On Theater: Fractured fairy tale entertains at Newport arts center

What Stephen Sondheim did with fairy tale characters in “Into the Woods,” the team of Flip Kohler and Cindy Marcus have done with a particular aspect of those legends so popular with today’s little girls — the put-upon princess who endures endless travails only to triumph at the final curtain.

Their fractured fairy tale is called “Snow Off-White,” and it’s currently closing out its two-weekend engagement as a summer youth attraction at the Newport Theatre Arts Center. Judging by the full house at Sunday’s matinee, you’d better have your reservations for this weekend well in advance.

In this mildly satirical version, Snow White already is a princess as the show opens. Her father’s a king and about to take a second wife who — you guessed it — is out to become an evil queen and put the feisty little Snow out of commission permanently.

When the would-be queen’s henchmen remove Snow from the palace, they deposit her in a hideaway populated by seven ... fairy godmothers. No dwarfs in this updated legend. The rest of the show involves Snow and her newfound companions complaining that “That’s not the way the story goes” and seeking a “happily ever after” outcome before the curtain falls.

Director Lissa Slay has her hands full — 21 cast members, most of them little girls of grade school age, who gamely plow through this fanciful project. Slay is supported by the creative talents of musical director Sarah Beth Hall and choreographer Rachel Thornton.

Some splendid performances emerge, not the least of which is that of Sophia DeMarzo in the title role. Tomboyish and grimy of face and gown, DeMarzo offers a defiant lass unwilling to accept things “as they are” and bound to toss the hand she’s dealt and press for a shuffling of the cards.

In most shows of this genre, the villain (or villainess) gets all the good lines, and Alexandra Valainis as the prospective evil queen reaps the most from her maleficence. Valainis, a veteran young actress, tears into the villainous Vilenity with a vengeance usually found in performers much more seasoned.

As the bashful, and fearful, squire of young Snow, Christoph Mahler makes the most out of his character’s indecision. The energetic Caitlyn Roum is the most impressive of the fairy godmothers, although Katja Davis runs a close second as a trash-talking hipster.

Street language also propels the vibrant performance of Brooklyn Soto as the mirror to which the would-be evil queen addresses the “who’s fairest?” demand. The statuesque Hayley Frame stands out, physically, as Destiny, the card-reading godmother.

A secondary love story oozing satirical dialogue is well presented by Jacqueline McNeill as Princess Rosamond — the Sleeping Beauty — and Gabriella Valainis hiding her femininity as Rosamond’s persistent beau, Dirk. Grant Richardson handles himself patiently as the troubled King Vance.

If you check out the show’s final weekend, be sure to take a youngster or two to keep you abreast of fairy tale protocol. My two technical advisers — granddaughters ages 8 and 5 — performed that service for me.

“Snow Off-White” is an ambitious undertaking fashioned by Slay and her aides into a delightful reimagining of fairy tale legendry. The show winds up this weekend at the Newport Theatre Arts Center.

TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the daily Pilot, Coastline Pilot and Huntington Beach Independent.

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IF YOU GO:

What: “Snow Off-White”

Where: Newport Theatre Arts Center, 2501 Cliff Drive, Newport Beach

When: Closing performances Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.

Cost: $12

Call: (949) 631-0288

[For the record, Aug. 5, 6:12 p.m.: An earlier version of this post gave an incorrect ticket price. Tickets are $12.]