Nanjaengi

Not a fan of the traditional Cinderella, Snow White or Little Mermaid stories? The musical Nanjaengi (dwarves), spotlights some of your favorite dwarves from these classic tales—but not without a sense of adult humor and a good twist. Take for instance main characters, Charlie and Big, who are not your typical Dopey and Grumpy. Charlie is a dwarf that dreams of climbing the social ladder by marrying a princess, but he only finds true love when he meets the pure and innocent Little Mermaid. Old dwarf, Big, charms his way into greedy Snow White’s heart who eventually puts aside all her prejudices to be with him. Despite the show’s high spirits, the musical filled with dirty jokes and hilarious caricatures is nowhere near innovative to say the least. Case in point being the video segment that shows Snow White and Big consummate their love or when the actor on his knees (pretending to be a dwarf) points out to the audience that “this is harder than I thought.” By engaging the audience, even those who might raise their eyebrows will get at least one good laugh before the curtain drops. Oh, and spoiler alert: While remaining completely untrue to the original plots, the musical has a happy ending—as all fairy tales should.