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Ever After
by David Schultz Paper Mill Playhouse is currently presenting the world premiere of a new musical based on the 1989 film. Fairy tale musicals have been around a very long time, and this new riff on the fairy tale tips its hat to the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, with a helpful dollop of Wicked thrown in for good measure. This modernist take posits a strong female heroine who initially thinks she can get by without finding a true love; she is snarky and willing to go solo into the future. Not a chance, since this musical finds unusual twists and turns to make her change her mind. Don’t go into the show expecting the familiar tropes, since this rendition has no fairy godmother, glass slippers or mice turned into sturdy coachmen, ditto the pumpkins transformed into grand carriages. The main characters names have been changed, better to give the appearance that this is a new tale, but the thematic outlines are similar, just refigured for a new generation.
The Renaissance is the setting, 16th Century France to be exact. A short prologue sets the engine running. Danielle de Barbarac (Margo Seibert), finds herself an orphan as a young child, her father dies of heart failure, and she is now ensconced in her stepmother’s home as a chargirl.
She is consumed with cleaning and dusting, enslaved with never-ending chores put upon her by her mean stepmother Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent (Christine Ebersole), and her two nasty stepsisters Marguerite (Mara Davi) and Danielle (Annie Funke). What is a fairy tale without a prince? Prince Henry (James Snyder) mopes about forlornly, as his stentorian dad, King Francis of France (Charles Shaughnessy) and Queen Marie of France (Julie Halston) aim to get young Henry hitched and prime him to man up and get in shape to eventually assume the throne. An arranged marriage of course lurks with Henry totally uninterested in his intended.
I neglected to mention another character that flits in and out of the proceedings. This veiled stand-in for the missing fairy godmother is none other than Leonardo da Vinci (Tony Sheldon). An odd choice that never really makes sense but nonetheless there he is, spouting wisdom and creating masterful artworks with dizzying speed and being a wistful father figure for fatherless Danielle. The production is crammed with all manner of townsfolk, high and low, as well as a group of leather-clad gypsies that attempt at one point to kidnap Danielle. The stage does at times get overwhelmed with all manner of gentry. Scenic designer Derek McLane creates a vertiginous bookend of wooden scaffolding that various townsfolk ascend. The visual projections that are splayed against the wall serve as a continuous backdrop. The vast space of the Paper Mill Playhouse seems even bigger than the minimalist settings contained therein, but the atmospheric lighting effects by Peter Kaczorowski more than make up for it. Gorgeous costumes run rampant in this production, for the high born, kings and queens, gentry, and gypsies alike. Costume designer Jess Goldstein imaginatively renders 15th and 16th century style and couture with verve. Marcy Heisler (Book & Lyrics) and Zina Goldrich (Music) are talented tunesmiths for this romp. Initially the first few songs have a simplistic tone and seem cookie cutter cute, but incrementally the music and lyrics gain in strength and in complexity, with generous flashes of wit to make the proceedings swiftly glide by. The production is blessed with top-notch performers in tune with the whimsical atmosphere. Paper
Mill Playhouse 
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