Snow White as a sexual being. Walt Disney never saw it coming. Theaterlab's Snow in the Living Room inserts sensuality and loss of innocence into its deconstruction of the classic fairy tale.

There is no mention of dwarves here, yet the number seven is referenced multiple times. Seven moving panels symbolize walls, trees, and perhaps the dwarves themselves. There are some other notable design elements, including some fairy lights wrapped in tulle and the contrast of an all white set with all black costumes (Sara Baldocchi Byrne). Unfortunately, this scenic design by Vibeke Jensen is the most interesting thing about the monodrama.

Written, directed and performed by Orietta Crispino, the play’s concept seems so original and intriguing. Described as “a visually striking and poetically sensual distillation of the classic Snow White fairy tale,” it is mostly self-indulgent musing and nonsensical meandering. Orietta and Liza Cassidy, the other actress playing the split image of the Snow White character, are lifeless, much like the girl in the glass coffin who is poisoned by an apple. Perhaps this is intentional, yes, but it feels like something is missing. Their performances lack heart, much like the poetic but meaningless dialogue, which is more like monologue, as the characters barely interact. It is like watching two mopey girls reading from their diaries.

While mostly tedious, there were some aspects of the play that were not so terrible. At times, images of different body parts are projected onto the walls: eyes, lips, ears. The sound design (David Margolin Lawson) breaks the monotony a bit. A male voiceover called Bardo (Adrian Bethea), who is supposed to represent the Tibetan Book of the Dead, attempts to pontificate about death and rebirth, something Snow White knows a thing or two about. The seductive voiceover of a creepy, leering Prince Charming (Marco Casazza) yanked me out of my fugue state enough to make my skin crawl.

Snow in the Living Room appears to be set in some kind of surreal, dream world. It is intelligent but almost too much for its own good. It is hard to keep up with the dense language and heady concept. You mostly feel like falling into the deep sleep Snow White is in.

Snow in the Living Room continues its run at Theaterlab through November 23. Written by Orietta Crispino as a poetic monodrama in Italian, and adapted and translated into English by Marco Casazza. Jensen The creative team includes Sara Baldocchi Byrne (costume design), David Margolin Lawson (sound design), Bibeke Jensen (scenic design) and Haejin Han (technical director). For more information and tickets visit https://www.theaterlabnyc.com/