‘Disney Princess – The Concert’ Receives Negative Reviews

With Disney princess performers like Susan Egan, Anneliese van der Pol, Syndee Winters, and Courtney Reed, it seems like Disney Princess – The Concert would have been a slam dunk with Disney fans. However, reviews on the Princess Blog suggest otherwise! Although the talented women singing in the concert are renowned singers and concert attendees praised their talents, it seems that several other logistical factors have made the show a little underwhelming.

The Disney concert is hosted by Benjamin Rauhala and features women who have played Disney princesses or Disney heroines on stage. The main players are Susan Egan, Anneliese van der Pol, Courtney Reed, and Aisha Jackson. All four women have played an official Disney princess.

Susan Egan Credit: disneyconcerts.com

Susan Egan is known for playing Belle in the original Broadway production of Beauty and the Beast as well as voicing the popular Hercules character Megara, while Anneliese van der Pol is known for playing Chelsea Daniels on the Disney Channel show That’s So Raven and was also the last actress to play Belle in the same stage musical. Courtney Reed originated the role of Princess Jasmine in Broadway’s Aladdin, and Aisha Jackson was the first Black woman to play Anna in Frozen on Broadway.

Aisha Jackson Credit: disneyconcerts.com

Courtney Reed Credit: disneyconcerts.com

Courtney Reed’s role in the Disney concert was taken over by Arielle Jacobs (who played Jasmine on Broadway as well), while Aisha Jackson’s role was switched to Syndee Winters (who played Nala in the Broadway version of The Lion King).

Arielle Jacobs Credit: disneyconcerts.com

Christy Altomare, the award-winning actress who starred as Anastasia on Broadway, was meant to be in the Disney concert and was most likely going to sing the Anastasia song “Journey to the Past”; for now, Anneliese van der Pol is performing that song (with Christy confirming that she will be returning for a later portion of the concert).

Anneliese van der Pol Credit: disneyconcerts.com

Although the performances of Susan Egan and Anneliese van der Pol have received rave reviews themselves, the changes in the concert lineup can be disappointing for fans since many people come to concerts with a favorite performer in mind!

Fans also expressed disappointment when it came to VIP packages and Meet and Greets. According to an attendee who left a concert review in the comments of a video from the concert, meeting the performers was a socially-distanced interaction that involved all of the performers at once instead of any one-on-one conversations.

Christy Altomare Credit: disneyconcerts.com

“I would advise just getting tickets to watch the show itself, which I thought was great, and forget about getting a meet and greet package…I don’t know if procedures for the meet and greets are going to change further down the line, but if you’re counting on being able to get some one-on-one time with your favorite performers and getting a nice picture with them, you may be sadly disappointed”, the user continued.

Credit: disneyconcerts.com

Lisa Dawn, the writer of the Princess Blog concert review, also compared the show to its predecessor “the Broadway Princess Party”. “They are…taking an intimate independent show that already had a successful tour and marketing it under the Disney name. This show is very similar to the Broadway Princess Party aside from a few tweaks that make it feel corporate and overproduced,” Lisa Dawn wrote. She had purchased the least expensive VIP ticket, but overall found the merchandise involved to be underwhelming as well.

Adam J. Levy, who provides Disney Princes in the show. Credit: disneyconcerts.com

Projection technology is used during the concert to show famous scenes from Disney princess films while the singers are performing, but since projections are nothing new to Disney Guests, the feature is a little boring. Lisa Dawn described the constant footage as “an enormous distraction” that was rarely “used to enhance [the] performances in a creative way”.

We already knew that Disney Princess – The Concert would involve some unique medleys of Disney princess songs and that some of the performers would have solos, and apparently Anneliese van der Pol took over the lesser-known songs that Christy Altomare will presumably be performing once she joins the concert tour (including “Journey to the Past”).

Credit: Disney

Credit: disneyprincesses.com

Overall, the Princess Blog stated that “Disney Princess – The Concert is a perfectly fine show for princess fans who want to hear their favorite Disney songs performed by professionals”, but “it is lacking in comparison to the intimate night that the Broadway Princess Party originally represented, which allowed fans to get up close and personal with some of their favorite performers and listen to their stories as peers.”

If you still want to see this concert, it sounds like the bare-bones ticket might be the best bet instead of a VIP package — at least according to these attendees!