Me and Snow White raises some serious expectations, calling their Toronto Fringe show The Princess of Porn: The Musical. And it’s nice to see that they can deliver on those, too, against the backdrop of the glorious space that is the Randolph Theatre.
The princesses of Disney legend have been snubbed by their Fairy Godmother. A sassy Scottish lass, with the voice of an angel, she’s offered these fine ladies their dreams in exchange for perverting and giving away their stories. Well, they’ve had enough. They want revenge, or recompense, or something… And they’re going to get it by stealing the very last story Fairy Godmother has, the very one she’s never told a living soul. Until now…
The Princess of Porn is a wild tumble in the sack that got me all hot and bothered as soon as I saw Terry Vince sit down at the piano. An honest to goodness penist pianist! I was already impressed. The opening number was even more impressive, with the quality of the singing catching me completely off-guard. Fringe shows, of the musical variety, are notorious (in my experience) for being sub-par or just good enough. Not in this show. Every voice was clear and great and a pleasure to listen to.
The costumes were clever and put together well, with scantily clad being the typical theme, and nudity being mild to not present. Just because the title involves porn and the language is delightfully filthy, doesn’t mean we need to see an hour of nipples and ass cheeks.
Most entertaining to watch was Saphire Demitro as Snow Wheat, a ditz with great heart and an even greater voice. Demitro had some fantastic hilarious moments that might have stolen the show a little, despite her being in a supporting ensemble role. Carolyn Lawrence was another show-stealer, as Fluffer, the loyal helper to the Kingdom of Porn. She barely said a word, but had my sides in stitches for the most part from laughing so hard. Her physical comedy was great and her solo number was especially endearing, the entire audience was a chorus of ‘Aws’.
The first two-thirds of this show were incredible: campy, fun, original and deliciously vulgar. It was the last little bit and the sudden switch into a ‘moral of the story’ mentality that lost me a little. The ending didn’t seem to mesh with the rest of the show and left me feeling a bit befuddled. For the most part though, it definitely turned me on.
Details:
- The Princess of Porn: The Musical is playing at the Randolph Theatre (736 Bathurst St).
- Performances: July 09 04:45 PM, July 11 09:15 PM, July 12 01:45 PM, July 13 07:30 PM, July 14 07:30 PM
- All individual Fringe tickets are $10 at the door (cash only). Tickets are available online at www.fringetoronto.com, by phone at 416-966-1062, in person at The Randolph Centre for the Arts, 736 Bathurst Street (Advance tickets are $11 – $9+$2 service charge)
- Value packs are available if you plan to see at least 5 shows