Chicago Tribune - Recommended
"...If there's one thing a newly enlightened princess does not need, it's a cease-and-desist letter from Disney lawyers. Ergo, "Disenchanted!," which had a good run off-Broadway but has arrived in Chicago with a mostly Canadian cast (shiver me timbers — they're true risk-takers north of the border), plays that good old parody defense for all its considerable worth. The show stays just enough on the right side of Disney trademarks (Hey, everyone always knew Snow White had that kind of hair!) and mentions the Brothers Grimm much more frequently than the Mighty Mouse House responsible for all that Americanizing, commoditizing and sanitizing."
Chicago Sun Times - Not Recommended
"...Why does Broadway in Chicago consistently dump the most amateurish shows - often cast with non-Equity actors who have no connection to Chicago - on the ideally intimate Playhouse stage that is located in the very heart of one of the most heavily touristed areas of Chicago? Why does it want to give audiences the impression that this is what Chicago theater is all about? And how, in all good conscience, can the producers charge the prices they do for work that is on a community children's theater level? (And yes, I know the show had an Off Broadway run, and has been seen in many cities nationwide, but that is irrelevant.)"
Daily Herald - Somewhat Recommended
"..."Disenchanted!" is certainly not for kids. But by bringing up topics involving body image and other issues tied to "the princess complex," the show could kick-start a dialogue between parents and teens -- as long as they leave their little sisters at home."
Chicago Reader - Not Recommended
"...This satirical musical revue (book, music and lyrics by Dennis T. Giacino) sets its sights on a worthy target-the lucrative, ludicrous Disney princess franchise-but never delivers on its promise to skewer it. Instead Giacino trots out a series of toothless musical bits poking fun at these iconic figures-in one song we learn the Little Mermaid drinks too much, in another that Mulan is a lesbian-but never drawing blood or inspiring big laughs."
Windy City Times - Somewhat Recommended
"...An all-female cast brings the musical DISENCHANTED! to reality, with some mixed results. Princesses from the past are placed in a talent show, trying to impress the audience. Even the title tries a bit hard, with all capital letters and an exclamation mark."
Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...While the mostly Canadian cast of this Toronto-based touring production works hard to win us over, the material they're given overrelies on saucy innuendo about the sex lives of fairy-tale princesses or baldly bawdy tunes with titles like "Big Tits." There are chuckles to be found here and there-see costume designer Vanessa Leuck's clever solution for Princess Balroulbadour (you know her by her Disney name, Aladdin's Jasmine) and her flying carpet."
Stage and Cinema - Somewhat Recommended
"...Though the band sometimes overwhelms the lyrics, Christopher Bond’s sprightly staging moves the variety show quickly and it never outstays its welcome. But this revue delivers a very conditional consolation. If you’re already immune to the princess syndrome, it’s just corrective overkill, as in “Tell me something I don’t know.”"
ChicagoCritic - Recommended
"...A warped bunch of stories masterfully crafted and full of inappropriate etiquette. I mean hooking up with the guy from the page before and then marrying him? Who does that? Who cares? Let's sing about it. Fun music and even funnier characters will have you laughing all the way to the palace."
Around The Town Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"..."They all lived Happily Ever After"! That is how almost every Fairy Tale ends, be it Grimm Brothers, Hans Christian Andersen or a Disney production, the princess always gets her man (so to speak). Well, it seems that a teacher , Dennis T. Giacino has decided to set the record straight with his novel little look at "princesses", the musical "Disenchanted" now on the stage at Broadway Playhouse as a feature of Broadway In Chicago's season. Many theater-goers may recall Mary Rodgers look at the "Happily Ever After" in her "Once Upon A Mattress" musical, where Winifred the Woebegone examines the fate of some of these famous ladies of "literature". That was a funny bit! This is not quite up to that standard. In fact, even the little bits relative to famous princesses in Sondheim's "Into The Woods" is far cuter than what Giacino has created."
The Fourth Walsh - Recommended
"...This show isn't about a story. It's about the characters within the familiar stories of childhood. The cabaret style has an 'American Idol: The Princesses' vibe. The amusing romp is playful. Although the content has sexual innuendos and an occasional F-bomb, I didn't think it was that raunchy. I kept imagining my ten year old niece absolutely loving it as a naughty-but-nice-princess-showcase."
Chicagoland Musical Theatre - Highly Recommended
"...The raucous, raunchy hour and a half includes hilarious numbers about the Princess Complex, such as "Big Tits," making fun of the "sexually frustrated men making films with their zips" and the unrealistic body image they encouraged and "All I Wanna Do Is Eat," where the cast craves the Butterfinger Cinderella pulls out of her bodice. Poking fun at beauty standards, eating disorders, discrimination and every ill imaginable in an animated picture, this cast is not one to be missed."
Third Coast Review - Somewhat Recommended
"...The performance delivered on its promise of moments of laughter and sassy feel-good anthems, but I didn’t walk away with those post-show butterflies. Although to me certain scenes were almost too crude to be empowering for women, it was overall an enjoyable night out. If you’re in the mood to get a couple laughs and see some feisty princesses with amazing pipes, pumpkin-chariot ride over to the Broadway Playhouse and enjoy the show!"
NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended
"...I’m all for breaking stereotypes, but these portrayals don’t actually accomplish that. There’s nothing wrong with a woman who doesn’t have a guy. Mulan could have been the princess that teaches the other princesses how to be self-reliant from rather than questioning her sexuality because she’s single. The only princess whose story isn’t made into a laughing matter is Pocahontas who laments because her story wasn’t told truthfully since she was a real person."
