Sleeping Beauty – the ugly truth

Overview

PLOT SUMMARY

In this twist on a traditional tale, behind some hilarious shenanigans lies the important message that a person’s true beauty comes from within.

In the kingdom of Bella Vista, what matters most is how you look, how you dress and how your hair is styled! If you’re beautiful then you’re somebody, if you’re not then you’re nobody! (song – Celebrity Status) Our story begins with King Hugo (the ‘Boss’) and Queen Maybelline discussing with their courtiers, Ralph and Lauren, the forthcoming banquet to celebrate the birth of their daughter, Princess Tiffany. Down in the palace kitchens, along with other lowly palace workers, the cooks take a break from preparing the feast to toast the birth of another baby. The gardener, Bert Mulcher, has had a son, Alfie, and has come to sneak a few titbits from the banquet platters to help his poor family celebrate. (song – Crumbs From The Table)

On the day of the banquet, crowds gather to watch the glamorous guests arrive at the palace. (song – Let’s Have A Party) With reporters and ‘paparazzi’ present, the guests preen and pose as they show off the expensive gifts they have brought for the new princess. It is, however, her two fairy godmothers, Nip and Tuck, who bestow the best gift of all upon Tiffany…the gift of beauty! Things soon take a turn when the party is ‘crashed’ by the mysterious witch, Wanda, who chastises everyone for their shallow vanity. Enraged by the way these people live their lives, Wanda too bestows a gift on the baby princess, in the form of a curse: on her 21st birthday Tiffany will prick her finger and fall into a sleep from which she will never wake! Believing Wanda to be a crackpot, the king and queen have her evicted and her curse is soon forgotten.

As the years pass, Tiffany indeed grows up to be beautiful, but she is also kind-hearted, loving and generous, unlike those around her. She has become close friends with the poor gardener’s son, Alfie Mulcher, who tends to the rose bushes. Although fond of each other, they both know there would be uproar if their friendship was discovered. (song – A Million Miles Apart) Having been tipped off by Ralph and Lauren, the Bella Vista Bugle exposes the couple and, to avoid further scandal, Alfie is exiled from the kingdom while plans are made to find Tiffany a ‘suitable’ husband! At the subsequent banquet to celebrate her 21st birthday, whilst mournfully carrying one of the roses grown by her lost friend, Tiffany pricks her finger on a thorn and Wanda’s forgotten curse is realised. However, it is not only the princess who falls asleep; the entire kingdom succumbs and Bella Vista falls silent! (song – Sleep)

As time moves on, a tall, thorny hedge grows around the sleeping kingdom. Outsiders talk of the legendary curse and of the beautiful princess that lies asleep within the palace walls. This prompts some very posh (if slightly sleazy) princes to try and chop their way through the hedge to wake the beauty up, but they fail rather comically!

Alfie returns from exile to discover Bella Vista’s sinister circumstances. However, his honourable heart and character mean that he can break the curse. The thorny hedge softens and parts at his touch and he enters the kingdom where all wake from their slumber (song – Rise And Shine), all that is apart from Tiffany. How can she be awoken? Well, this is a fairytale so there’s only one thing to do….the girl needs to be kissed and there’s only one man for the job! With Alfie and Tiffany reunited, the kingdom is dramatically changed for the better. Everyone realises what is important, namely being honest and true to one’s heart, and the behaviour of old is no more.
Bella Vista is now a truly beautiful place in which to live!(song – Look Inside)