Disney princesses dazzle on ice: seven timeless fairy tales unfold in all their glory during this unforgettable royal skating extravaganza.

• Author: Barrett, Wayne M.
• Position: Entertainment; 'Disney on Ice Presents Princess Classics

These shows work best when the audience is into it--really into it! That certainly was the case at Feld Entertainment's 'Disney on Ice Presents Princess Classics" as Snow White unwittingly was about to take a bite of the Evil Queen's poison apple. Foolishly not heeding Grumpy's advice that she should not let anyone into the cottage while the Seven Dwarfs were away at the mines--"Hi-ho, Hi-Ho. It's off to work we go ..."--Snow White slowly raised the apple to her lips, only to take it away after being admonished by the impassioned shouts of the audience. With each attempted taste, the pleas of the crowd--not surprisingly, made up mostly of young children and their parents grow louder, even though they fully know what's coming. Sure enough, our heroine finally succumbs to temptation and the effects of the forbidden fruit.

Our nine-year-old daughter, although not among the many grade-school girls who came dressed as one of the seven featured princesses, loved the entire production. She was quick to contribute her notes on the show, imploring that there be made mention of "the costumes, especially Ariel's and Cinderella's. The songs, especially 'Under the Sea' and 'A Dream is a Wish.' All the skating acts, especially Jasmine's and Aladdin's. The scenery, especially the coral, magic lamp, and castle." Castle is underlined twice; we'll get to that later. She also thought "it was funny when Cinderella's stepsisters [skating in an unsteady and haphazard manner], sang, 'Sweet Nightingale' at the ball." For action and adventure, it was cool "when Prince Eric popped Ursula [with his scepter]." Moreover, it was romantic "when the first six princesses were kissed."

Those memorable lip-locks took place during the first half of the show, with the unfolding of a half-dozen of Disney's timeless tales. The story of Cinderella earned the second-half spotlight. The star of both halves, however, just may have been the eight-ton, three-story castle-making it larger than most Broadway sets--that twists, turns, and transforms to create a backdrop for the various scenes, each set in a different time period with unique yet recognizable styles: an 18th-century design for "Cinderella," an Arabian palace for Jasmine in "Aladdin;" an underwater kingdom for Ariel in "The Little Mermaid;" a medieval castle for Princess Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty;" a French-stained-glass motif for Belle in "Beauty and the Beast;" a far-Eastern fortress for the brave and...