Review: Let Down Your Hair at Stand Up For Theatre's RAPUNZEL, A Sweet Treat Family Show

RAPUNZEL: An Original Musical for Children is written by Andrea Clayman, Alan Weitzman & Michael Kahn, with additional Music & Lyrics by Robert DeLisle, Kris Kahn, Lorelei Chapman COPYRIGHT 1981

Can we say “challenges aplenty?” I think we must, about the world in general, and Stand Up For…. Theatre’s current production, RAPUNZEL has had its own set of issues. Stepping up in the face of adversity, however, is a big part of the ethos of Stand Up For… Theatre. The venue changed, the date changed, and the cast- with less than a week before opening- changed also, and the result is fairly adorable. I recommend it.

Stand Up For… Theatre holds rehearsals at the unique DoodleHATCH Children’s Art Museum in Columbia, Maryland, and in the past, hosted shows there as well. Not this time. Intricacies of zoning and fire code evade me- suffice it to say that the museum still loves SUFT,  but can’t host public shows there anymore. Though the setting has less visual impact, the 11th hour venue change offers a more traditional theater space with comfortable raked seating, excellent sightlines, great acoustics for audience members. No food or drink is permitted in the theater, so enjoy snacks outside beforehand or at intermission.

The venue, inside the Maritime Institute, is nice, the bathrooms are nice and some really great detailed model ships are part of the building's charm. Director Ed Higgins, serving also as producer, host and follow-spot operator, has rolled with some tough circumstances to bring this lively show to local audiences. The pared-down set is functional- there are parts of DoodleHATCH which in the past have served as backdrop, furnishings and staging area for SUFT’s performances, and they are absent on this stage, which might be a lecture hall rather than a full theatrical theater with wings, fly space, proscenium frame and backstage area. Kudos to Stage Manager Kathy McCrory and the run crew, who reorganize everything to make the physical mechanics of this production work effectively in an alternate space. 

Stand Up For…. Theatre has a mission statement that is anti-bullying and pro-inclusion, and this inclusiveness is the first and foremost reason for our community to resoundingly support Stand Up For…. Theatre, their mission and their productions. It was founded 12 years ago, and the company’s Director, Ed Higgins, requests that parents use the occasion of watching the show to discuss bullying with their children. He also requests that as an audience, we laugh hard and laugh often. The audience complies. 

RAPUNZEL's cast and crew includes 4 mother and offspring pairs, plus two teams of siblings, really putting the ‘family’ into ‘family entertainment,’ which this undoubtedly is. The production includes humor to appeal at all levels- everybody from the wee burrito in arms to great grandfolk will find something to enjoy.

RAPUNZEL is billed as “a Rock & Roll Fairy Tale;” in  my opinion, Rock & Roll requires guitars, and the music that is backing the vocalists, is a recorded piano. The production has charm and cuteness; Rock & Roll, however, not so much.

Assistant Director & Costumer Lorelei Kahn does a brilliant job of making all the characters look just wonderful. The fairy tale nature of the show pretty much demands a medieval-esque setting, complete with medieval-esque clothing for the main characters and animal outfits for little tykes who are woodland wildlife. Everybody looks as if they stepped right from a storybook, and some pieces are extra fantastical. 

The characters are not deep, and sometimes not likeable. The story is not deep, and rarely surprising. Many of the songs are written in keys so high I can’t hear them, but they seem pleasant, thanks to the work of Music Director Doug Lea. There are some nice surprises in the show. Lucy Blumberg as Toni the Narrator is a delight, soaring around the stage like a fairy godmother, with a radiant smile and pleasing vocals.

An excellent surprise is Page, who is page to Prince Vainglory, Rapunzel’s love interest. Elliot Long has excellent timing and delivery, and really, the best lines in the whole script. The longer I watch him, the better I like him. Playing Bunctious Bungle, whose original request  for stolen salad drives the plot, is Jessica Long, mother to Elliot Long. She plays Bunctious as a complete brat without noticeable redeeming qualities, so it’s surprising when she and Blunder Bungle, endearingly played by Jon Clark, a first time performer with SUFT, sing about loving each other. 

