I am beyond excited to catch up with Fiely Matias and Dennis T. Giacino, the creators of DISENCHANTED!, the award-winning global hit musical! Fiely and Dennis co-created the show, and Dennis wrote the book, music, and lyrics.

We first talked about DISENCHANTED! in 2015 when the show was running Off-Broadway in NYC, but I have known Dennis & Fiely since the 2001 NYC International Fringe Festival when I saw their show Asian Sings The Blues (of which I still have my signed CD & polaroid-like photo with Fiely).

Now, DISENCHANTED! is kicking off its National Tour right here in NYC at Queens Theatre from October 11-12, 2024, for three performances only!

The National Tour is being produced by Marcie Gorman (interview coming soon), MNM Theatre, and Jonathan Van Dyke (who's also directing the National Tour & whom I got to interview in 2012 & 2020).

DISENCHANTED! tells the story of how Snow White and her posse of disenchanted princesses are none-too-happy with the way they’ve been portrayed in today’s pop culture. They’ve tossed their tiaras and have come to life to set the record straight. Forget the princesses you think you know – these royal renegades are here to comically belt out the truth in the hilarious hit musical that’s anything but Grimm.

Connect with DISENCHANTED!: Website, Facebook, Instagram

1. Since 2015, DISENCHANTED! has played all over the world! What has it been like to see this show grow so much? Ah, yes, 2015! That was when Disenchanted! completed its Off-Broadway run and went into licensing. Before that, we began with a workshop in a small rehearsal room back in 2009 - a room that barely fit 100 metal folding chairs. And those seats were filled mostly with our supportive friends and family - humble beginnings. We never imagined the exciting journey on which Disenchanted! would embark since. All we knew at that time was that we believed in the music, comedy, and messages of the show and had hoped they’d resonate with someone out there; anyone out there.

Fast forward 15 years from that initial workshop in 2009 and Dis! (as folks affectionately call the show) continues to license and perform around the globe. And when we see pics and videos sent to us by various theatre groups who perform the show, it feels like a family member sending us a postcard from far away, sharing their adventure with us. We love reading all about it! We feel very fortunate and blessed that the music, humor, and message of our show continues to touch hearts (and funny bones) worldwide.

2. Why do you feel this show continues to resonate with audiences? So okay, we’re gonna go all Sophia from The Golden Girls for a second here:

Picture it. Italy, 2017. We’re sitting in a theatre in Rome watching a pro production of Disenchanted! (Disincantate! as the show is known there) - it was a wonderful production! Of course, we couldn’t understand a single word of it since neither of us speaks fluent Italian. What we did notice, however, was that the audiences in Rome were reacting the same as the American audiences. They laughed in all the same places (including Rapunzel’s very Brunhilde-esque comedic rant about capitalism, unibrow and Mel-Brooksian German accent et al), while they embraced the same teary-eyed moments as well (i.e. Pocahontas’ painful plea to have her story told honestly instead of the fabricated, misguided tale movies and TV would have us believe). Productions everywhere have been met with the same experience - whether it be Dis! Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, Perth, Buenos Aires, Beijing, New York, or Los Angeles - the show continues to strike the same chords of humor and pathos everywhere it plays, across all cultures and languages.

When we sat down to write the show, we tasked ourselves with making every moment relatable and identifiably human at its core. Empowerment, self-acceptance, having the courage to create one's own story without societal pressure telling us to do otherwise - it’s all in there and audiences everywhere have embraced these very human messages. And it doesn’t hurt that audiences seem to find the show damn funny! Comedy is a universal language that brings people together. Seeing folks from all walks of life sitting as one audience in a room communally laughing and simultaneously tapping their toes - what could be better than that?

3. How do you both relate to the show today as compared to when you first created it? We have been involved in every aspect of Disenchanted! since its inception: writing it, directing it, choreographing it, making props and costumes for it, advertising it, selling tickets for it, even playing piano during it in front of a live audience, something that scares the bejesus out of us! Once Dis! hit Off-Broadway and began licensing all over, the show began to take on a life of its own through the creative talents of others: costumers, musicians, actors, prop masters, choreographers, music directors, producers, box office workers, sound and lighting designers, etc.

