Some of literature’s best-known fairy tales get a comedic makeover in the NoneSuch Playmakers’ latest production, “Nearly Grimm Tales.”
The two-act play, written and directed by NoneSuch co-founder Brack Llewellyn, takes some of the Brothers Grimm’s most famous stories and turns them upside down—all for laughs.
“As you know, the actual Grimm’s fairy tales are pretty graphic, and often dark,” said Llewellyn. “Our take on them is much lighter. Silly, even.”
Llewellyn’s script drops familiar characters into farcical situations.
“Our Red Riding Hood is saddled with a chain-smoking wolf,” he related. “Jack’s mother is an axe-wielding, greedy grouch. Our Hansel and Gretel are holy terrors. The local handsome prince is clueless. Our Bremen Town Musicians are trying to become a rock band. Snow White, Sleeping Beauty and an eighth dwarf named Ornery are on a trek to participate in an equal rights rally for fairy tale princesses. And that’s just Act I.”
Llewellyn said that the focus of “Nearly Grimm Tales” is just having some fun with broad parodies of the fairy tales so many people grew up with.
“We’ve got bad puns, double takes, one-liners, double entendres, pratfalls and sight gags. We address the audience directly. There are constant reminders that you’re watching a play. It’s all very tongue-in-cheek and over-the-top. This show isn’t going to move the artistic needle much. It’s just good, goofy fun.”
The playwright does have one important admonition for audience members. “Nearly Grimm Tales” is not suitable for children.
“Just because we’re dealing with fairy tale characters doesn’t mean it’s a kids’ show,” Llewellyn said. “We have quite a bit of adult content and some language. It’s intended for mature audiences.”
With a cast of 21, “Nearly Grimm Tales” is one of NoneSuch’s more ambitious productions. The cast includes Leslie Watts as the Narrator; Ava Chrismon as Jack’s Mother; Alyssa Mitchem as Red Riding Hood; Susan Lawrence as Krasna the Wolf; Rowan Bunton as Jack; Chris Powell as Prince Sebastian Steadfast; Billie Smith as Snow White; Angela Bryant as Sleeping Beauty; Roy Flinchum as Ornery the Dwarf; Real-life siblings Jonas and Kezia Bryant as Hansel and Gretel; Bristol Mitchem as the witch Gingerbread Hag; Toby Bunton, Lily Thomas, Timothy Carpenter and Nataly Avalos as the Bremen Town Musicians; Madison Mallory and Brian Greene as Queen Scarlett and King Tim; Noel Bryant as their faithful Page; Dawn Easter as Laverne the Witch; and Cole Gentry as the voice of the Giant.
Performances of “Nearly Grimm Tales” are Friday, May 17, and Saturday, May 18, at 7 p.m., and Sunday May 19 at 2 p.m. All performances will be held at the Playmakers’ new venue in the YVEDDI Resource Center, 401 Technology Lane, in Mount Airy, across Riverside Drive from Millennium Charter Academy. Admission is by donation only, with proceeds benefitting the YVEDDI Surry Senior Center and the newly-established Angela H. Llewellyn Foundation scholarship fund.
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