Starvox Entertainment to Bring DISENCHANTED! to Toronto This Autumn

Starvox Entertainment has announced the hilarious hit musical, DISENCHANTED! playing at Toronto's Randolph Theatre from October 20th, 2016. Tickets are now on sale at ticketfly.com.

Poisoned apples. Glass slippers. Who needs 'em?! Not Snow White and her posse of disenchanted princesses in the hilarious hit musical that's anything but Grimm. Forget the princesses you thought you knew - the original storybook heroines have come back to life to set the record straight. After multiple sold-out runs in the USA, these royal renegades tossed off their tiaras to bring their hilariously subversive, not-for-the-kiddies musical to you. What you thought about princesses will never be the same!

DISENCHANTED! will feature Merritt Crews (Snow White), Madison Hayes-Crook (Cinderella), Daniella Richards (Sleeping Beauty), Miriam Drysdale (The Little Mermaid, Belle, Rapunzel), Ann Paula Bautista (Hua Mulan, Pocahontas, Baldroulbadour) and Cherise Thomas (The Princess Who Kissed the Frog).

The idea for DISENCHANTED! was conceived by Giacino, a former history teacher. When teaching his class about the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, he couldn't help but wonder: What would the 'real' Pocahontas - a circa 1616, rough-and-tumble 10-year-old Powhatan girl, thought of the fringed deer-pelt miniskirt and long, flowing hair donned by her 20-year-old counterpart in her 1995 movie comeback? A musician at heart, Giacino penned a musical number skewering the 'princess pop culture' that transformed Pocahontas from a revered Native American heroine into a pin-up vixen of the silver screen. Soon, Giacino found himself discovering a number of other princesses who had a bone to pick with the way they have been portrayed, and DISENCHANTED! was born!

The 'storybook' journey for DISENCHANTED! began with a sold-out, award-winning run at Orlando's International Fringe Festival in 2011 ('Best of Fest' - Orlando Sentinel), and subsequent productions in the US, from New Jersey to California, all of which have been met with widespread critical acclaim. In addition to the sold-out New York engagement, this fairy tale is going international. A production in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic has made its mark, as The National stated, 'The Country will never be the same!' The Dominican Republic production is now looking to continue its run throughout Latin America, while China's leading commercial theatrical producer, Musical Theater China is planning a production in Beijing.

During the New York engagement, the production defied the trend for off Broadway shows with its sold out performances and critical acclaim. NBC New York called the show "funny, irreverent, and great fun! The seriously talented cast of six strong, hysterical women give fairytales a new meaning!" while Time Out New York stated, "If you love fairy tales with a sassy modern twist, relief is here! The not-for-children musical revue DISENCHANTED! gives a saucy makeover to Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and other fairy-tale princesses." The Huffington Post calls it, "funny and a touch wicked. DISENCHANTED!'s pop score delivers to great comic effect." The New York Times describes DISENCHANTED! as "a girls'-night-out rebellion" and FOX 5 says "It's a hot ticket that delivers a new kind of fairy tale". You will laugh and then laugh some more at the sassy, irreverent humor." Broadway Box raves, "Think 'Bridesmaids' for Disney Princesses! This sidesplitting adult parody of the Disney princess posse and its mega-talented cast will make you blush and feel nostalgia all at once. Who could ask for anything more?"

Performance schedule: October 20-29 - 7:30pm; November 3-6 - 7:30pm. Individual tickets for DISENCHANTED! at The Randolph Theatre range from $29.95-$69.96 and are available at ticketfly.com.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Ann Paula Bautista (Hua Mulan, Pocahontas, Baldroulbadour)
Ann Paula is excited to be reprising her roles in DISENCHANTED! after a successful run at the Broadway Playhouse in Chicago! Born and raised in Toronto, she proud graduate of the Randolph Academy's College Program. Other select credits include: Hair, Next to Normal, RENT, Avenue Q, Shrek the Musical, The Wedding Singer, and Dora the Explorer in Dora's Pirate Adventure. She also had the grand opportunity to sing the national anthems twice at the Rogers Centre for the Blue Jays. Ann Paula is an alumni of Theatre 20's Emerging Arts Ensemble 2013-2014 and currently a resident artist of Carlos Bulosan Theatre.

