No matter what happens, it’s always important to believe in something! A very important lesson that Snow White is teaching us as Stand Up For…Theatre had to believe in that age old adage of “The Show Must Go On!” Faced with thunderbolts and lightning (very, very frightening!) and a mini sprinkled downpouring deluge of rain…the poor company’s opening night was very nearly fraught with cancellation! BUT! They believe! In the miracles of making it happen, working together, and of course, the show going on! So whilst Dionysus and Zeus took to duking it out in the skies above, SUFT took their sweet little TYA production of Snow White and moved it inside! Now they left behind a beautiful outdoor stage and background scenery, which hopefully future audiences will get to see this and next weekend (if our weather Gods can get their tempers under control!) but they were able to bring a lot of the mobile furnishings and of course all the actors and their lovely costumes indoors! Directed by Kathy McCrory and Stage Managed by Crystal Nanes, this performance is perfect for all the littles and the young audience members (and of course, those young at heart!) It’s theatre for young audiences at its finest and is perfect for anyone under double-digits!
Now, we didn’t get to see the full glory of Set Engineer Ed Higgins’ and his construction crew (Cal Rodriguez & Elinor Bower) magical set but the components that did make their way indoors— like the rolling gold-plated magic mirror frame (complete with its own internal glow-light fixture and galaxy-swirl background cloth) and the royal throne for her majesty were just the things that one needs for a fairytale play! Finn Bowman’s Lighting Design, which was likely adapted on the fly as the production was initially slated for outdoors (in both dark evenings and bright mid-afternoons) focused on using colored spotlights— yellow for whenever the dwarves were mentioning sunlight, red for the nasty-wasty Queen— it was effective in creating emotional cues for the audience.
The real bright spot of the show’s design components are the costumes. Designer Lorelei Kahn has pulled out all the fairytale stops— the Queen’s dress is particularly beautiful, which is perfect as something has to offset that character’s ugly heart and so too is the glorious diaphanous gown featured on the Mirror. The Dwarves each get their own color and the Prince’s shimmering blue outfit looks like it might be on loan from Cinderella’s Prince Charming; all in all the magic of ‘dress-up’ and ‘make-believe’ comes shining through like the wish that your heart makes for this production. It’s really aesthetically pleasing. Also a massive shout-out to Props & Costumes Wrangler Becky McCrory, the mystic potion bottle is a personal favorite!
Of course, Snow White is known for her communing with the woodland creatures (most early Princesses in a certain mousy-kingdom are, though to be clear this is not the House-of-Mouse edition— this is dramatized by J. Michael Straczynski) and for this production we have little Owl (Katherine Rankin) and little Bunny (Jordan Nanes.) And they are just adorable precious, particularly when Nanes’ lil bunny tumbles over the phrase “we thought you were dead” (it got a huge “aww” from the audience on opening night) and Rankin as the chipper, energetic owl leads the way (Rankin has appeared on an SUFT stage once before and did a great job helping to guide Nanes, who is ecstatic to be in her very first stage play!)
Outside of the woodland creatures, this rendition of Snow White features the Queen transforming thrice over in her attempts to thwart the titular character. And rather than go through elaborate and potentially laborious and time-consuming costume and makeup changes, with a simple twirling of actors (and a nifty sound effect by way of Board Op Geoff Bowman) you get three other actors who get a chance to shine in this production. First there’s Elinor Bower, who appears as the ‘injured princess’ with the music box. There’s a sneakiness to her saccharine character, which reads like every cartoon villain playing at ‘nice’ in the most exactingly nefarious way. Then we’re met with Cal Rodriguez, who plays the grumbly old peasant woman divinely, switching back and forth between that crusty-sweetness of an older grizzled lady and the sharp-tongued Queen-in-disguise. And then there’s our Witch (Lilou.) With that slithering unctuousness that just unsettles you once you arrive, Lilou in her purple cloak is every bit the unsavory character you’d expect the witch to be!