Prince Vainglory, played by Gage Wright, has many comic moments. Gage has both good comedic delivery and an excellent singing voice. A particular prop he uses is absolutely inspired. Loreli Kahn as Cruella, the bad witch, leans attractively into wickedness. She clearly is relishing the role, and her singing is a treat. 

The Gardener, played with grounded sweetness by Crystal Nanes, serves the dual role of exposition and onstage child-herder. Nanes looks comfortable and natural in her scenes, and has a lovely voice. One of the plants she tends is her own daughter, Sydney Nanes, who plays an enchanted flower. She and the other enchanted flowers, played by Franchesca DeBella with excellent sneezing and Kat Rankin, whose expressive face is the picture of child-like innocence, give us the picture of the witch's wickedness. Joining Kat onstage are her sisters Kennedy, who adorably plays a squirrel and Kierstin Rankin, who is quite lovely as June, one of Rapunzel’s two companions in the tower.  Amaya Furtano‑Strode is the other companion, May, and also plays a younger version of Rapunzel.

As Young Rapunzel, Amaya Furtano‑Strode is irritatingly cloying, which is the point of that sequence. It does, however, conjure a dilemma- if the witch is unhappy with Rapunzel’s natural sweetness, why is she enraged when Rapunzel gives her sass?  I suppose you just can't win with some people, and it’s never too early to learn to avoid that type of toxicity. Choreography by Lilou Altman makes the cast look good as they move around, without straining the capabilities of the performers.

Rapunzel in the tower is played by Sophia Basso, who has a terrific voice and a very watchable face. Her struggles with her long braid are comical and her wide variety of expressions are a high point in the show. An Act II surprise in the cast is Choreographer Lilou Altman as Grinelda, a good witch, who describes her relationship with her sister with an expressive and amusing song. Her son, Revilo Altman (sometimes known as Oliver) plays Tommy the Villager, who is the impetus for Rapunzel’s imprisonment, with smooth gestures and clear vocals. He is also a member of the Woodland gang in Act II as a bear cub. The woodland creatures are plot-relevant and charming in their little outfits. I like the antics of an animal I interpret as a Fox with sunglasses, played by Lian Casal. His sister Leila Casal is also a forest creature, and has an endearing little face. Stage Manager Kathy McCrory appears as a wedding officiant. The climax of Act II has both a wedding and a battle, and is a great bit of fun. 

Again, kudos to the running crew, who were gathered and pressed into service at short notice, as well as Sound Board Operator Andrew Heisler and Light Board Operator Kathy McCrory. SUFT has a great deal to be proud of with this production. Not all of it is evident on the stage. Much of it is about teamwork, personal ethics, resourcefulness and an untiring devotion to the quality of experience for people participating in theatre for perhaps their first time. Stand Up For… Theatre is an embodiment of WHY live theatre exists, for both participants and audiences. This production of RAPUNZEL is bright as a bag of jellybeans and just as sweet, which feels like an additional bonus.

Photo, L to R: Gage Wright and Sophia Basso as Prince Vainglory and Rapunzel Bumble

Photo Credit: Lilou Altman

Running time: 1.5  hours, including intermission

Stand Up For…. Theatre’s RAPUNZEL  plays at the Maritime Institute, (MITAGS/MCC) 692 Maritime Blvd, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090 (follow signage to the theater building) March 27 at 7 PM , March 28 at 1 PM and 7 PM , March 29 at 1 PM 

Ticket prices are $14- 17 and are available online.

Parking outside the venue is plentiful and free, with a short, flat walk to the theater building. 

Final Factoid:  Rapunzel tales predating the Grimm Brothers indictate the desired plant to have been a sort of parsley, which was associated with fertility. In this 1981 musical Rapunzel story, the purloined garden varietal desired by an expectant mother is not salad, but lilies. Many of the plants commonly called lilies range from somewhat toxic to downright poisonous to creatures and humans. Most common symptoms are vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain.