McKinney Middle and YS High schools will present “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” Thursday–Sunday, Dec. 12–15. Pictured modeling the generally zany spirit of the upcoming show are, from left: Shae Peirson, Maggie Bullock, Booker Lee, Leela Cooksey and Lucy Shows-Fife. (Photo by Lauren "Chuck" Shows)
Young thespians go postmodern in ‘The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon’
- Published: December 10, 2024
All 209 of the fairy tales collected by The Brothers Grimm, presented in a little over an hour: Such is the promise of “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” the winter play presented by the young thespians of McKinney Middle and YS High schools.
The one-act play will be performed Thursday–Sunday, Dec. 12–15, at the Clifton Opera House — a change from the previously announced location at the Antioch Foundry Theater.
As in years past, the winter play features the district theater program’s up-and-coming cast and crew of seventh–10th grade artists. This winter’s pick is a comedy that takes a postmodern, meta, gently critical approach to many beloved fairy tales, including “Cinderella” and “Snow White.” As one character proclaims about fairy tale heroes’ propensity to marry quickly: “You don’t have a lot of time to be choosy when you fall in love at first sight.”
The play also pokes fun at “The Mouse” — that is, the Disney empire — for its role in repopularizing and softening many of the stories collected and published in the 19th century by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.
Based on its purported charge of introducing audiences to a bevy of stories, the show is frenetic — so much so that its ensemble cast told the News at a recent rehearsal that they’ve had to keep their pace in check.
“It’s kind of fast, but you have to work on being slower, so it’s not just like, ‘blah blah blah blah,’” eighth-grade actor Maggie Bullock said.
Two narrator characters act as guides throughout the show, stitching each successive tale together into “one giant super mega-juicy story,” as Narrator Two attests.
The rest of the cast, in shifting roles, duly acts out each scene, often providing commentary on the stories, and in some of the play’s most entertaining moments, changing them to suit more modern tastes. One scene finds Snow White and one of the Seven Dwarves switching places, and ultimately ends in a “Drag Race”-inspired runway battle.
All told, the show features more than 20 roles split among a cast of 10 — which amps up the whimsy even further.
“You have to know practically every role,” seventh-grade actor Shae Peirson said. “I was just [rehearsing] Narrator One and Audience Member, who speak at the same exact time.”
Peirson was temporarily beset with the task of two simultaneous roles because the actor who normally plays Narrator One was feeling ill off and on during rehearsal that day. Illnesses tend to run through school casts every year — knock on wood — but it helps that this show lends itself to shifting roles among the ensemble cast. In some cases, it’s required specifically.
“There’s a funny scene late in the play when one actor is playing all the roles,” Director Melissa Heston said. “In rehearsals, though, we’ve had a lot of people out sick. Everybody has been willing to jump in for each other — which is what an ensemble is.”
“The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” was chosen by this year’s eighth graders last year, when they were seventh graders in Lorrie Sparrow-Knapp’s performing arts class — a tradition Sparrow-Knapp began several years ago. The actors said they were enjoying stretching their comedy muscles for the show — or, in some cases, heightening their own personalities for the stage.
“You kind of just take how you act in school, put it in front of a lot of people — and don’t die,” Bullock said.
“I play so many ‘Oh my gosh!’ type characters,” Peirson said, affecting a high-pitched voice in demonstration. “By the end of rehearsal, my voice is just stuck that way.”
The audience, too, is invited to take part in the narrative throughout the show. Director Heston assured potential theater-goers that they’ll be prepped for their role before the curtain goes up.
“In order to make the audience more comfortable, we’ll have them rehearse one time before we do the show,” she said.
In addition to a joke-a-minute pace, Heston said audiences can expect a show that’s heavy on props and costume changes — a challenge for the small cast, but one they’ve enjoyed meeting.
“There’s a lot of logistics,” Heston said. “We’ve worked a lot on entrances and exits and handling costumes and props. It’s been a different experience every rehearsal — but it’s been fun.”
“The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” will be performed Thursday–Saturday, Dec. 12–14, at 7 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec. 15, at 2 p.m. All performances will be held at the Clifton Opera House, located at 5 S. Clay St. in Clifton. Tickets may be purchased online at https://cur8.com/15352/project/125510; they will also be available for purchase at the door.
There is limited parking available at the venue; additional parking is available at Clifton Presbyterian Church, located at 183 Jackson St. Those planning to attend evening performances are encouraged to allow ample time to arrive and park, as traffic from the annual Clifton Mill lights display may affect arrival times. Folks are encouraged to come early and enjoy concessions, proceeds from which will benefit the Theater Arts Association.
Cast: Jaxon Bittner, Maggie Bullock, Levi Clark, Paul Clark, Leela Cooksey, Booker Lee, Katlyn MacDuff, Shae Peirson, Sid Powers and Lucy Shows-Fife.
Crew: Joey Amend, Leah Cameron, Unn Creepingbear, Eli Crockett, Lila Crockett, Ram Dobson, Eliot Graves, Noah Ramirez, Ace Sadowski and Evelyn Smith.
Contact: chuck@ysnews.com
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