As the cast of the Bucyrus Little Theatre production of "Disenchanted!" rehearsed on Tuesday evening, loud laughter could be heard coming from the back row of the theater.

That was the show's director, Jason Chandler.

"It is definitely a very, very funny show," he said in an interview. "People will come and they will laugh and that's mostly what the show is about, is to enjoy and have a good time. There is a little bit of seriousness to the show ... it really is meant to be a women's empowerment tale, too."

While that's not the primary focus, it is definitely part of the show, he said.

"Disenchanted!" which opens Friday at the theater, 130 Songer St., started as an off-Broadway musical.

"The concept of the show is it is sort of a telling of what happens to the princesses after their 'happily ever after,'" Chandler explained. It takes the stories of 10 well-known fairy tale princesses and imagines what happened to them after the end of the stories people know so well. "Where are they? What is their life like? And that's sort of the concept of what the show is. ...

"There will be some parts where you stop and think about it a little bit, but mostly it is meant to be just an hour and 45 minutes of humorous entertainment."

The main characters in the all-woman cast of 10 are Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, "but then there's seven other princesses that come on for occasional scenes or larger group numbers," the director said.

While the musical's songs might not be familiar to most people in the audience, they're very well-written, he said.

"They're not the songs that you would remember from, like a Disney telling of the story," he said. But the music is very, very well done. And it's very pretty music; it's very ingeniously written too. ... The music is fun and funny to listen to as well."

Director: 'I couldn't ask for a better cast'

The last time Chandler directed a production for the company was "Love Letters" in early 2022. He said he normally directs about once a year.

"I'll be honest with you, this is one of the smoothest shows I've ever directed," he said. "The cast is very talented. I've been very blessed, lucky, in what the cast members themselves have brought to the table. It has been very, very easy for me to do. They're easy to work with ... I couldn't ask for a better cast than what we have. So for me it's been very, very wonderful to be a part of this show."

The show is meant for adults, Chandler said.

"It is a little bit risqué and the humor is meant to be grown-up humor, that is for sure," he said. "I would be careful if I were bringing young children to the show."

It includes some strong language and some of the humor is "a little bit sexual in nature," Chandler said. That said, his own stepdaughter, who is 5, is coming to see the show because "her momma's in the show and she wants to come watch."

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Additional performances will be at 7:30 p.m. June 9-10 and 2:30 p.m. June 11. Tickets, $15 for adults and $10 for students, are available at the theater's website, bucyruslittletheatre.com, or at the box office.

"This cast is amazingly talented," Chandler reiterated. "They've been a real wonder to direct and it's been just an absolute wonderful time that I've had working with them. And I would love for people to come out and see just how talented the ladies in the show are. They are just truly fantastic."

ggoble@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Bucyrus Little Theatre's 'Disenchanted!' features 10-woman cast