We’ve gone from working in the trenches as creators to cheering and supportive audience members. We’ve become, in a sense, proud parents who’ve watched our child go out into the world and have their own experiences. It’s extremely rewarding to witness others take such good care of our baby and for that, we are eternally grateful.

(Left to Right):
Fiely Matias, Adam Rothenberg, Angelo Noto, Dennis T. Giacino
DISENCHANTED!, Prima Theatre, 2019

4. DISENCHANTED! is currently out on tour, with a stop at Queens Theatre this October. What are you looking forward to most about bringing this show back to NY for these 3 performances? We love full-circle moments and this is certainly an exciting one! Remember that little room we talked about earlier - the one with the folding chairs back in 2009? Well, that room was actually located at Pearl Studios in NYC - that’s where Disenchanted! took its first bow. To think that Dis! has gone from those 100 (very uncomfortable, mind you) metal seats in a studio to an expansive venue like the Queens Theatre in NY as part of a national tour - well, it is truly a terrific full-circle moment for us.

Another full-circle moment lies in the fact that the director of this national tour, Jonathan Van Dyke, served as our company manager in our out-of-town tryout at the Straz Center in Tampa, Florida. He gets Disenchanted! through and through as he was there pre-Off-Broadway. Many say he also happens to speak fluent Dennis and Fiely! We’re thrilled to have NY audiences see how the show has grown over the years while maintaining its witty, fun-loving humor and poignant messages. NYers are in for a real treat as Dis! returns to the city with Jonathan and the MNM Theatre Company at the helm!

5. Back in 2015, I had asked you which Princess you have always wanted to be. Fiely you had said "Snow White" and Dennis you had said "Pocahontas." Do those answers still hold true today or would you answer differently now?

Fiely: At first I wanted to be Snow, to be in charge and wrangle everyone and make all the decisions . . . but nowadays I’m more like Sleeping Beauty - accepting of who I am and fully embracing being imperfectly perfect. Oh, and I love to nap!

Dennis: I love all the princesses - each shares a significant truth with the audience about the way they are wrongly portrayed as helpless damsels in distress in film and TV. That said, I still have an affinity with Pocahontas. Her song ‘Honestly’ calls out big entertainment companies that have homogenized her true story to make it more ‘animated’ and palatable for today’s audiences. Since Dis! is all about belting out the truth, Pocahontas’ courage in setting the record straight still really hits home with me.

Dennis T Giacino holding 10th Anniversary studio recording of
DISENCHANTED!, Photo courtesy of Dennis T. Giacino's Social Media

6. For those who don't know, Dennis wrote the books, music, and lyrics, and Fiely helped develop the show. Now that the show has been licensed and performed all over the world, how has your involvement with the show changed? It has always been our intention to make sure that Disenchanted! remains current and up-to-date in its storytelling and sense of humor. With that, and though Dennis wrote the original book, music, and lyrics, we’ve always worked together on creating and maintaining all aspects of the show. That hasn’t changed. We consistently update the humor with nods to today’s pop culture, collaborate on foreign translations representing the local culture in which the show is taking place, and even continue to write new songs that have been added for the high school version of the show. It’s important for us to keep the messages and punchlines relevant to the times - heck, we even see the possibility of a drag version of Dis!’ in the near future! RuPaul - are you listening? Call us!

