**** (4/5 stars-Recommended)
The Building Stage's newly retold production of Hansel und Gretel uses stylistic choices while highlighting the differences in the two known versions of the Hansel and Gretel story. Did Hansel and Gretel's step-mother send them out to look for berries for their dinner as in Engelbert Humperdinck's opera? Or did their father willfully follow his wife's plot to leave his children in the woods as was told in Grimm's fairy tale? Though these questions aren't completely answered in the 90 minute production, Blake Montgomery's stylized direction offers an eery reflection of one's memory and the blurry line between a child's imagination and reality.
Though I didn't partake in the pre show schnapps so playfully offered to me by Gretel, portrayed by the effervescent doll like Chelsea Keenan, I did enjoy a gingersnap from Hansel's "pocket" (or oversized lederhosen) which might explain my immediate connection with Hansel, portrayed by Pamela Maurer with such heart and truth that I could hardly take my eyes of of him (her). Maurer's Hansel somehow managed to capture the delightful and comedic boyishness of Hansel with ease while simultaneously honing the inner conflict of his situation with such honesty that at times I felt I could see directly into Hansel's eight year old soul. Was it something in the cookie? Or was it Maurer's witty comedic creation that at one point turns Hansel into a stand up comedian telling fat jokes? Or was it Hansel's ridiculous and outrageously funny costume and wig designed by Mieka van der Ploeg complete with pink tube socks and one stray section of hair? Regardless, something about Maurer's performance had me believing everything Hansel said. So you can imagine my surprise when I found out 1/3 of the way into the performance that everything I'd seen until that point was all in Gretel's imagination (or was it?) either way...Hansel said it so I believed it.
Stylistically this heavily movement based production echoed strong Lecoq inspired physicality similar to that of the once celebrated Minneapolis based Theatre de la Jeune Lune. From the whimsical costumes to the clown like faces to the gestural movements, the audience was instantly transported to a heightened reality. Everything was so grand and big that in the rare moments when these theatrical devises were stripped away I found myself thinking I knew the absolute truth. But just as soon as I thought I had it figured out, the over the top curtsies and skipping snapped back in, blurring fact from imagination once again.
Overall I found myself enjoying nearly every moment of the over emphasized and somewhat sloppy German accents, the eery and foreboding piano created and performed by Matthew Muniz, the evil snaggle toothed Stepmother/Witch played skillfully by Jenny Lamb and the regretfully bewildered father played by Ian Knox. I know whose story I walked away believing...which story will you believe? The answer may lie in a gingersnap...or a shot of schnapps. Choose carefully.
The Building Stage's newly retold production of Hansel und Gretel uses stylistic choices while highlighting the differences in the two known versions of the Hansel and Gretel story. Did Hansel and Gretel's step-mother send them out to look for berries for their dinner as in Engelbert Humperdinck's opera? Or did their father willfully follow his wife's plot to leave his children in the woods as was told in Grimm's fairy tale? Though these questions aren't completely answered in the 90 minute production, Blake Montgomery's stylized direction offers an eery reflection of one's memory and the blurry line between a child's imagination and reality.
Though I didn't partake in the pre show schnapps so playfully offered to me by Gretel, portrayed by the effervescent doll like Chelsea Keenan, I did enjoy a gingersnap from Hansel's "pocket" (or oversized lederhosen) which might explain my immediate connection with Hansel, portrayed by Pamela Maurer with such heart and truth that I could hardly take my eyes of of him (her). Maurer's Hansel somehow managed to capture the delightful and comedic boyishness of Hansel with ease while simultaneously honing the inner conflict of his situation with such honesty that at times I felt I could see directly into Hansel's eight year old soul. Was it something in the cookie? Or was it Maurer's witty comedic creation that at one point turns Hansel into a stand up comedian telling fat jokes? Or was it Hansel's ridiculous and outrageously funny costume and wig designed by Mieka van der Ploeg complete with pink tube socks and one stray section of hair? Regardless, something about Maurer's performance had me believing everything Hansel said. So you can imagine my surprise when I found out 1/3 of the way into the performance that everything I'd seen until that point was all in Gretel's imagination (or was it?) either way...Hansel said it so I believed it.
Stylistically this heavily movement based production echoed strong Lecoq inspired physicality similar to that of the once celebrated Minneapolis based Theatre de la Jeune Lune. From the whimsical costumes to the clown like faces to the gestural movements, the audience was instantly transported to a heightened reality. Everything was so grand and big that in the rare moments when these theatrical devises were stripped away I found myself thinking I knew the absolute truth. But just as soon as I thought I had it figured out, the over the top curtsies and skipping snapped back in, blurring fact from imagination once again.
Overall I found myself enjoying nearly every moment of the over emphasized and somewhat sloppy German accents, the eery and foreboding piano created and performed by Matthew Muniz, the evil snaggle toothed Stepmother/Witch played skillfully by Jenny Lamb and the regretfully bewildered father played by Ian Knox. I know whose story I walked away believing...which story will you believe? The answer may lie in a gingersnap...or a shot of schnapps. Choose carefully.
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| Chelsea Keenan (as Gretel), Pamela Maurer (as Hansel) and Ian Knox (as Father) |
