Disney's Descendants Review- Empress Theatre
Disney's Descendants The Musical is a stage adaptation based on the popular Disney Channel movies, focusing on the teenage children of Disney's greatest villains who are given a chance to attend school alongside hero kids. The four Villain Kids (VKs)—Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos—must decide whether to follow their parents' wicked footsteps or embrace goodness This production is a little different because all of the actors are 45 years of age or older.
Direction:
The director for this production was Adam Cannon with LeiLoni Bertrand as the assistant director. With the production being 45+ they played to the humor of some lines that referred to age. (ie. The Beast was talking to Ben and said, "16 is just a baby.") They pulled all the adults to play to the best of their ability as a believable teenager.
The choreographer was Jords Shami with Tony Faauli-Sao as the assistant choreographer. The choreography for "Rotten to the Core" filled the stage and was fun to watch. The song "Did I Mention" had energy and was obvious that the cast enjoyed it. "Chillin' Like a Villain" was fun to watch and had a wonderful ending pose. "Break This Down" had a lot of energy.
The music director was Amanda King. The rap for "Be Our Guest" was fun to listen to. The unison for "Good is the New Bad" was nice to listen to. The chorale "Go the Distance" was gorgeous and well sung. "Break This Down" sounded good when they sang in unison.
(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)
Performances:
Mal was played by Diana Sorensen. Every time I see a production with Sorensen, her character is strong and believable. From the moment she stepped on stage she brought an energy to the stage. Sorensen's attitude and facials were SO GOOD. At one point I forgot that she wasn't a teenager.
Eve was played by Amy Hallett. Hallett played her as someone who is smart, flirty, and very kind. It was fun to see her in this role because her last role she played Abby Brewster in Arsenic and Old Lace. The contrast between these two characters is so different and shows how good of an actor Hallett is.
(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)
Jay was played by Brad Goodman. Goodman's sass was SO GOOD. He made me laugh multiple times throughout the production. When he got to rap he did so good! I've seen Goodman in so many roles that this show helped show how good his acting chops are.
(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)
Carlos was played by James Hutchings. Hutchings played Carlos as someone who is quiet and weak. When he scratched his head like a dog it made me laugh. He made character choices that were reminiscent to Cameron Boyce's character in the movie.
(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)
Maleficent was played by Crystal Ahlemann. Ahlemann's character was evilly strong. Every time she let out her evil laugh it reminded me of Ursula. Her vocals were strong. She hit the character in a fun way like the great Kristin Chenoweth did in the movie.
(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)
Fairy Godmother was played by Stacy Mayren. From the moment she stepped on stage her character presence was strong. Her singing voice was clear and a delight to listen to.
Doug/Coach was played by William Hunt. Hunt played Doug very similar to the actor in the movie. His shy unsureness vibed "Dopey," who was his character's dad. When he played the coach his character was completely different. I had to look up who played the coach during intermission because I couldn't tell that it was the same actor.
(Photo credit: Sunshine Studios Photography)
Design:
The set was designed/built by Celeste Reese. On one side of the set it was painted to be like the Island of the Lost. It had different graffiti in many different colors. On the other side of the set was painted and built like Auradon Prep. There was some cool black light effects that were painted into the set that are only seen in the very beginning and the very end.
The costumer for the show was Candice Jorgensen. The costumes were my favorite part of the whole production. They were very reminiscent to the movie. Eve's jacket and coronation dress were gorgeous. The only costumes that weren't 100 percent reminiscent to the movie except for Carlos's kilt.
The prop master for the show was Sirenia Bloomquist. All the props fit within the realm of the production. I adored the magic book prop. The pages having both gold on the edges and light up made it look quite stunning on stage. The fairy godmother wand was pretty. The bags for the Four Evil kids were all different and matched the vibe for each character.
The wig master for the show was Cheryl Cripps Richardson. The wigs helped bring to life the characters in the show. Mal's wig is great in pictures, but even better in person.
Final Impressions:
Being one where the Empress is just around the corner from my house, I love to go see shows there. This show is one that is safe for family members of ALL ages to go see. My niece came with me and gushed about how much she liked the show. If you are interested in seeing a very different take on this Disney show, try going to see this production. I know I'll be back for the sing-a-long version. Maybe one of these days I'll meet you at the Empress!
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