Synopsis

In this version of the Snow White story, the Evil Queen, named Malexandria , takes centre stage along with her human mirror and stylist, Cedric The Hairdresser. After killing her sister (the former queen and Snow White's mother), Malexandria marries the widowed king and sets out to make herself the sole ruler of the kingdom.

First, borrowing from the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes," she humiliates the king by arranging for two confidence tricksters to fool the king into believing they have magic cloth that is invisible to those who are stupid and impure of heart. When he appears in public in his "new clothes", and people realize he is naked, their respect for the king plummets while their respect for Malexandia grows.

After killing the king with a poisoned apple and then throwing him from the high window of their bedroom - telling people he had fallen from the window becuse of drinking too much - Malexandria then plots to kill off Snow White.

But Snow White is rescued by a rich prince who has been wandering the world as a hunter, looking for someone who will love him for himself and not just because he is a rich and handsome prince. The story ends, naturally, with everyone living happily ever after.

Bernard J Taylor writes: "I was always fascinated more by the evil queen in the Snow White story than by Snow White herself (although I wanted Snow White to win in the end). In this musical I give more prominence to the evil queen and combine the story with elements from other traditional fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen, the Brothers Grimm, and others".

Set to 22 pieces of music by Beethoven, the 17 vocal songs draw out the mellifluous magic of the music, while deftly delivering the dialogue.

Characters

Songs