SNOWDERELLA run dates: 6/17/2008 - 7/5/2008 Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, Rock Island, Illinois ____________________________________________________________________________
The inspiration for SNOWDERELLA – an onstage mishap that mixes up the pages of a giant book of fairy tales – is a pretty good one, with plenty of potential for laughs.
The resulting production does offer laughs, but its truncated reality doesn’t offer nearly enough. Once the zany preliminaries – which are somewhat like the chase at the end of Genesius Guild’s summer comedy – are done, the "Baby Bear Players" have intend to present all of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales, complete with storybook narration. A group of child(like?) actors is putting this show on (I think in someone’s living room), and they have 30 minutes to get it done.
And we’re not talking a stage 30 minutes, either, but an actual 30 minutes – which dictates that the production we are seeing is about that long, too.
This means that just as you are settling in to enjoy the antics of the performers, the cast is lining up for a curtain call. Even for a kids show, this is amazingly short (and I heard one surprised adult leaving the theater remarking, "And I drove 30 minutes just to get here…"), so be forewarned that if you blink you’ll miss this (not credited to any playwright) comic effort.
That’s not to say that the teensy bit of show we get to see isn’t any good – in fact, I thought it was quite enjoyable. (Perhaps I laughed more than most of the rest of the audience, but it was pretty funny.) Many of the jokes – though certainly squeaky clean – aren’t really aimed at preschoolers or early elementary school-age kids. Some references depend on a certain literary knowledge, too, but SNOWDERELLA still has sight gags for everyone else.
"Actors" Jerry (Brad Hauskins) and Harry (Tristan Layne Tapscott) want to have a swordfight – their favorite fairy tale is apparently "Peter Pan" – and play pirate, and this repeated gag is the source of much amusement. Both Hauskins and Tapscott make great kids, and their sheer delight at everything is infectious. These two give their characters particularly adorable dance moves, which make their enthusiastic dancing the absolute best part of the show. Additionally, Tapscott’s brief recitation of what makes a story a fairy tale – which is Harry’s impromptu defense of both "Peter Pan" and "Star Wars" as belonging in the canon – is a complete hoot.
Janos Horvath is also cute as Larry, and he gets into Larry’s roles with plenty of gusto. The women in the cast (Hannah Solchenberger, Liz J. Millea and Andrea Moore) have a bit less to do, but they also turn in distinct character work. Solchenberger’s Mary is the wet blanket of the group, Millea’s Sherry is the one who expects to play all the fair maidens, and Moore’s Terri (complete with gigantic glasses) is the bookish wit. All these performers play the kids – who, no, you did not imagine it, have two sets of three rhyming names – with a naturalism that works well.
The "big musical number at the end" has some kids-trying-to-be-cool-teens moves that are a riot, and director-choreographer Kimberly Furness uses dancing as a major part of the comedy in this – literally – little show. I’d have loved to see this snippet of comedy – which has promise for so much more – turned into a full-fledged play and performed with the same energy and genial sense of humor as the production now playing.
The crowd with an attention span this short is not the same as the one likely to enjoy its brief humor the most, but if this mini-SNOWDERELLA sounds like something you’d like to pause a moment to see, then by all means make plans to do just that.
SNOWDERELLA, which plays through July 5 at Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse, is very funny and cool. It has fairy tales– tons of fairytales – mixed up together in it.
The characters (Mary, Sherri, Terri, Jerry, Larry and Harry) are kids who are funny and great. The parts are played by Hannah Solchenberger, Liz J. Millea, Andrea Moore, Brad Hauskins, Janos Horvath and Tristan Layne Tapscott, who all work at the theater. Everyone I saw – including at my table – was laughing and enjoying the play at its very first performance. All of the people were smiling at how silly everything is.
You may think this play is just about SNOW WHITE and CINDERELLA– based on the title. Well, you are wrong, people. It is about a lot of fairy tales mixed up together. If you really want to find out about it, go and watch SNOWDERELLA at the theater. You will probably laugh, and then you will know what it’s about.
Circa makes the whole time fun for kids. When you come in, there is a food and drink stand in the lobby where you can get treats. There are no seats like in movie theaters – there are tables and some comfortable seats. When it gets dark during the play, they even warn you to look out for the tricky steps (there are lights on every step). On the way out, you can get autographs from the actors or even take your picture with them.
If you come to Circa ’21 to see SNOWDERELLA, you will have a great time. Also, coming in 2009 (and I want to be here to see them) are JUNIE B. JONES & A LITTLE MONKEY BUSINESS and PINKALICOUS, a musical.
I bet these are going to be great – just like SNOWDERELLA.
Alyvia R., our visiting junior apprentice critic, is eight years old and will be a fourth grader in the fall of 2008. She lives in Iowa and Texas, and is Ruby Nancy’s niece. She currently is writing in several personal journals and spends lots of time every summer with her family. Alyvia also enjoys reading and visiting the library, and – though she has no professional stage credits at this point – is often engaged in interesting and animated conversations that prove quite dramatic.
Alyvia R., our visiting junior apprentice critic, is eight years old and will be a fourth grader in the fall of 2008. She lives in Iowa and Texas, and is Ruby Nancy’s niece. She currently is writing in several personal journals and spends lots of time every summer with her family. Alyvia also enjoys reading and visiting the library, and – though she has no professional stage credits at this point – is often engaged in interesting and animated conversations that prove quite dramatic. 
