Twice Charmed: Disney Cruise Line’s Original Twist on the Story of Cinderella

This article is the third installment of 5 (or more) articles detailing original stage productions in the cruise line, theme park, or broader themed entertainment industry.??

One of the most niche parts of Disney’s history is its direct-to-video animated sequels. These are generally panned as not being great and were created by Disney’s “B-Team,” DisneyToon Studios. However, as kids growing up in the early 2000s, my sister and I enjoyed these movies, and these movies truly sparked my sister’s love for animation. One of these direct-to-video sequels was the 2007 film Cinderella III: A Twist in Time. In 2005, two years before this was released, Guests aboard the Disney Magic had the opportunity to get a sort of sneak preview of this movie by viewing the original stage musical Twice Charmed: An Original Twist on the Cinderella Story.??

The show begins with a projection of a storybook opening showing the story of Cinderella, with the incredibly effective use of a scrim to allow performers behind the scrim to replace the illustrations of the storybook. After this exposition begins the first song “All Because of a Shoe,” which briefly introduces most of the classic characters from Cinderella including the Duke, King, Prince, Cinderella, Lady Tremaine, and the stepsisters Anastasia and Drizella. Cinderella and the Prince are to be married because of a shoe, Lady Tremaine and the stepsisters’ lives are “ruined” because of a shoe, you get the gist.???

With the wicked stepmother and her kin very upset about the events of the original story, we are introduced to the lone original character in the show: Franco DiFortunado. Franco, a wicked fairy godfather is a cross between a Vegas magician and Saul Goodman. He is a lovable and hateable figure who strikes a deal with the Tremaines to turn back the clock so they can stop the wedding. He is able to convince them through the catchy song “It’s Never Too Late” featuring my favorite aspect of a musical: tap dancing!??

We return to the time when the Duke and Prince are searching for the maiden from the ball, while the maidens of the town perform the song “Perfect Fit,” a song added in the 2016 reimagining, and the most unnecessary number from the show.? We quickly transition into the song “In a Moment” a great song that spans our principal characters while moving the plot forward by characterizing the Prince and Cinderella, breaking Cinderella’s glass slipper, and shrinking her to the size of her mice friends Jaq and Gus.???

Meanwhile, Lady Tremaine is having her daughters try on the glass slipper and gets Franco to magically enlarge the prince’s glass slipper to fit Anastasia’s size 14 feet, resulting in her being chosen by the duke as the bride-to-be. Then, we focus back on Cinderella’s struggle with Jaq and Gus, and after she works through her feelings of failure and inadequacy, Fairy Godmother swoops in to save the day in an act I call “Deus mater ex machina.” Despite her inability to remember her magic words, she manages to enlarge Cinderella back to human size but inadvertently includes Jaq and Gus in her spell, making them human size as well. Cinderella is off to the ball but asks her fairy godmother to put her in a beautiful gown first. Fairy Godmother proceeds to sing that beauty is on the inside and that Cinderella should let that shine through, in the song aptly named “Inside Out.” Cinderella dances with her prince in a sort of dream sequence, with disruptive vocal accompaniment from the mice. After Cinderella gains courage, she, Jaq, and Gus set out to find the prince.??

The prince is easily able to see that Anastasia is not the girl he danced with at the ball, and despite his father’s protests, he swings down via ripped curtain from the box seat of the theatre to the orchestra “Chasing a Dream” to find Cinderella as he sings this inspiring and triumphant tune. This song also spans the rest of the cast and the chasing of their own dreams, similar to “In a Moment” and “All Because of a Shoe.” While this formula is satisfying, it does get somewhat tiring after the third time in half an hour.???

Jaq and Gus successfully find the prince in the forest and explain that Cinderella is the maiden from the ball through the song “At the Ball” which is a classic theatrical comedic relief song. From here, the prince returns to the ball and brings us to one of the most memorable moments of this show. With a dark stage, white LEDs slowly light up on the stage, tracing gorgeous painted pillars, and we come to see that the entire stage is black and white, with every cast member also in black and white. This aesthetic choice has no real story purpose but is one of the most iconic parts of the show in my opinion. The Prince and Anastasia dance to the first song from the original film “So This is Love,” and he is clearly unimpressed. Thankfully, Cinderella bursts into the ball in her dish maid outfit and implores the prince to “Believe in Me” through song. This is a fantastic solo in which she also shows that she believes in herself.???

With Cinderella and the Prince now engaged, Lady Tremaine calls up Franco, who breaks the news to the Tremaines that lost their gamble, and are now cursed to… doing his laundry? It is fitting, as it is the punishment that was inflicted on Cinderella for so many years. The show resolves with Fairy Godmother bringing color back to the stage while singing her iconic “Bippidi Boppidi Boo!” and with a wedding set to “A Dream is a Wish your Heart Makes.” The curtain call is set to a reprise of “Chasing a Dream” from the whole cast.??

11 years after the show debuted, it was reimagined with enhanced costumes, songs, sets, projections, and an adjustment of the ending to more closely align with Cinderella III. Having opened in 2005, this is one of the longer-running shows aboard Disney Cruise Line and one I consistently enjoyed since I was a child. Due to its great spectacle and abundance of original music, it appeals to all different groups aboard Disney Cruise Line. Some of the songs like “Chasing a Dream” and “Believe in Me” hold their own against comparable songs from Broadway or Disney’s animated films. This may be the reason that, unlike most musicals aboard Disney Cruise Line, this one released its soundtrack on CD. If you’ve never seen the show before, I recommend it. Once again, this show does not have an official viewing method outside of taking a cruise, but many videos are easily accessible via YouTube.??

About the author: Brady Snyder is an Entertainment Management senior at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management with a certificate in Theme Park & Attraction Management, where he also holds the title of Secretary of the Cruise Line Industry Leaders of Tomorrow. This article was written as part of an assignment for the Entertainment Management program’s capstone class “Entertainment Portfolio Management.” ??

Brady currently works at the company where this show was produced, Disney Live Entertainment, as an Entertainment Project Analyst Intern. All opinions and views stated in this article are the author’s own and in no way reflect the opinion and views of their employer or school. ??