CHERISE THOMAS (The Princess Who Kissed The Fog)
Cherise is thrilled to be joining the DISENCHATED! cast. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Vocal Performance from Columbia College Chicago (c/o 2013). Chicago credits include: Dreamgirls (Porchlight Music Theater) Sounds So Sweet Jeff Nominated Men of Soul, Dynamite Divas, Plays With A Purpose Series (Black Ensemble Theater), The Eve of Jackie Wilson (Chester Gregory), and The Color Purple (Theater 47) Her mantra: "If you can dream it, you can do it!" #TGBTG

DANIELLA RICHARDS (Sleeping Beauty)
Once upon a time, Daniella moved to the big city of Toronto to become a musical theatre performer. Originally from Kingston, Ontario, Daniella is thrilled to be back playing Sleeping Beauty in her 1st North American tour. After being part of over 30 productions, Most recently, Daniella was a member of the ensemble in The Wedding Singer (Stage West Calgary), Thoroughly Modern Millie (CMTP) and The Player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Randolph academy).

MADISON HAYES-CROOK (Cinderella)
Madison's professional training includes Randolph Academy's Triple Threat Program, Open Jar Institute in NYC, and Broadway Artist's Alliance. Credits: Legally Blonde (Lower Ossington Theatre), Rose's Clothes, Into the Woods (Thousand Island's Playhouse), Lord of the Flies (Annex Theatre).

MERRITT CREWS (Snow White)
A Toronto-based actor/singer, Merritt graduated from George Brown Theatre School and holds a BA Honours in Psychology and Drama from Queen's University. She has been a member of the award-winning TYA puppet company Shakey-Shake and Friends for the past six years and is a proud actor/member of the Board of Directors for Queen's Players Toronto. Merritt brought DISENCHANTED! to Chicago in May 2016 as part of the Broadway in Chicago series, after playing Annie/Shelly in Evil Dead: The Musical (Toronto - February 2016, North American tour - Fall 2015). Other favourite theatre credits include Maria in A Fond Husband, Mrs. Bergman in Spring Awakening, Aunt Meme in Saturday, Sunday, Monday (GBTS), Stevie in The Goat or Who Is Sylvia (9Lives Theatre Company), Aldonza in Man of La Mancha, Lucy in Jekyll & Hyde, Hair (Queen's Musical Theatre), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Collective Productions), and Ado Annie in Oklahoma (The Grand Theatre London - HSP).

MIRIAM DRYSDALE (The Little Mermaid, Belle, Rapunzel)
Miriam is a singer, actor, improviser, writer and puppeteer. Miriam studied musical theatre at The Randolph Academy in Toronto and continued her studies at the Second City Training Centre. Recent credits include: Spy School (Mysteriously Yours), Pit Singer in One Night Only: The Greatest Musical Never Written and she is thrilled to reprise her role in DISENCHANTED! after their run at the Broadway Playhouse in Chicago this past spring. Miriam has written and starred in two musicals; Heart Puppetations at the Toronto, Winnipeg and Ottawa Fringe (2015) and The End at the Toronto Fringe (2016) Miriam also performs as a featured singer with popular YouTube band, Across the Board.

Founded in 2003 by Corey Ross, Starvox Entertainment was ranked on Profit Magazine's list of Canada's top growth companies for three years running - 2013, 2014 and 2015-the only live entertainment company ever to be graded.

In 2013, Mr. Ross was a producer on the Canadian production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's CATS and in 2014 remounted Evil Dead - The Musical to record-breaking sales in Canada and the United States and continues to tour this production throughout North America.

Since 2012, Starvox has toured the west-end hit show Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience, which continues to sell out theatres in Canada and the U.S. Starvox recently produced Trey Parker's Cannibal! The Musical.

Starvox has presented two productions written and directed by Woody Harrelson, presented John Malkovich in Giacomo Variations, and produced nationally-broadcast concerts for the Stephen Lewis Foundation featuring Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox and Harry Belafonte, among others.

This touring season Starvox is presenting the critically acclaimed One Man Star Wars Trilogy, the remount of the hit Forever Plaid, the Broadway musical DISENCHANTED! and the adored parody Graeme of Thrones, while continuing to tour the ever-popular Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Experience, Evil Dead - The Musical. Trey Parker's Cannibal! The Musical will also be on the road for its first North American tour during the 2016-2017 theatre season.

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