Review: THE BROTHERS GRIMM at The Arctic Playhouse

The Arctic Playhouse invites the audience to revisit their most beloved short stories and fairy tales with its howlingly funny, delightfully irreverent production of ‘The Brothers Grimm,’ a modern-day retelling of more than a dozen familiar classics, including Hansel & Gretel, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and Cinderella.

Written by Don Zolidis, ‘The Brothers Grimm’ reminds us that these fables are quite gruesome and some were not originally written as they are now remembered, courtesy of a certain filmmaker and his famous mouse. Furthermore, the playwright focuses on the absurdity of each plot and sprinkles them with adult humor and smutty innuendo, while calling attention to social issues of the current day, like gender roles, family dynamics, and informed consent.

Fastidiously directed by Jeffrey Massery, this fast-paced farce features six skilled performers (Anthony J. Cox, Eileen Goretaya, Cheryl Dedora-Pynn, David Mann, Daniel J. Holmes, Rachel Bartlett) playing a multitude of eclectic, exaggerated characters, and two bickering narrators (Bailey Goff, Michelle Katherine Wylie) laden with the unenviable task of having to make sense of the interplay on stage while keeping the action moving along and interacting with the audience.

The endless stage antics make for a veritable rollercoaster ride of laughs and lunacy, as the ending of each fairy tale overlaps with the introduction of another. As the glamorous host and hostess, Goff and Wylie are painstakingly charming and adorably catty, always attempting to maintain their composure. Bartlett bristles as Red Cap (although she prefers the moniker, Little Red Riding Hood), and is equally playful as the misled Gretel and the forlorn Rapunzel.

Holmes is a hoot as the manipulative sibling and heavy-accented Hansel, as well as the Faithful Johannes, who is stalked by a talking raven. Goretaya dutifully plays the raven, and portrays Rapunzel’s negligent mother and an uncharacteristically temperamental Cinderella with hilarity and calamity. Dedora-Pynn is nothing short of bewitching as both an evil queen and enchantress.

Mann mightily personifies both the devil and the king, and a brilliant, beguiled Cox steals the show playing double, triple and quadruple duty as Cinderella, her stepmother, and two stepsisters.

The entire show plays out like pages in an actual storybook, thanks to Sandra Richard’s colorful, creative set design, and Nancy Rodrigues Spirito’s stylish costumes are spot-on.

By design, ‘The Brothers Grimm’ is a messy, chaotic work of theater that relies heavily on the versatility of its cast, so any shortcomings in the script are instantly remedied by this talented ensemble of actors. These characters may not live happily ever after, but they bring plenty of evident joy to the audience.

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