Telluride’s SAF Young People’s Theater” “Hansel & Gretel”

The Sheridan Arts Foundation's Young People's Theater in Telluride, under the direction of Jen Julia, presents its third full-length musical, performed by a cast of 27 young locals, grades 3 – 5. Performances are April 30 – May 2, 6 p.m. ( one hour with intermission).

Hansel & Gretel is a fairy tale of German origins, made famous by the Brothers Grimm. The story follows a young brother and sister, who discover a Gingerbread house filled with candy in the forest, the home of a child-eating wicked old witch. The Grimm version differs from the original in one fundamental plot twist: there was no evil stepmother. It was the children's own mother who convinced the father to abandon his offspring in the woods, a not unknown practice during crisis such as famine, war, plague, pestilence of the late Middle Ages. The change was to smooth feathers in a society not able to conceive of a mother forsaking her own babes.

Jen Julia is known for doing jigs on classical platforms: her adaptation of Hansel & Gretel incorporates other well-known storybook favorites such as the Three Little Pigs, the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Bears and a host of other woodland critters, including a gaggle of fairies. Song and dance numbers include “Together, Wherever We Go”, “It’s a Hard Knock Life”, “Blue Skies."

“Revising this classic Brothers Grimm tale into an updated script with new characters was a really enjoyable process," explained Julia. " I retained the beloved characters everyone knows – Hansel & Gretel, the Witch –  but chose to add a chorus of fairies and woodland creatures, a talking Gingerbread Man, and a Monkey escaped from the circus.  As is typical with YPT shows, this show is full of surprises.  The actors, (grades 3-5), are energized, animated, and have amazingly beautiful voices.  Audiences will be thrilled”

Tickets are available at the Sheridan Opera House Box Office (Mon-Fri/10am-4pm),
by phone at 970.728.6363, or at www.SheridanOperaHouse.com.