Review: WONDERLAND WIVES Breaks The Crystal Slipper With Raunchy Laughter at THEATRE DOWNTOWN

Walt Disney would turn over in his grave if he saw "Wonderland Wives" at Theatre Downtown. That's the point. It is supposed to break apart the crystal slipper. This is an in your face comedy poking fun at the idea of perfect princesses in the family friendly genre. This is a fairy tale full of raunchy characters with very real issues. "Wonderland Wives" is a comical and bawdy tale of what happens after the final words in the storybook saying "And they lived happily ever after". It's saturated with puns, one-liners, and language that would make any magic carpet blush. These Disney princesses act more like very-desperate housewives instead of storybook icons. Buddy Thomas's writing cleverly balances an uncomfortable comedy found in these iconic storybook characters dropping shock value vocabulary. It's definitely not for children. It's bawdy, trashy and campy fun. The characters display language and behavior that you may not indulge in regularly. But dang it if you cant click away from laughing so much.

It is the bright and talented cast that truly makes this show work. The comedy skills given dull the audiences reflex reaction to a profanity-laden script. Director Kelsey Crawford gives this production an impressive combination of comedy and heavy raunchiness without going too far. The chemistry and deliveries of the actors add a noticeable highlight to the play.

Snow (Sara James) is still living as fairest of them all. James provides Snow with stage presence and a voice pulled right off the animation cell. A drunk and brash Belle (Catherine Champion) is having some marital issues with her lazy deadbeat Beast (Jared Funderburg). High strung and ready to mingle Briar Rose (Karen Black) is no longer a passive sleeping beauty. With her mind seeming to be way down the rabbit hole, loopy Alice (Nick Crawford) has nefarious intentions. Delightfully boisterous Cinderella a.k.a Cindy (Daniel Martin) is larger that life. Both in attitude and in size due to 24 hour stress eating while waiting for Charming (Jared Funderburg) to be released from jail. Without giving away the plot. When he does get out, things don't go as planed; for any of them. Lies, lust and revenge become tangled in the storybook. Adding to the mix are the villainous Evil Queen and the wonderfully hacky Magic Mirror (Nick Crawford).

The set, lighting and décor of the storybook castle give a perfect feeling of what is drawn on the Disney animation table. "Wonderland Wives" is a show with tons of memorable moments and seriously funny performances. Once you open this story up you don't want to leave. You want to stick around and see what's gonna happen next.

Theatre Downtown

Wonderland Wives by Buddy Thomas

Directed by Kelsey Crawford

Snow - Sara James

Belle - Catherine Champion

Cindy - Daniel Martin

Rose - Karen Black

Bruce/Beast & Charming - Jared Funderburg

Fairy Godmother, Alice, Magic Mirror, and The Evil Queen - Nick Crawford

Theatre Downtown. 2410 5th Ave S, (in Fifth Ave Antiques) Birmingham, AL.

Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays 8pm July 26th - August 11th

Tickets and more info at www.theatredowntown.org or at (205) 565- 8838

Photo Credit - Rhys Baylor

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