellent reviews). Although I'm extremely fascinated by the idea of evolving storytelling and wish what they are hoping to do will indeed be as revolutionary as they set out to be, I'd be surprised if it made it's way into the public consciousness the ways the other forms of the story have. Why? Because apart from one fairly straight ballet, everything I've seen was incredibly innovative and, most used multimedia as well. (And most of them had adult leanings rather than catered to family sensibilities.)

What's notable about this production, though, are a few things: one, 3M's involvement (which means advertising and getting the word out), the professional quality of the production not being in question, the call back to Cocteau's visual style with regard to the multimedia elements (see the images in the post) and the costumes being done in the particular dark-fairy-tale-meets-high-couture signature style of world renowned (and greatly missed) fashion designer and legend Alexander McQueen.
                                           

Drawing inspiration from haute couture and the imaginative designs of the late Alexander McQueen, Ballet Austin Artistic Director/Choreographer Stephen Mills and Costumer Designer Michael B. Raiford mix edgy urban looks with fantastical elements for their 21st century take on Beauty & the Beast.

There is an interview with the dancer playing Belle, Michelle Thompson, and though it will mainly interest those who know and love ballet, she gives her insights into how this Belle might be a little different and how the Beast may be different, as well as how they mirror each other. You can find that video HERE.

For those wondering how much/if the story will change, here's a snapshot of the program notes (click to see full size):

If anyone gets a chance to see this, I'd be personally interested in your impressions so please share. And snag me a program, would you?