Muddled Ever After: A Fairy Tale Menagerie

One-Acts 45

By: Daniel A. Kelin II
Cast: 4 M, 11 F, 2 flexible (With doubling: 4 M, 8 F, 1 flexible)
Performance Time: Approximately 60 minutes, 50 pgs

FARCE WITH SONG. This isn’t a fairy tale. It’s a fairly ridiculous tale! Hear ye, hear ye! Regular, unremarkable maidens must attend an upcoming royal ball so that the King and Queen can find a bride for their spoiled, immature son, Princeling Reginald. The contenders include a princess with an attitude; a stereotypical princess; Cinderella’s narcissistic stepsister; and Cinderella, if Barely-a-Godmother ever drops off shoes and a dress. To ensure the wannabe princesses are worthy of marrying Princeling Reginald―who could care less who he marries as long as he gets a bowling alley―the Queen devises an absurd test. Then to make a fairly ridiculous tale even more ridiculous, there’s an egotistical dragon who loves to eat royals, a trio of weird witches, and a prince who wants to be turned back into a frog. Amazingly, there are happy endings for most…in a muddled sort of way. Audiences of all ages will love the outrageous characters in this muddled mash-up of “Cinderella,” “Rumpelstiltskin,” and “The Princess and the Pea.”

Freeviews: To read play excerpts click here.

Daniel A. Kelin II is an award-winning playwright who has written, directed, and acted in plays performed in Asia, the Pacific, and the US. A series of his plays have been produced by the Honolulu Theatre for Youth. Mr. Kelin lives in Honolulu, Hawaii.