Kirsty Johnson

Ain't it a fine life?! sing the rag-tag group of boys of all ages, outfitted in worn boots, overalls, and dirty faces the instantly lovable gang of Newsies captures the hearts of audiences from the first time they run onstage.

In the center of an entirely black room is a woman in white, kneeling in prayer, her head encircled with long blonde tendrils. As the audience loads in to this space, Theresa Hanson (Joan) continues to pray until 8:00, when the rest of the cast enters the space and the show begins.

The stories of Disney Princesses are quite literally tales as old as time, and often there's not much of a new spin that can be placed upon them. DISENCHANTED! is out to prove to princess fans that these ladies have so much more that they've got planned.

It's a safe bet that just about any 90's kid can remember re-watching Disney's Hunchback of ­Notre Dame over and over, rewinding the VHS until it was nearly worn out. In the Henegar Center's stage re-imagining of Disney's beloved tale and Victor Hugo's classic novel, there are no friendly goat sidekicks, but a plethora of that nostalgic music and imagery remains.

          Looking at a somewhat bare, sloped stage, the audience is warned of gunshots, explosions, and other triggering scenes: Clearly, this won't be an evening of light-hearted fun. But rather than scenes of gore and violence, A Piece of My Heart invites audiences to experience the emotions and lives of the women of the Vietnam War.