The Neuqua Valley Children’s Show kicked off the NVHS theatre season on Oct. 11 and 12. This year’s Children’s Show, once again directed by Neuqua teacher Mary Van Milligen, was Snow White, but with a twist.

Á la recent films like “Maleficent” and “Venom,” this rendition of Snow White focused on and empathized with the villain; the Evil Queen (Kylie Pickering). The true villain of the show, the Mirror (Meghan Gaither), manipulates the Queen into a state of jealousy for Snow White (Megan Fitzpatrick). She sends a huntsman, who doubles as the prince, called Handsome (Henry Scriven-Young) to hunt down Snow White. Despite a few changes, the majority of the plot stayed true to the classic.

The moral of the story centered around the idea that, “beauty is only skin deep,” with a tinge of feminism. The Evil Queen, who developed a dependency on The Mirror’s validation, began to compare herself to Snow White, which deteriorated her self-esteem. At the end of the piece, Snow White decided she needed, “a strong, female figure,” and remedied her relationship with the Queen. 

The play as a whole was lively and entertaining for children, while also providing several good, albeit commonplace, life lessons. 

Some highlights of the show include:

The dynamic duo of Pickering and Gaither, who spent most of their on-stage time together. They delivered a lively performance full of chemistry, even featuring a Mission Impossible-esque sequence while plotting against The King (Andrew Hurley). 

Madison Young played the titular Snow White’s best friend (who happened to be a chicken). Complete with a full chicken dance, the techie-turned-actor brought laughs to the audience from her first “bawck!”

The Seven Dwarves were a lively group who provided a large portion of the comic relief, especially Grouchy (Megan Smid) and Gleeful (Noelle Maher). Although a little heavy on slapstick, the dwarves proved to be some of the biggest stars of the show. 

The show provided a good night of entertainment for young children, while also providing some moral lessons as well. For the parents, the show was decently entertaining with an enjoyable, nineties-heavy soundtrack. I give Snow White four and a half “Gleefuls” out of five.