Showbiz Nation LIVE! Interview with DISENCHANTED’S MERRITT CREWS

Showbiz Nation LIVE! Interview with DISENCHANTED’S MERRITT CREWS 1 Showbiz Nation LIVE! Interview with DISENCHANTED'S MERRITT CREWS from SHOWBIZ NATION LIVE! on Vimeo.

Showbiz Nation LIVE! Interview with DISENCHANTED’S MERRITT CREWS from SHOWBIZ NATION LIVE! on Vimeo.

Merritt Crews discusses playing Snow White in the hit musical DISENCHANTED, which is now playing at the Broadway Playhouse. For more information, visit BroadwayInChicago.com

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 5 years and is a proud actor/member of the Board of Directors for Queen’s Players Toronto. Merritt is thrilled to be working with Starvox Entertainment again, having just played Annie/Shelly in Evil Dead – The Musical, which played in Toronto in February and toured North America last fall. 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).

Disenchanted-SnowWhite

Broadway In Chicago and Starvox Entertainment are pleased to announce DISENCHANTED!, the hilarious hit musical, directed by Christopher Bond, DISENCHANTED! will play Chicago’s Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut) May 10 through June 5, 2016.

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 Uche Ama (The Princess Who Kissed the Frog).

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 think you know – the original storybook heroines have come back to life to set the record straight.  After multiple sold-out runs nationwide, these royal renegades tossed off their tiaras to bring their hilariously subversive, not-for-the-kiddies musical to you – and what you thought about princesses will never be the same!

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 – think 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 licensing of over a dozen productions nationwide, 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 in the winter of 2015/16.

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

Tuesdays at 7:30 PM

Wednesdays at 2 PM and 7:30 PM (no matinee on May 11 and June 1)

Thursdays at 7:30 PM

Fridays at 7:30 PM

Saturdays at 2 PM and 8 PM

Sundays at 2 PM and 6:00 PM (no evening performance on May 22 and May 29)

TICKET INFORMATION

Individual tickets for DISENCHANTED! at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place are on sale now. Group tickets for 10 or more are available by calling Broadway In Chicago Group Sales at (312) 977-1710. Tickets are available at all Broadway In Chicago Box Offices (24 W. Randolph St., 151 W. Randolph St., 18 W. Monroe St. and 175 E. Chestnut), the Broadway In Chicago Ticket Line at (800) 775-2000, all Ticketmaster retail locations and online at www.BroadwayInChicago.com.

CAST AND CREATIVE BIOS

UCHE AMA (The Princess Who Kissed the Frog)

This is Uche’s first show with Starvox Entertainment, and she cannot wait to show the world this brilliant piece of comedy. Previous credits include; Gary Coleman (Avenue Q), Ronnette (Little Shop of Horrors) and Dynamite #1 (Hairspray). She is a graduate of the Music Theatre Performance program at St Clair College in Ontario, Canada.

ANN PAULA BAUTISTA (Hua Mulan, Pocahontas, Baldroulbadour)

A proud graduate of the Randolph Academy’s College Program, Ann Paula was born and raised in Toronto, ON. She studied and performed various styles of music before finding her true love, musical theatre. Select credits: 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 alumna of Theatre 20’s Emerging Arts Ensemble 2013-2014 and currently a resident artist of Carlos Bulosan Theatre Company.

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 5 years and is a proud actor/member of the Board of Directors for Queen’s Players Toronto. Merritt is thrilled to be working with Starvox Entertainment again, having just played Annie/Shelly in Evil Dead – The Musical, which played in Toronto in February and toured North America last fall. 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 Toronto based singer, actor, improviser, puppeteer and writer.  She studied musical theatre at the Randolph Academy in Toronto and continued her studies at The Second City. Miriam has been performing an interactive Murder Mystery show Spy School (Mysteriously Yours), and One Night Only: The Greatest Musical Never Written (Factory Theatre). She wrote and starred in Heart Puppetations last summer (Winnipeg Fringe, Toronto Fringe and Ottawa Fringe) and is writing and starring in The End this summer at Toronto Fringe Festival. Miriam also co-produces and stars in a monthly Burlesque Improv show Stripprov (Bad Dog Theatre) and is a featured singer with popular youtube bandAcross the Board.

MADISON HAYES-CROOK  (Cinderella)

Madison is thrilled to be joining Disenchanted with this incredible cast. Professional training includes Randolph Academy’s Triple Threat Program, Open Jar Institute in NYC, and Broadway Artist’s Alliance. Recent credits: Elle Woods in Legally Blonde (The LOT); Rose in Rose’s Clothes (Thousand Island’s Playhouse); Sam in Lord of the Flies (Annex Theatre); Mimi in Rent (Orion Theatre). Upcoming: Into the Woods (Thousand Island’s Playhouse).  www.madisonhayescrook.com

DANIELLA RICHARDS (Sleeping Beauty)

Daniella is thrilled to be playing Sleeping Beauty here in Chicago with Starvox Entertainment.  Most recently, Daniella was a member of the ensemble in The Wedding Singer at Stage West Calgary, as well as a recent graduate of the Randolph Academy where she was The Player in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

CHRISTOPHER BOND (Director)

Christopher Bond is best known as the director and co-author of the hit show, Evil Dead – The Musical. He developed and directed Evil Dead since 2002, including the show’s US debut Off-Broadway (nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Musical) and its return to Canada at the Diesel Playhouse (Winner of the 2007 Dora Mavor Moore Audience Choice Award) which also received a Dora nomination for Outstanding Direction of a Musical. Evil Dead – The Musical continues to play all over the world including productions in Korea, Japan, Spain and touring across the North America with Starvox Entertainment. Other recent works include directing and creating new material for Starvox’s smash hit Trey Parker’s Cannibal the Musical, at the Panasonic Theatre and also co-writing and directing the official stage adaptation of Night of the Living Dead, where Christopher collaborated with horror legend George A. Romero.

STARVOX ENTERTAINMENT/COREY ROSS (Producer)

Founded in 2005 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 upcoming 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’sCannibal the Musical will also be on the road for its first North American tour during the 2016-2017 theatre season.

ABOUT BROADWAY IN CHICAGO

Broadway In Chicago was created in July 2000 and over the past 16 years has grown to be one of the largest commercial touring homes in the country.  A Nederlander Presentation, Broadway In Chicago lights up the Chicago Theater District entertaining well up to 1.7 million people annually in five theatres.  Broadway In Chicago presents a full range of entertainment, including musicals and plays, on the stages of five of the finest theatres in Chicago’s Loop including its newly named The PrivateBank Theatre, the Oriental Theatre, Cadillac Palace Theatre, the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University and just off the Magnificent Mile, the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place.