We saw the Rochester Civic Theater production of "Snow White" on Friday night. Though not at all the style we expected, this version, written by Glasgow Koste, was quite entertaining. In this version, the villain, the evil vain Queen, has a split personality -- literally. Much of the dialog takes place between the Queen and Herself, played by two actresses. Their dialog is quick & sharp, sometimes rhymes, and is always clever. This is not a simple script, with allusions and words that would fly past children, but the kids in the audience seemed as taken by the performances as we were, a testament to the acting, and the direction.
This play's enjoyable version of the seven dwarfs draws from the dwarf involvement in many of the legends of old, particularly in Norse mythology. Still, as in other versions of Snow White, the most accessible comedy involves these seven "brothers" but they are also thought-provoking, as they encounter a child for the first time in their long lives.
Having studied fantastic literature earlier this year, I was reminded of the purposes of "fairy tales" by the ever-present voice of Snow White's mother, speaking to the young girl, and then the young woman, as she encountered her well-known difficulties and temptations. And the themes of aged power attempting to cling to youth by destroying the young, and of youth passing through perils into sexual maturity, though hidden carefully in the Disney version, were only lightly covered in Koste's script.
We have had season tickets to the Rochester Civic Theater for years, and we are quite forgiving of uneven performances, knowing that the acting talent is almost all volunteer. There has been no need for such forgiveness recently, however. And certainly the cast of Snow White was all up to the script and the atmosphere. The set was beautiful again, and the stationary design allowed for a smooth flow from one scene to another. It also put the wicked Queen and Herself one one side, the protecting Mother-spirit on the other, and Snow White's trials directly in between. Everything worked to tell a familiar story in a very new and entertaining way.
1 comment:
While I can't remember the name of the farce we saw at Rochester Civic a few years ago, I enjoyed it greatly. The acting was fine and servicable, certainly the equivalent of a good college drama program, but the set was magnificent.
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