7. I first came to know you both in 2001 when I saw your NYC Fringe show Asian Sings The Blues. What do you feel you learned from creating that show that helped you shape DISENCHANTED!? We’ve had many friends, family, and audience members tell us that every show we’ve written prior to 2009 has led up to Disenchanted! We love to write topical, funny shows that poke fun at what we Americans accept as ‘life-changing’ and ‘important’ entertainment. We’ve parodied the self-indulgent cabaret act (Loungezilla aka Asian Sings The Blues), satirized the double-standards of censorship in live theater questioning whether nudity is artistic or designed to just sell tickets (The Naked Guy), and spoofed the exploitation of contestants in reality game shows featuring people who will do anything for their 15 minutes of fame (Squared, The Game Show). Through all this spoofery in our past shows, we learned that holding a mirror up to the audience through comedy is the best, most effective way to get a message heard. A spoonful of sugar, if you will - that’s what we learned in past shows and this notion served us well in creating Disenchanted!

(Left to Right): Fiely Matias and Adam Rothenberg
Asian Sings The Blues, 2001 NYC International Fringe Festival

8. Based upon your own experiences, what would you tell someone who wanted to write their own show? We’re currently working on our newest musical, Zazzie Sings! so this is a great question for right now! Zazzie! is a Theatre for Young Audiences show; an uplifting, inspiring, and fun musical in which a singing cat stands up to the mean, bullying, hates-everything theatre reviewer rat in town. We’ve once again blended comedy, music, and message together - there’s that spoonful of sugar again.

What would we tell someone who wants to write a show? First and foremost, write with your heart, edit with your head. And do them separately. Write what’s in your heart first and once you have a completed draft, ruthlessly edit with your head. You will never finish your show if you edit as you write.

Know this: When you find the inspiration or idea for a show, make sure you are 100% on board and passionate about the project. Writing is like a marriage - once you commit to your project, it’s a long-term relationship. You better love it before you put a ring on it. We are on year 18 of our commitment to Disenchanted! and couldn’t be happier!

Lastly, make sure you have a person you can bounce your ideas, scripts, and songs off of as you write your show. You don’t need a critic at this stage of creation, you need support and someone who believes in you enough to be objectively (yet lovingly) honest with you. This person is gold, okay platinum, in the universe of writing.

Now go write something you’re passionate about! We can’t wait to read it!

Fiely Matias listening to the final mixes for DISENCHANTED!
10th Anniversary studio recording, Photo courtesy of Fiely Matias' Social Media

9. Let's find out more about you both by playing with the songs from DISENCHANTED! 

• What do you feel would be “One More Happ’ly Ever After” post DISENCHANTED!? We have several more ‘Happ’ly Ever Afters’ post Dis! but the one we’ve talked about the most is to hold a Disenchanted! Princess Convention where all the royal renegades (cast members, creatives, crew, and fans) from the numerous productions around the world get together for a weekend cruise around the Caribbean! ‘Happy Tune’ sing-a-longs, ‘All You Wanna Do Is Eat’ buffets, everyone serving up some real princess tea! Love it!

• “All I Wanna Do Is Eat” - What is your favorite food to eat before and after a show? Well - we don’t eat before a show. We’re too nervous. But after a show, we eat EVERYTHING IN SIGHT! Truth!

• “Insane!” - What is the most “Insane!” thing you have seen happen during a performance of DISENCHANTED!? We once saw a production of Disenchanted! in which the music director rewrote every melody in the show to the point where we leaned over to one another halfway through the first act and said, “I don’t recognize this song, do you?” The lyrics were the same but the music was completely different! It was such a bizarre experience to see our own show and not hear, well, our own show. Wheeee!

• It was also “Insane!” to witness a production in which the audience rolled cans of Del Monte vegetables onto the stage during the song “All I Wanna Do Is Eat.” Literally, cans of Sweet Peas & Carrots, Asparagus Spears, and Creamed Corn were tossed onstage throughout the number. Are we fast becoming the next interactive Rocky Horror Picture Show with swag bags of goodies to use during the performance? There’s no fourth wall in Dis! and audiences oftentimes get involved in the action of the show and we love it!

• “Finally” - What is something you can “Finally” share about DISENCHANTED! that you haven’t talked about before? Most people don’t know that, though our show has been nominated for numerous ‘Best Musical’ awards over the years, neither of us are trained in musical theatre. Dennis can’t read music and only composes/plays by ear and Fiely has never taken a directing class. Moral of the story: Be fearless and let your passion for your art lead the way! There’s more than one route to reaching your goals so follow your inner TripAdvisor and set your own path to success. Our passion for our work has taken us around the world.

