Snow White and Me Has the Best Fairy Tale Musical Soundtrack You've Never Heard!
In 2023, two "Cinderella" inspired musicals made their way to Broadway and promptly closed within less than a year. On the other side of the world, a different fairy tale-inspired musical was enchanting audiences across Europe. Snow White & Me is a portal fantasy like Between the Lines with self-aware fairy tale characters who want to change their pre-written destinies, similar to Ever After High and Once Upon a Time. The story shares elements with the Britney Spears jukebox musical, Once Upon a One More Time, but its original soundtrack is vastly superior, as are the costumes and plot, which thankfully doesn't have a forced feminist agenda. According to the show's official website, it was commissioned in 2018 for European productions and seeks to find its way to the American stage in the future.
As of last month, the English soundtrack for Snow White & Me became widely available online and can be listened to for free on YouTube. Like with all good musicals, the majority of the show's plot can be gleaned from its catchy and emotionally compelling song numbers. The music was written by Pippa Cleary, who draws inspiration from musical legends Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz, and the book and lyrics were written by Philip LaZebnik, whose film credits include Disney Princess classics like Pocahontas and Mulan. With such strong nostalgic influences, the soundtrack is nothing short of spectacular, featuring show-stopping numbers like "Find My Story," "Perfect Princess," and the title track, "Snow White & Me." The music and lyrics are reminiscent of classic musical theater with a modern edge. You can listen to the full soundtrack online or watch the teaser in the video below.
The story begins when Snow White's wicked stepmother, Queen Endora, forces her to eat the poisoned apple seven years too early and makes Prince Florian fall in love with another girl so she'll never wake up. That way, the only person who gets a happy ending will be the queen. Already, it gives off strong Once Upon a Time vibes. Jeremy, Snow White's childhood friend, is determined to save her. He opens a portal to find a hero capable of recovering Snow White's happy ending, where he encounters Alex and Daisy, two sisters from the real world. On their journey through the fairy tale kingdoms, Alex finds herself falling in love with Jeremy even though she knows his loyalty lies with the absent Snow White. Meanwhile, Daisy falls prey to an Ella Enchanted and is forced to obey any command given to her. Though I won't spoil the big twist at the end, I can say that curious listeners will be rewarded after a full playthrough of the soundtrack.
Although this is far from the first time a musical has attempted to do a fairy tale mash-up, it is the first to be done quite like this. Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods from 1987 seems like a fun trip until it gets bogged down by its darker themes of death, loss of innocence, and infidelity, while the modernized Once Upon a One More Time tries way too hard to push its second-wave feminist agenda by making Betty Friedan the princesses' Fairy Godmother. Keeping a lighter tone and a more relatable message, Snow White & Me succeeds where these shows failed by telling a story that embraces nostalgia and escapism with surprising twists. For instance, I've never seen a fairy tale mash-up where a villainess swore revenge after being scorned by one of the Brothers Grimm. There's also a hilarious number in which Rumpelstiltskin decides to settle down with the Big Bad Wolf to raise the baby he stole. The sets and costumes of this show are also more authentic and whimsical than its predecessors.
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