Religious jokes. Feminist interpretations and Freudian psychology. Peer pressure. Questionable parenting skills. Soul-selling. Birds that pick lentils out of fireplaces. Friend-zoned frogs. Valium. The Hood.
The production of The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon included this entire eclectic mix of topics (and much more) in their absolutely spectacular production. They found and maintained that golden balance between edgy and conventional to deliver a kind of timeless humor that captivated everyone in the audience.
In the production’s premise, the cast members play members of an acting troupe that has decided to perform all the Brothers Grimm stories together as one big story, and to tell the stories just as the Brothers Grimm wrote them, untainted by the “octopus” empire of Walt Disney. There’s just one twist: the troupe, which thinks itself amazing, is actually utterly dysfunctional, causing the direct retelling to become more of a wild modern interpretation.
The production featured riffs on classic stories, such as “Cinderella,” “Sleeping Beauty,” “Snow White,” “Rapunzel,” “Hansel (or “Hamsel”, if you happen to be a cannibalistic witch living in a candy house) and Gretel,” “The Frog and the Princess,” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” It also featured more obscure ones that provide back stories on characters, such as “The Devil’s Grandmother,” “Lean Lisa and Long Lawrence,” and “The Fisherman and the Fish;” there were even a few that may or may not have been made up, like “The Crab People.”
When asked about it afterwards, Matt Hansen ‘14 states, “It was cool seeing friends and I liked that they were stories I knew; I didn’t realize they could be interpreted in that way.”
There was never a dull moment for the audience. From the very first scene of the play, the narrators (Samuel Cline and Caroline Carr) delighted the audience with their extreme enthusiasm. Even the young children, who are quite possibly the most terrifying critics of all, were already laughing at their antics. Every single act after that was overflowing with energy and charm as well. Each actor melded into his or her role seamlessly; their moments of over-acting and “breaks” in character, done to depict the terrible acting abilities of the acting troupe, made the audience’s sides ache from laughter.
If somehow the cast’s sheer acting ability didn’t draw you in, the modern references had you hook, line and sinker. Feminism was a consistent theme, emphasized by Jess Burchett’s character, the “emancipated princess” Snow White, and in Morgan Hill’s character, the evil enchantress, who gave a feminist interpretation of her motivation behind locking up Rapunzel. Other edgier references included Hansel’s admission to doing drugs (followed by a nice lesson from Gretel about how to say no to peer pressure), cross-dressing, and a reminder about the legal age of consent. These references were just as well-received, if not more so. Post-performance, many children and teenagers cited the Cinderella scene, in which Anthony Ballaro played all three of Cinderella’s stepsisters, as their favorite.
“I liked the edginess,” comments Kaitlyn Van Baalen ’18. “It made it interesting.”
Lizzie Lofredo ‘16 agrees: “I thought it was original, and more funny and relevant.”
Students weren’t the only ones to think so; the parents of Jack Abbiatici, who played the prince and father of Rapunzel, commented that the production was “a perfect combination of goofy and young adult humor.”
It wasn’t just the actors who garnered the audience’s attention; credit is also due to the crew members. The Spectaculathon was wrought with ingenious prop pieces, ironic music, clever lighting effects, and gorgeous costumes. Given that bringing real horses into school is a generally frowned upon practice that invites lawsuits, coconut halves were hit together to mimic the sound of hoof beats. The candy house of the witch in Hansel and Gretel really did look good enough to eat. And anyone who claims that they weren’t laughing when Queen’s “Bicycle Race” heralded Jack Abbiatici every time he entered the stage on a scooter is a liar.
The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon had something for the young as well as the old. Its comedic, relevant, and fearlessly avant-garde interpretation was a refreshing take on the classic Brothers Grimm stories and their Walt Disney counterpart versions, and the talent and energy of everyone involved in its production breathed into it a vibrant life that delighted everyone who watched.