“Enchanted by a Spell” is a modern-day fairy tale that reinterprets the classic story of love and chivalry into a narrative about feminism and personal bravery. Organized by the Steinhardt-Tisch Collaborative Musical Theater and performed on March 6 and 7 at the Black Box Theater, the musical subverts common clichés.

The play, written by Tisch senior Emily Lu, is about a prince and princess of two separate kingdoms who were declared to be a perfect match on the day of their births. The princess, who is born with a special birthmark, is blessed with the ability of eliminating all sense of worry from both kingdoms. Everything is perfect until a sorcerer kidnaps the princess and replaces her with her own daughter, forcing the true princess to fight her way back to where she belongs.

“My message was more targeted on women because the heroine of the play doesn’t need a prince to come save her at the end of the day,” Lu said. “She does whatever she wants to do and takes control of her life.”

Lyricist Hali Alspach said she was inspired by the courageous personalities of the characters and wanted to create a score that paralleled this boldness.

“After I read the script, I liked how people are taking control of the fairy tale and how it wasn’t about the people following the norms or what they should be doing,” Alspach said. “I like the modern spin of making your own decisions and that you don’t have to be what everyone wants you to be.”

The musical’s actors cite teamwork and a sense of appreciation for the production as sources of motivation. Tisch junior Nawaf Nooruddin, who plays Prince Thomas, felt completely in character on stage, despite being nervous
about performing.

“As a crew, we just clicked since the first day itself,” Nooruddin said. “Singing up there and moving around was one of the greatest challenge because if you don’t have the techniques right, things just stop working and you start panicking, but you have to tell yourself not to panic.”

Tisch sophomore Katharine Nedder, who plays the princess, agrees that a functioning team made it possible to create a musical that combines common tropes with novel ideas. 

“There is a collaborative effort from the cast and crew to make something that hasn’t ever been before on stage,” Nedder said. “The play is like a typical fairy tale, with all the weird stuff happening in the middle. Everything was sort of backwards that made it really funny and new.”

A version of this article appeared in the Monday, March 9 print edition. Email Riddhi Keralia at [email protected].