Repertory’s childrens theater program marks 24th with Hansel and Gretel

Theater
Hansel and Gretel
Presented by Repertory Philippines
Aug. 13 to Dec. 15
Onstage, Greenbelt 1, Ayala Center, Makati City

AS IT MARKS its 24th year, the childrens theater program of Repertory Philippines turns to the popular Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel. Rep’s production is an adaptation of German composer Engelbert Humperdinck’s opera, and follows the story of two hungry children who are sent by their mother to the woods to find strawberries for supper, but are instead lured into a wicked witch’s gingerbread house.

Director Joy Virata, who is also the artistic director for the Theater for Young Audiences program, said the show was adapted especially for the kids, for them to enjoy the tale of Hansel and Gretel.

“I didn’t follow the opera; I mixed and matched. Each scene has a different feel so that the kids’ attention would be caught again and, every once in a while, there is audience participation,” Ms. Virata said.

As Mr. Humperdinck’s original opera is three hours long, she and her team had to remove parts, leaving the main melodies and rewriting the lyrics to make it simple, understandable, and short enough for the young audience.

“The music has to be nice and catchy. But I try to expose [the children] as much as possible to semi-classical music, as to have performances in ballet. And I wanted to be sure that there is something happening that is different so that the scenes would go on,” she said.

Actress Pinky Amador, a member of Repertory Philippines’ board of trustees, noted that for children’s theater, the show should only be about an hour and 15 minutes long because of the children’s short attention span.

During the press preview on Aug. 13, viewers familiar with the story asked why some details of the original Grimm Brothers’ fairy tale were omitted, such as the siblings having a stepmother and the trail of breadcrumbs to lead them back home.

“This is how [Mr. Humperdinck] wrote it,” the director said. “As you know, there are so many adaptations of Hansel and Gretel but I chose to adapt the opera. He doesn’t have a stepmother there, but he has a mother. And I missed the breadcrumbs but I didn’t know how to put it in.”

For this production, the stage looks like a children’s picture book and performers look like dolls.

CHARACTERS: (L-R) Joshua Nubla, Ella Gonzales, Chino Veguillas, and Cara Barredo play Hansel, Gretel, the Sandman, and the Dew Fairy respectively.

Thanks to the show’s long run and multiple performances, Ms. Virata said it was a challenge to juggle the child actors’ schedules: there are several sets of Hansels and Gretels alternating for different performances.

“[The alternates are needed] because we do a lot of shows and they can only do at least two shows at most a day,” she said. “And, believe me, they work very hard. They memorized their lines before the grown-ups did. They work very hard to entertain people and make people happy. And they love it. I don’t think they would do it if they don’t love it.”

The role of Hansel is shared between Joshua Nubla, Allen Orolfo, Mari Yapjoco, Tori Cortez and Nathan Flores, while Gretel will be portrayed by Ella Gonzales, Ashlee Factor, Michelle Cornejo, and Rayne Cortez.

Adult performers also alternate in major roles: Bituin Escalante, Carla Guevara Laforteza, Ring Antonio, and Christine Flores all play the witch, while Cara Barredo, Sweet Buchanan, and Christine Flores will alternately play the Dawn Fairy.

The role of the mother will be essayed by Natalie Everett, Ayam Eckstein, and Sweet Buchanan; the role of the father will be shared by Arnel Carrion, Hans Eckstein, Raymund Concepcion, and Raul Montesa; while the Sandman will be portrayed by Chino Veguillas, Vien Alen King, and Edu Briones.

Ms. Virata said it had been difficult to choose from the 800 six-year-olds who auditioned for the roles of Hansel and Gretel.

“I need good actors to do the role. You’d think it’s easy, but it’s not. This is how I choose the children: There is a fine line between being overacting and the truth. And in children’s theater, you have to know where that fine line comes [in],” she said. “And if you are not good, there will be critics in an instant.”

The children’s theater program has allowed Repertory Philippines to give work opportunities to excellent Filipino actors when they needed it, said Ms. Virata.

“Many of them have been working with us for a lot of years now and I’m so grateful to them because children’s theater needs excellent actors,” Ms. Virata said.

During the preview, the role of Rosina the Witch was played by veteran singer-actress Bituin Escalante who stayed in character during the Q&A after the performance. Asked by a child from the audience, “Why did the witch want to gobble children?”

“I’ll be very specific. I like gobbling naughty children who eat too many sweets [and] who don’t listen to what their parents say, because naughty children are the yummiest kind,” she said in her Witch voice. “So if you don’t want to be gobbled up by witches like me — listen to your parents.”

By working with topnotch theater artists and making sure that their productions are accessible to Filipino audiences, Repertory Philippines is able to stay in line with its mission of introducing theater to children,” said Ms. Virata.

“It’s a way for children to get into the theater habit which is developed while they are very young,” she said. — Camille Anne M. Arcilla

For tickets, call Repertory Philippines at 843-3570 or TicketWorld at 891-9999. For more information log on to www.repertoryphilippines.ph or visit Rep’s Facebook page.