Sunday 3 March 2019

Once Upon a Princess Show *Review*

Ad {gifted} Is there anything more exciting and magical for an almost 4 year old girl than seeing all their favourite Princesses under one roof. Nope, it's a dream come true for most young girls (and boys!) I'm sure. Today, we've spent the last couple of hours surrounded by lots of very happy and excited little girls watching the Once Upon a Princess show at the Stamford Corn Exchange where we were kindly invited to come along and be part of the fun.

This sparkly and vibrant show is now in it's third year and is heading out on it's first tour with a handful of dates available over the UK (more details are available on the website). The show brings promise of a toe tapping, dance in the aisles set full of all that magical Princess sparkle alongside a musical score of pop and musical songs. My daughter was beside herself from the moment we sat down........or rather myself, my husband and my less than impressed almost 7 year old son sat while my daughter was bouncing around on her chair with excitement! Featuring 6 popular Princesses Elsa, Ana, Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel and Belle, as well as Prince Charming it's a recipe for success! My daughter was a little disappointed that Moana, Pocahontas and Ariel weren't included but judging by the production picture below which must be from a previous tour as it features Jasmine that the characters must be switched around.


The story is basic enough so that the little ones can follow it..... all the books in the Fairyland library have become muddled and the magical Fairy Muddled must try and put the pages back in the right order following the clues to discoverer which Princess will marry Prince Charming. 

The set itself is just the right amount of glitter and sparkle so as not to detract from the show itself and the cast replicates the Princess magic well. There were times I felt that I was sitting in a school production but then I found myself tapping my feet along with the music and getting drawn into the cheesiness of it all, and it is cheesy there is no denying that but for a show clearly aimed at the younger generation what more do they want than fluffy, bubblegum sparkle Princess fun?! My Daughter thought it was SO fabulous and the look of delight on her face when each Princess made their appearance would have made it well worth the money (tickets have a retail of £12.00 pp which really is a good price). My son, as mentioned above who is almost 7 thought the whole thing was ridiculous and spent most of the time with his hood over his head in disgust (haha), shame on me really for thinking he would enjoy it, life lesson learned right there! We did use it as a learning curve that we all have to do things we don't like or enjoy once in a while!


The song selection was great, there were a couple of songs that were not recognisable for the age range I would say (e.g S Club 7, hard knock life, holding out for a hero etc) but this didn't make the show any less appealing for my daughter. The costumes were great, very much identifiable as the Princess they were meant to be and there was just enough audience participation without it being too cringey. 

It's worth mentioning that if you're expecting the Disney songs from the films then you will be disappointed as these are not featured, I can only assume that due to copyright that they are not able to use them. You will definitely find yourself singing along and tapping your feet to the songs that are featured though and these are sung live which I thought was great.


What did we love?

- It's a full on, fun packed glittery show that is perfectly aimed at your Disney obsessed fanatics or Princess lovers

- The production itself is good and song choices are great, mostly energetic and fun

- Attention to the way the characters look is important to maintain continuity in the Princesses and I thought this was great, my daughter believed that these were the actual Princesses 

- It's about the right length, it was about 90 minutes inclusive of the interval which was ok, my daughter was mostly transfixed for the majority of this time (winner, winner!)

- The ticket price is perfectly acceptable, I wouldn't want to pay more but would have been happy to pay to price advertised

Anything we weren't so keen on?

- It is completely cheesy and a bit cringe at times, there is no denying that! I did enjoy it but at times I felt I was in a panto or a school production but then what is to be expected from a Princess party pop show!

- My husband pointed out that the show very much is based on finding Prince Charming and the Princesses wanting to be his chosen one......I know several of the earlier Disney films are like this but in this day and age where we are trying to teach our girls to be strong and independent it would have been nice to see some of those fiercer characters like Moana, Mulan or Pocahontas featured.


Overall an enjoyable and lively show, my daughter LOVED it there was no doubt in that. It's perfectly aimed at age 3 upwards and the atmosphere is great. Good costumes, nice little storyline and about the right length in show time. It's fizzy, sparkly, bubblegum pop Princess fun that will draw you in and you'll soon be in a good mood once the show gets going. I would definitely take Elarna again should it come back to a local theatre near us! Check out the link at the beginning of the post for further info!

* Please note we were kindly gifted the tickets in exchange for an honest review, all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

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