Farcical production brings lightness and humor to classics
This is a not-so-grim version of the Brothers Grimm’s 18th century folk and fairy tales.
All 209 of them. In 140 minutes.
“It’s more like Monty Python meets the Brothers Grimm,” said Mike Bartram, co-director of “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” a “pretty farcical” production by his Changing Faces Theater Company that opens tonight at Jessie’s Grove Winery in Lodi.
With: “The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Twisted Fairytales”
When: 6:30 p.m. today-Sat; July 15-17
Where: Jessie’s Grove Winery, 1973 W. Turner Road, Lodi
Admission: $20 to $35
Information: (209) 327-2754
“A lot of stories ended in horrendous ways,” Bartram, a father of two, said of the familiar tales parents have been reading – so innocently – to children for 200 years. “You know, with people getting beheaded and stuff.
“Wow. Did we keep all the gruesome endings? Of course not. It’s appropriate for all audiences. It’s kind of cheesy adult humor and it’s fun for the kids.”
Cinderella, Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, Rapunzel, Little Red Riding Hood, the witch, the wolf and other Grimm characters have become part of pop culture.
In the age of film and TV, though, not everyone is aware of their original source: the appropriately named Jacob (1785-1863) and Wilhelm (1786-1859) Grimm, the Hanau, Germany, siblings who published their first book of collected tales in 1812. All 209 are invoked as part of a running “Spectaculathon” theme.
“I really didn’t know (the stories) as the Brothers Grimm,” said Natalie Willis, 18, a Lincoln High School graduate and Delta College student who dances and portrays Cinderella’s Prince Charming. “I love being over-the-top and being really physical and crazy. I like roles where I really can be ugly. The more not like myself a role is, the more I like doing it.”
She’s not the only one.
“The kids are really enjoying it,” Bartram, 45, said of his 50-person cast. “It seems pretty accessible. It’s obviously lighthearted and comical. They’re finding their real selves and going with stuff that’s completely absurd.
“It’s pushing them a little as actors and the audience participation is breaking down that ‘fourth wall.’ “
Audience members are asked to shout, chant and add vocal effects when prompted by the play’s narrator.
Fittingly, the costuming accentuates the zaniness, including life-size, red patent-leather crabs, huge fish made of foam rubber and a “very funny girl with no hands,” said Lodi’s Billy DeHerrera, 44, who handcrafted the 100 outfits – with sewing assistance from some parents.
“The biggest challenge was with myself,” said DeHerrera, who has worked on three Bartram productions, including last summer’s version of “Alice in Wonderland.” “I like to make almost every garment from scratch.”
DeHerrera, who is legally blind (retinitis pigmentosa), and a friend drove to Los Angeles’ garment district and brought back a literal truckload of affordable fabrics – 100-yard rolls of velvet, satin and sequin cloth, fur collars and other material.
“I’m a big movie buff,” said the native of Lafayette, who owns Uniformity in Lodi, where his mother runs a nearby quilt-fabric store. “I love cartoons. I have a photographic memory for styles.
“When every parent comes up and thanks me and the kids have smiles on their faces, that just makes me so happy.”
If it’s a Bartram production, pop music plays a big role, too.
This time, it’s a mix tape of tunes by Peter Gabriel, Gloria Gaynor, Aqua, the B-52s, Smash Mouth, Britney Spears and others.
Crafted by Dallas-based Don Zolidis in 2007, what Bartram called a “not really laugh-out-loud” script is dotted with references to BlackBerrys and cell phones and other hip humor.
“People get to be really surprised,” said Willis, who’ll dance to the music and wrote and directed a summer children’s pre-show for Bartram’s company in 2008. “It starts from the first line all the way through. It’s so crazy. You wonder, ‘How do people come up with those lines?’
“Like, Rapunzel is in her tower, but she has no cellphone service.”
Willis has no problem with being directed by her sister, Sabrina, 22, a University of the Pacific student who’s assisting Bartram again.
“I like it, because she’s not afraid to push me,” said Natalie Willis, who wants to write and act after finishing school. “It can be hard sometimes. She’s really professional. I probably just stand out more to her.”
Like Willis, many people associate Brothers Grimm characters with Walt Disney Co. films, publications and merchandise.
“It’s a running joke in the play,” Bartram said. “Disney can’t be mentioned. That’s the mouse. And the mouse will squash us.”
No doubt, those grim German brothers would have provided a much more grisly fate.
Contact reporter Tony Sauro at (209) 546-8267 or tsauro@recordnet.com. Visit his blog at recordnet.com/lensblog.
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<a href="http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100708/A_ENTERTAIN/7080302/-1/a_entertaintag:news.google.com,2005:cluster=http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100708/A_ENTERTAIN/7080302/-1/a_entertainThu, 08 Jul 2010 07:11:39 GMT 00:00″>Less than grim fairy tales