Disney Live Enchants Evansville

The magical world of Disney visited Downtown Evansville Thursday!  The Old National Events Plaza played host to an elaborate stage show showcasing three of Disney's biggest stories!

I'm a self-admitted Disney addict.  I'm a 32-year old man with no children, but I was extremely excited that I'd be able to get to take my girlfriend and fellow lover of all things Disney to the show.  I have to admit, there was something very exciting about seeing the movies we'd watched at home on our couch come to life before our eyes.  Going in, we didn't know exactly what to expect from the vague title "Disney Live," but here is my review of what I witnessed at the show:

The "Disney Magic" is all around at this show.  If you're unfamiliar with what the "Disney Magic" is or what it feels like, this show probably isn't for you.  The show lived up to Disney's high standard of excellence.  The stage is bright and vibrant, almost as if it were actually a cartoon.  It was framed with an artistic montage of Disney's most well-known faces like Ariel, Baloo, Mulan, and Tigger, too!

Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Donald play "host," almost even narrators, to the evening.  They cleanse the audience's palettes and take the viewer from one story to the next.  The first act is "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves," Walt Disney's ageless first animated feature film from 1938.  After that we're treated to "Cinderella," followed by a personal favorite of mine, "Beauty and the Beast."

Each fairy tale is highlighted for approximately a half-hour, and "Cinderella" was split with an intermission break.  The show offers a mix of "real people" and costumed characters.  For example, Snow White white is a normal actress and you can see her face.  Her eponymous Seven Dwarves are all under oversized masks and costumes.  The presentation includes pyrotechnics (fire and explosions), lighting effects, animatronics, (I think) puppetry, as well as other special effects that will leave you scratching your head wondering, "How did they do that?!"

It's not like what (I'm sure) seeing Disney on Broadway is like.  The cast was modest, I'd estimate a dozen to 15 and we sometimes noticed a character in one story as someone else from a previous one.  Plus, with the luxury of masks, I'm sure there are plenty we did not notice.  Set pieces also get "made over" as opposed to changed.  This doesn't take away from anything, though.  The cast is quite talented and animated and seem to be enjoying themselves on stage.

My biggest complaint about the show is easy to pinpoint.  The ENTIRE show's audio is prerecorded.  This has its advantages and disadvantages.  While it allows for celebrity voices and movie-level sound effects, I feel a disconnect knowing EVERYONE on stage is lip-syncing.  This is understandable for the masked characters, but when actors are unmasked and fully-capable, I'd prefer to hear them voice their own parts as opposed to mouth the words.  Additionally, my girlfriend and I both found the volume to be slightly low, but that might not be a problem if you go in the future.

All in all, we found Disney Live to be an incredible time and a fun evening for any age.  Obviously, it's geared towards children, but two childless twenty- and thirty-somethings had an awesome time and was completely satisfied.