Gwinnett Daily Post

DULUTH -- In a land far away, many centuries ago, a princess was born only to have a curse set upon her and only her true love can save her soul.

Does this story sound familiar?

It should. It's "The Sleeping Beauty," which New Dawn Theater is presenting today until the middle of June.

"We've never preformed (a play) like this," director Sherry Ingbritsen said. "'Sleeping Beauty' has always been my favorite fairy tale. Even though this isn't the Disney version -- it's the (Brothers) Grimm version -- there's not a lot of differences. This is probably one of the more dark Disney shows."

The scene is set inside a castle with a King (played by Chuck Mason) and Queen (Karyn West) who have given birth to their first daughter, a princess named Beauty (Tess Luman).

When the princess turns one month old, the couple invites fairies to their daughter's christening to cast birthday wishes/spells upon the young girl, but one fairy wasn't invited -- Frytania (Marla Krohn), the most evil in all the land.

The other fairies gave Beauty the influences of love, beauty and courage, but in order to seek revenge, Frytania cast a wicked spell. On Beauty's 16th birthday, she will prick her finger on a spindle and die.

The last good fairy came to the rescue with a life saving spell: If the princess pricks her finger, she must sleep for 100 years until her true love comes with a kiss to awaken her.

Needless to say, on her sweet 16 birthday, Beauty pricks herself, falls a sleep and waits for Elano (Jason Lee) to wake her.

"To me, this play is like the movie 'Star Wars,'" actor Mason said. "There was black and white, good and evil -- same as this. You've got the evil queen dressed in black and all the other fairies are in colors. It's saying that the most important thing is love. Beauty says, 'remember when we were together.' That's important. We need to remember what it's like when we were younger."

After many trials and tribulations, Elano is able to come to his princess' side.

"It's a little more deeper because the love story isn't just cutesy -- it's deep," Ingbritsen said. "It has morals with good verses evil and love will conquer all, no matter the cost. Elano (the prince) has to overcome his inner demons and worries, go against everybody else and save Beauty (the princess)."

Other underlying themes throughout the play include independence, hate and family.

"Family was an important thing for Beauty," Mason said. "I think that when people come out and see it, I think they'll understand it."

"The Sleeping Beauty" is on stage until June 17.