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The scripts presented were based on authentic Grimm stories, but
were generally selected from their more obscure tales not necessarily
exposed to American audience.
All with live musical accompaniment composed and conducted by
Brenda Varda. Co-produced by Stephanie Bell.
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The production:
Developed, co-written & produced for the Sacred Fools
Theatre by George Larkin, the play was a Backstage West
Critic’s Pick, received a Backstage West honorable
mention Garland for an actor, and four L.A. Weekly Award
nominations (for writing, acting, and directing), winning
two!
We also took the family friendly part of the show and put
on free shows for families in the theatre’s area –
Rampart. We sent out bilingual people into the area with
a Spanish and English flier to get them to come. We had
overflow groups of families show up, with many seeing their
first play. The show was a featured part of A.S.K.’s
Children’s theatre week.
Right: Bruno Oliver, one of the show’s 2 winners
of L.A. Weekly Awards for Best Actor in a one-act.
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The reviews:
BACKSTAGE WEST (CRITIC'S PICK!): (Angela Phipps Towle)
Sure, we all know the stories of Hansel and Gretel and Cinderella,
but what about Godfather Death and The Jew Among the Thorns? The
stories in Grimm! are not sanitized Disney versions of well-trodden
fairy tales. They are nine delightful, obscure, at times funny,
at times disturbing, original Grimms' tales, unearthed from the
archives of the German brothers' writings and richly adapted to
the stage by the Sacred Fools Theater Company.
What I must applaud most about the play (although there were
many wonderful performances, lyrical writing, and lively choreography)
is the original music. I was struck by how much the scoring, performed
by an orchestra of six, enhanced the performances and the overall
feeling of the play. Brenda Varda's original compositions add
dramatic tension, playful comedic tones, and a counterpoint to
the action.
I loved the use of the cello, for example, in The Old Man and
His Grandson, in which it accentuates the movements of the old
man's unsteady hand. Varda also adapted A Thing Called Moon, a
beautiful tale about four travelers who steal the moon. It is
the only tale that is sung (with a lovely lead vocal by Atim Udoffia).
A light-hearted first act brings us the humorous story of a rich
brother and a poor brother whose fates turn on the comings and
goings of a giant turnip (Tara-Beth Conolly). I also enjoyed The
Cat and Mouse in Partnership, with Kirstin Burbank as the sexy
but gullible mouse and Bil Garrity as the naughty kitty. John
Wuchte was also a delight as the Flounder (aka an enchanted prince)
in The Fisherman and His Wife.
The tone of the second half is decidedly more serious, with the
first piece, The Jew Among the Thorns, reminding us that the Grimms'
tales are not always politically correct and can indeed be shocking
to a modern audience. Written by Haynes Brooke, directed by Ben
Davis, and choreographed by Brian Frette, the finale, Godfather
Death, has the largest cast and the highest production value,
and it is suitably enchanting and spooky.
The charm in this production of lesser-known Grimms' fairy tales
has not only to do with a talented ensemble cast and, as I mentioned,
wonderful musical accompaniment, but with stories that are inherently
alluring and captivating.
LA WEEKLY: (Luis Reyes)
The Sacred Fools company scores points just for mounting a show
in which 10 different directors and writers take dramaturgical
risks — whether it be working with a story bereft of any
clear ending (and for that matter, moral) or taking more traditionally
structured stories into new terrain. But aside from the project’s
novelty, the playlets also work well.
“The Cat & Mouse in Partnership” is a tale of
two rivals learning to live with each other, which director Jessica
Schroeder and adapter Joshua Rebell turn into a blues-scored commentary
on modern relationships. “A Thing Called Moon,” about
a group of travelers stealing Luna, is told through a performance
dance piece adapted into song by Brenda Varda and directed by
Mark T.J. Lifrieri.
Ben Davis stages the evening’s intoxicating, supernatural
closer, “Godfather Death” — adapted by Haynes
Brooke and creatively staged. John Rosenfeld as Death keeps the
piece grounded with his compassionate portrayal of the Reaper.
The evening engages, aided by live music composed and directed
by Varda.
ACTORSITE: (Kevin Delaney)
Way back in the 18th century, long before the invention of the
"happy ending," brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected
folk tales for children that often doubled as lessons in morality
-- with dark themes that can seem startling to a modern audience.
Snow White and Cinderella can thank the Grimms for making them
household names, but the prolific brothers also published a number
of tales which the hand of time has not been as kind to. Nine
of those lesser-known stories have been adapted for the stage
for the Sacred Fools' Grimm!
The evening begins with a spoken/sung introduction by keyboardist
Brenda Varda, whose small orchestra provides wonderful accompaniment
throughout the show. (Varda also composed all of the program's
music.)
"The Fisherman and His Wife" is the first of the stories,
with a hysterically funny John Wuchte as an enchanted flounder
who can grant wishes, and Jihad Harik as a fisherman whose wife
just can't get enough of the fish's magic.
In "The Willful Child," the versatile Bruno Oliver
makes the first of several appearances, here as the somber narrator
of a tale in which a little girl (Laura Esposito) dies and is
buried -- only to have her arm keep reaching up through the ground.
Her mother (Tara-Beth Conolly) provides the surprisingly simple
solution: Whack it off with a stick. The playlet makes clear that
not all of the Grimm's stories have a clear "moral"
attached to them (a criticism leveled against them when they were
first published).
"The Cat and Mouse in Partnership" is a clever adaptation
of a tale in which a feline and rodent (Bil Garrity and Kirstin
Burbank) scheme a way to store away some food -- but the cat gets
hungry and decides to dip into the supply. The cat and mouse are
portrayed as a young cohabitating couple, dealing with issues
of trust. Garrity's cat-like movements are particularly amusing.
The short & sweet "The Old Man and His Grandson,"
is the only story I was previously familiar with. Author Erik
Atwell's twist at the end defines the term "comedy."
"The Turnip" is an epic of sorts, in which Mikhail Blokh
is a poor man who grows an extraordinary vegetable -- and receives
a great reward from the king (Jihad Harik). The extraordinary
Bruno Oliver is his rich brother who hatches a plan to get even.
Blokh returns in "The Jew Among the Thorns" as a man
who discovers an enchanted creature (Laura Esposito) who gives
him a violin with magical powers. As the title implies, the piece
is ultra-un-P.C., but it's an example of the kinds of prejudices
that were prevalent in less enlightened times.
"A Thing Called Moon" is a beautiful musical/dance
piece written by Brenda Varda, about stealing the moon. The bizarre
"Tales About Toads" has Erynn Dalton as a little girl
and Laura Esposito performing a charmingly funny toad puppet who's
trying to get her to eat... or... something like that. Perhaps
something has been lost in the translation (or maybe LSD has been
around a lot longer than previously thought), but it's still funny
even if it doesn't make much sense.
"Godfather Death" is the ominous closer, in which John
Williams plays a father who is looking for a godfather for his
newborn son. He encounters God and the Devil, but decides on Death
(a positively creepy John Rosenfeld). I'm not sure which is more
disturbing: Rosenfeld's portrayal of the Grim Reaper, or the fact
that this ultra-macabre story comes from a collection titled Nursery
and Household Tales. The Fools have done it again. Check it out
-- and maybe have a nightlight ready for sleeping afterward.
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