10. What is something we didn't get to talk about in this interview that you'd like my audiences to know about you? We can never talk enough about how thankful we are to all those who’ve been our cheerleaders along the way! We are so appreciative of those who’ve let us sleep on their sofas prior to (and funny enough, since) Off-Broadway, gave us pep talks when we hit roadblocks in the creative process, and have taken time out of their busy schedules to either be in or show up to our performances.

When you see a production of Disenchanted!, please know that there are literally thousands of uncredited, stalwart supporters who have made it possible over the years for us to continue to do what we do as a writing-directing team. And for that, we are forever grateful.

Fiely Matias

More on Fiely Matias:

Fiely Matias co-created and directed the award-nominated NYC Off-Broadway production of Disenchanted! He has also directed sold-out, raved about productions of DIS! in Orlando (2011 - 2013), Los Angeles (2013), Missouri (2012), the San Francisco Bay Area (2013), the out-of-town tryout in Tampa (2014), as well as the original New York City workshop (2009) and staged readings (2012).

Fiely is a proud member of SDC (Stage Directors and Choreographers Society). He has directed countless musicals and comedy plays over the past 25 years, including over 20 international Fringe Theatre Festival productions.

Awards for Fiely's directorial work include 'Best National Show' (Daily City News, 'Disenchanted!') 'Best Musical' and 'Best Comedy' (USA National GLBT Theatre Festival), 'Best Comedy' (Ottawa Fringe Theatre Festival), Producers Award (Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival), and 'Best of Fest' at the Orlando, San Francisco, and Saskatoon Fringe Theatre Fests.

Most recently, Fiely directed the successful Seattle premiere workshop of Jacques LaMarre's dark comedy My Vhite House Christmas Spashial with Melania (Live From Trump Tower). Up next: Fiely is currently working on two new musical projects with Dennis as well as collaborating on works showcasing throughout the Pacific Northwestern USA.

A longtime member of AEA (Actors Equity Association), Fiely has performed at theaters throughout the USA, Canada, and internationally. He originated the role of the Asp in Annie 2 at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC and has toured throughout North America with IMAGO Theatre Mask Ensemble.

Dennis T. Giacino

More on Dennis T. Giacino:

A full member of the  DGA (Dramatists Guild of America), Dennis co-created and wrote the book, music, and lyrics for the Off-Broadway musical hit Disenchanted! The Huffington Post hails DIS! as “Funny and a touch wicked!" Italy's Musical Magazine raves that Dennis' work is "Ingenious!" and "Brilliant!" Playbill named DIS! as one of NYC's  ‘Unforgettable Theatre Experiences - 2014’).

Dennis' Disenchanted! has performed to critical acclaim and sold out engagements in New York City (with award nominations from the Lucille Lortel Awards, the Outer Critics Circle for ‘Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical,’ and the Off Broadway Alliance for ‘Best New Musical’).

DIS! has also played to SROs and raves in cities and towns around North America including Los Angeles, Toronto, Orlando, San Fran Bay Area, Chicago, Nashville, Calgary, Hartford, Minneapolis, San Antonio, St. Louis, Tampa, Philadelphia, Edmonton, Omaha,  and New Jersey (where the show won the 2010 NJ Playwrights Contest).

Internationally, Dennis' work on DIS! has garnered successful runs on a North American tour, throughout the U.K., on three National Italy tours (where the show won 'Best Musical' at the MINDIE Awards), Australia, New Zealand, Paris France, Argentina, Beijing China, and the Dominican Republic (where the show was nominated for a Premios Soberano Award for ‘Best Musical of the Year’).

Dennis' musical and comedy works have been performed on five continents to sold out houses and rave reviews including productions in Australia and New Zealand, Europe, China and Singapore, South America, USA and Canada, and on cruise ships around the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico.