theatre review SLEEPING BEAUTY WAKES, McCarter Theatre, May 15

Sleeping Beauty Wakes is an inventive and charming updated telling of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale. Taking place in modern times, and set in a sleep disorder clinic, this 8 character musical has been performed in several regional theatres and is currently running at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton through June 5th.  It is a new musical that I really enjoyed.

The show has a score by Valerie Vigoda and Brendan Milburn (2/3's of the musical group GrooveLily who have contributed scores to other musical productions before) and a book by Rachel Sheinkin who won a Tony for her book of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.   They previously collaborated on Striking 12, a musical version of The Little Match Girl.

The plot is as follows: at a modern day sleeping disorder clinic, the King brings his daughter Rose in hopes that they can help her.  Rose, of course, is Sleeping Beauty and she has been asleep for 900 years.  You see, once the spell was cast on her and she pricked her finger on the spindle, she fell asleep, yet none of the many princes who kissed her were able to wake her up.  The King has traded all his fortune for a spell to make him live long enough so he can protect her until his daughter wakes up.  The clinic is staffed by a doctor who would much rather deal with research then the patients she sees and an orderly who has some serious issues of his own.  Four patients check in along with Rose and once they fall to sleep they are pulled into Rose's dreams.  Her dreams also pull in the doctor and the orderly, who find themselves playing parts in Rose's past, or is it her future?

Bryce Ryness and Aspen Vincent

The show is perfectly cast.  Aspen Vincent as Beauty is not only beautiful, but perfectly captures the Princess who thinks she is just ordinary.  She has a clear strong voice, and gets to not only play the grown princess but also the young girl in the flashback dream sequences who is so inquisitive when she is told she can't do certain things, not realizing it is because a spell has been cast on her.  Bryce Ryness is the orderly, who we know as soon as he meets Rose, will end up being her prince.  He has a beautiful voice, a lithe body and so completely inhibits his character's traits, both the strong ones and the many weak ones.

Bob Stillman is The King and he is simply heartbreaking in the love he has for his daughter. He has a couple of beautiful songs and his final moments with his daughter are so touching, that you really believe that he and Vincent are father and daughter.  Stillman also has an amazing voice.  Kecia Lewis-Evans is the Doctor and she is funny in her portrayal of the physician who has seen it all and is just too tired to deal with her patients.  She has a great voice and is very funny.

Bob Stillman and Kecia Lewis-Evans

With an inventive plot and lush songs, Beauty is a dreamy musical but also one that is filled with plenty of humor.  Directed at a brisk two hour length (including an intermission) the show has acrobatic choreography as well as simple yet clear direction. The score is somewhat eclectic, with touches of pop, blues and rock with inventive clever lyrics.  Though I did enjoy the songs and their effectiveness in telling the story and moving the plot along, the score isn't one that I necessarily remembered on the way home.  It is a magical show about love, regret, compassion and the bond and devotion between a parent and child.  It is also a dream of a production with a spacious set, inventive projections and colorful costumes.  The fairytale gown Rose is brought to the clinic in is a stunner.

After its McCarter run, this production moves on to La Jolla and hopefully they will continue working on it and getting the last few kinks worked out.  This is a show that I think could have a nice run in a small Broadway or Off Broadway house as well as a healthy life in regional theaters.

Official Show Site

Trailer for the production -

Behind the scenes of the McCarter production-