DISNEY ON ICE PRESENTS PRINCESSES & HEROES COMES TO CHICAGO

Through artistic skating and graceful acrobatics, Disney On Ice presents Princesses & Heroes beautifully recreates the defining moments when eight Disney Princesses’ wishes are fulfilled with help from their devoted Princes. Tinker Bell guides guests through the inspiring stories of Ariel, Belle, Cinderella, Rapunzel, Tiana, Jasmine, Aurora and Snow White as their wishes are being granted and their dreams coming true.

In this new touring show produced by Feld Entertainment, audiences will go where imaginations soar and anything can happen if they just believe. Ariel’s dreams are unlocked from under the sea and, in one magical moment, Prince Eric breaks Ursula’s slithering spell to reclaim his one true love. In a race against time to rescue Sleeping Beauty’s Aurora, Prince Philip defeats the evil Maleficent as she transforms into a fire-breathing dragon. Rapunzel fulfills her dream to escape the tower and see the floating lights; Tiana celebrates her ambitions of owning a restaurant down in New Orleans; Jasmine discovers a whole new world with Aladdin; and Snow White finds her one true love. This beautiful presentation also reveals Cinderella and Belle’s deepest wishes.

“Before dreaming up this edition of Disney On Ice, we reflected on what makes Disney’s princesses and heroes so special,” said Producer Kenneth Feld. “It didn’t take long to realize that every princess had one thing in common: each embarked on an adventure to find their heart’s fondest wish, and through believing, they come true. We wanted to share that inspirational message with our audiences by celebrating the stories of these enchanting princesses and their heroic princes.”

Disney On Ice presents Princesses & Heroes features the newest Disney Princesses, Rapunzel and Tiana, as well as their adventurous counterparts, Flynn Rider and Prince Naveen. “It’s always exciting to welcome new faces into the Disney family. Being able to include these fresh, enchanting characters from the Academy Award® nominated film Tangled as well as the lovely Tiana from Princess and the Frog keeps our shows current and ever evolving,” Feld said.

Adapting the inspirational moments to the ice presented an interesting challenge to the creative team that collaborated on Disney On Ice presents Princesses & Heroes. To cause audiences to re-experience the emotions evoked by the films would take glittering sets, dramatic lighting, breathtaking choreography and a few surprises. Each member of the creative team approached this challenge with their own unique perspective.

For Director Patty Vincent, it was about realizing her goal for the overall vision of the show.

“My favorite part of this entire experience was actually piecing it together from my original dream,” she noted. “Starting with a blank piece of paper then gathering ideas, finding music, working out the choreography and costumes – I really loved creating it from scratch. One of the most perfect moments for me was when I found the song “If You Can Dream” on the Disney Wishes album. It just embodies the wishful and inspirational tone of the show. There’s nothing like seeing ideas that start with your imagination become something real – it’s an incredible experience.”

An example of this creative process is evident in Vincent’s favorite part of the show. “I love the ‘Under the Sea’ production number because I was able to combine bubbling special effects with the most fantastic costumes and high-energy skating. The scene is even more fun than I imagined it would be."

Recognizing the timeless nature of the stories, Creative Director Jerry Bilik sought a cast whose talent would make the stories more real and inspiring.

“To me, the most exciting part of the show is really the cast,” Bilik said. “These exceptional performers help make the stories translate to the ice magnificently. Their portrayal of the princesses and princes sweeps the audience away because they capture the essence of the characters’ hopes, dreams and heroism.”

For Costume Designer Ilona Somogyi, this experience was similar to her work on costumes for the hit Broadway production Spamalot, where she also used a very well-known film with many beloved characters as her primary resource. For Disney On Ice presents Princesses & Heroes, she sought inspiration from the original films and some other, more unusual places.

“In addition to the films, specific scenes also had their own sources of inspiration,” Somogyi said. “For the Cinderella ball, Fabergé eggs were the basis for the full-flowing waltz gowns. My underlying inspiration was the little girls who go to Disney On Ice shows dressed as their favorite Disney princess. Seeing them made me nostalgic and took me back to what dazzled me as a little girl.”

Choreographer Cindy Stuart focused on crafting numbers that highlighted the unique story of each princess and her hero. For example, in the Aladdin segment, there is a busy, fast-paced opening scene in the marketplace where Aladdin is being chased by the guards. Then when he meets Jasmine, the scene gives way to a dreamy, magical escape from reality in “A Whole New World.”

Set Designer Robert Little’s goal was to create a set that would be as beautiful and surprising as the princesses themselves, but flexible enough to allow the telling of so many classic stories. The core setting is a cascading, multi-tier waterfall with actual flowing water. With a little pixie dust, Tinker Bell magically transforms the set into a different backdrop for each princess’s wish.