Michelle Knight, Andrea Canny & More Set for DISENCHANTED at The Abbey, Now thru 10/27

The return of the Orlando Fringe Festival hit musical DISENCHANTED! will be playing at The Abbey in downtown Orlando, today, September 19 through October 27.

DISENCHANTED! is the story of six bold women who refuse to be damsels in distress any longer. Snow White and her angry band of storybook friends are "storming the castle" in order to take their lives back, with Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Hua Mulan, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas and more all brought to life, singing the truth about the "once-upon-a-time girls."

Michelle Knight will play the role of Snow White. Michelle originated the role of Snow White in DISENCHANTED! in 2011 at the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. She reprised the role of Snow White (for which she received a Daily City 'Best Actress' award) at the Orlando Shakespeare Festival's Goldman Theater and in New York City at both the Peter Jay Sharp Theater and Don't Tell Mama Cabaret Theater. Michelle has performed on Broadway in Jersey Boys, as well as in Chicago, Las Vegas and in two national tours. Locally, Michelle has performed in five productions for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra at the Bob Carr Performing Arts Centre including Guys and Dolls and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying. She can also be seen in Finding Nemo, The Musical at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

Playing the roles of Belle and The Little Mermaid will be ANDREA CANNY, a native of Cincinnati who has been in the entertainment business for more than 28 years. She opened the Beauty and the Beast, Live On Stage show in the role of Belle at Disney's MGM Studios in 1991, and has performed with such musical theatre and television greats as Jerry Orbach, Lea Salonga, Davis Gaines, Robby Benson, Betty White, and Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Her Orlando credits include such Orlando Philharmonic productions as Guys and Dolls (Miss Adelaide), Carousel (Nettie Fowler), and How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (Miss Jones). Andrea continues to perform her popular cabaret act around Orlando and will next appear in the title role in the new Wanzie musical Lizzie Borden at Theatre Downtown.

The roles of Hua Mulan and Pocahontas will be played by Orlando native LULU PICART. Lulu played Hua Mulan in both of the previous Orlando productions and represented DISENCHANTED! at Broadway Sessions at the Laurie Beechman Theater and Don't Tell Mama, where she debuted the song "Honestly." Earlier this year, Lulu appeared in the Broadway workshop of In Transit, directed by Christopher Gattelli. Favorite past roles include Aldonza, Man of La Mancha (freeFall Theatre), Susie, Wit(American Stage), Joanne, Rent, (American Stage), Eddie/Dr. Scott and Rocky Horror (American Stage). Lulu was most recently seen in the Orlando Philharmonic's production of How to Succeed. She currently tours internationally with composer David Friedman presenting his song cycle, Listen To My Heart.

Portraying the characters of Rapunzel and The One Who Kissed The Frog is SHONDA L. THURMAN. Shonda has performed in the national tour of Schoolhouse Rock, Live!, in Nebraska Theatre Caravan's Pippin and throughout Central Florida. She played Aunt Em/Glinda in The Wiz at Theatre Downtown, The Witch in Into The Woods for the Celebration Players, was a soloist in Joyful (Gospel Celebration) at Walt Disney World, and has been seen in The Voyages of Dr. Dolittle and Paper Bag Princess at the Orlando Repertory Theatre. Shonda also appeared in the world premiere of The Mommies - A Musical Blog in Orlando, as Sister Amnesia in Nunsense Jamboree at the Bower Theatre, and as Sarah in Ragtime at Wayne Dench Theatre.

The role of Sleeping Beauty will be played by Hannah Berry-MATTHEWS. Hannah hails from California where credits include Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Narrator) at the Whittier Playhouse and A Christmas Carol (Meg Cratchet) at the Thousand Oaks CLO Civic Arts Auditorium. She has also appeared as a Featured Soloist in several ENCORE! performances around Orlando, and performed in the Hogwarts Frog Choir at Universal Studios Orlando, Playhouse Disney at Disneyland California, and in various television shows including Just Shoot Me (NBC), The Practice (ABC), and Party of Five (FOX).

Reprising her role as Cinderella is BREANNE PICKERING, following rave reviews in the Missouri premiere of DISENCHANTED! at Stephen's College. Breanne's other credits include playing Magenta in The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Egads Theatre Company in Kansas City, MO, Velma Kelly in Chicago at Okoboji Summer Theater in Iowa, Marium Goldman in Beau Jest in OST and Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie at the Macklanburg Playhouse in MO.

LEONTYNE CARTER will understudy the roles of Rapunzel and The One Who Kissed The Frog. Leontyne has performed at Theatre Downtown in Chicago, Evil Dead - The Musical, and Reefer Madness - The Musical, as well as at the Bay Street Players as Gary Coleman in Avenue Q and Motormouth Mable in Hairspray. Other shows includeCarousel, The Drowsy Chaperone, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

Understudying the roles of Belle, The Little Mermaid, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty is KATHRYN NASH. Kathryn has performed at the Orlando Rep (Hairspray, 42nd Street, and Anne Frank and Me), Winter Park Playhouse (Schoolhouse Rock, Live!), and the Alhambra Dinner Theater, FL (Nunsense, Hello, Dolly!, The Wizard of Oz). Other shows include Rent, Godspell, Urinetown, and Little Shop of Horrors.

Since opening to sold out crowds and rave reviews at the Orlando International Fringe Festival in 2011, DISENCHANTED! has enjoyed blockbuster runs in Sarasota, Syracuse, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Columbia, MO, and Walnut Creek, CA. It currently is contracted for limited runs in Tampa and Minneapolis before it sets its eyes on Off-Broadway in New York.

DISENCHANTED! is directed by Fiely Matias and features music, book and lyrics by DENNIS T. GIACINO. Matias and Giacino, award-winning Orlando natives, have enjoyed great success with DISENCHANTED! throughout the United States, and are excited to bring the show "home" before its Off-Broadway debut.

Tickets to DISENCHANTED! are on sale now and can be purchased at TicketWeb.com or by calling 1-866-468-7630. To purchase tickets in person, visit the Orlando Broadway box office located at 100 South Eola Drive, Suite 101, in downtown Orlando. Tickets for DISENCHANTED! are $40. VIP tickets are also available for $50 and include upfront seating and a complimentary glass of wine.

For more information, visit www.AbbeyOrlando.com or www.DISENCHANTEDmusical.com.

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