Though none so unsavory as that nasty-wasty Queen (Heather Blake.) Much like our magic Mirror (Jessica Long), Blake is the epitome of actor-for-children’s theatre. Think Miss Rachel, Sillywhim, and any other iconic children’s television programming coming up through the ages— engaging at just the right over-the-top level to keep their attention without being overwhelming. And just the right level of ‘villain’ to be a little frightening but not too scary. Blake has a perfect evil cackle and uses a lower vocal range to insinuate evilness into the character and quite honestly, it’s delightful. Long, as our narrative magic mirror, is of an exacting quality match. Though her character serves as much more of storyteller (whilst simultaneously being in the story)— think story time with princess Belle! One could easily see Long cozied up in a public library corner reading engaging children’s tales to eager-eyed young audiences. Her body language, hyper-animated facial expressions, and overall vocal intonation are so exceptionally well-done, it’s perfect for this theatrical medium. Blake and Long have an exquisite working dynamic as well— bad gal vs good gal and all that— and it’s really a treat to see them so wholly invested in what it is that they’re doing; they make for fascinating fairytale characters and storybook narrators! (And props to Long who basically never leaves the stage…she’s trapped in a magic mirror, after all— as she finds ways to stay engaged with the story even when she’s not actively with the story itself!)
If you want Bumbly— wait, that’s not a Dwarf! At least not one of the OG-seven! But it is the Prince (Johnny Drew.) Who in this version starts off life as a Prince from a visiting kingdom in disguise as the Huntsman, which is actually quite clever when you think about it. The doofiness and goofiness and overall dorky, stumbling, fumbling, bumbling nature of Drew’s Prince-Huntsman is too adorable to properly describe. And boy oh boy does he make a bit out of bouncing up and down from knee to standing when it comes to his brief encounter with the Queen. On the opposite side of that ‘hero-heroine’ coin is our titular character, Snow White (Melody Blahut) who is just bubbly, effervescent, and very sprightly. She even shrieks with childlike wonder and glee. Blahut is the perfect perky princess who’s just sweet and syrupy and cheerfully over-trusting. It makes for the most perfect dynamic when she and her Prince get their various meet-cute moments during the production. Both Drew and Blahut make excellent entertainers of the young audiences and have the kids wide-eyed and glued to their living story.
Of course, the scene stealers of the show are the seven Dwarves! Doc (Elliot Long), Grumpy (Francesca DeBella), Sneezy (Amaya Furfaro-Strode), Happy (Kennedy Rankin), Bashful (Sydney Nanes), Dopey (Audrey Blake), and Sleepy (Revilo.) And each one spends a great deal of time making character choices match their eponymous behaviors! Furfaro-Strode has perfectly placed sneezes that interrupt her character’s dialogue. And Nanes, whilst behaving like a truly introverted shy person, tugs at her hair in that fidgety-distracted sort of way that is super relatable for anyone who’s ever been nervous in a public setting. Revilo, as the yawn-soaked Sleepy, has a wildcard moment where he gets to pop to life in a fashion most comedic and unexpected and it’s pretty wild! And Rakin as Happy is just the epitome of sunshine, beaming from ear to ear at all times. Blake, who plays the goofball Dopey, is precocious, precious, and absolutely on-brand when it comes to delivering her character’s namesake, particularly with her keen sense of comedic timing. And the same can be said for DeBella’s Grumpy, though with less giddiness, more gruffness, and a remarkable sense of sarcasm. Add to the mix the born-leader, Long’s Doc, who keeps the Dwarves morale as high as the morning sun, and you’ve got a stupendous septet of young performers really adding chuckles, heart, and a good time to this production.
It’s the community sense of these young performers, working with the more seasoned adults to provide a quality experience for even younger audience members that helps the mission and message of SUFT shine through with radiance. Snow White, once it’s back outdoors on its hand-crafted and beautifully decorated (some of us got to peek at it before coming indoors for the evening) stage will surely be the fairytale adventure that your little one needs this summer! So what are you waiting for— an apple to get launched your way? Hurry! Hurry! Get your tickets!
Running Time: Approximately 100 minutes with one intermission
Snow White plays Friday & Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons through August 16th 2026 with Stand Up For…Theatre at MITAGS/MCC— 692 Maritime Blvd in Linthicum Heights, MD 21090. Tickets are available at the door or in advance online.
