October 2009: Fairy Tales on Stage

Time for some more recent and/or upcoming theatrical interpretations of fairy tales:

The Nightingale And Other Short Fables: Robert Lepage makes water music

How about this for starters: the action of the second act (The Nightingale) takes place in the orchestra pit, which has been flooded with 67 tonnes of water. You won’t, though, see bass fiddles doubling as lifeboats or violins as paddles – the orchestra and chorus will be onstage.

In the pit’s waist-deep pool, singers will manipulate puppets to tell Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale about a nightingale that stops Death from claiming the Chinese emperor.

Cinderella in spikes NEYT throws a screwball at a familiar fairy tale

NEYT presents "Cinderella at the Ballgame," a wildly comic story featuring princesses, fairy godmothers and godfathers, as well as the Boys of Summer, Mel Allen, Bleacher Bums and even the Green Monster.

Driving Cinderella with artistic license: Director Todd Robinson puts '50s spin on classic tale in opera adaptation

What do early 19th-century Italian classical music, a childhood fairy tale, over-the-top humor and references to 1950s-era America have in common? In short, Gioacchino Rossini's classic opera, "La Cenerentola" (Cinderella), as revised and performed by Opera Coeur d'Alene.

MVC Theatre presents 'The Robber Bridegroom' October 7-10 in the Eckilson-Mabee Theatre

The Missouri Valley College Department Of Theatre, Music and Dance will present "The Robber Bridegroom," a musical by Robert Waldman and Alfred Uhry, at 7:30 p.m. nightly from Oct. 7-10 in the Eckilson-Mabee Theatre on the MVC campus. A rousing, bawdy Southern fairy tale based on a Eudora Welty story, set in eighteenth century Mississippi, "The Robber Bridegroom" is the story of the courting of Rosamund, the only daughter of the richest planter in the country, by Jamie Lockhart, a rascally robber of the woods.

The Three Pigs

The three pigs are trying to make it onto America’s Barnyard Idol, but that big, bad Elvis-loving wolf has stolen their ticket to the big audition! Can they get their ticket back in time? There's lots of music and laughter in this original take on The Three Pigs – tons of fun for everyone!

Piwacket Children's Theatre Opens Season with CINDERBOTTOM

Piwacket Children's Theatre begins their 2009-2010 season with a retelling of the familiar Cinderella story, here called CinderBottom. Like all of their productions, there's a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor that makes it palatable for both children and adults, and there are a number of cute little catchy singalong type tunes interspersed as well.