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The Ardmore Little Theater put on the production of Brothers Grimm Speculation. Tom Stewart
Friday September 15, 2023, would have been a regular Friday night in the Historical Downtown Ardmore Murray Event Center but Ardmore Little Theatre sure changed that with their performance of Brothers Grimm Speculation. The production was written by Don Zolidis and directed by Monica Stolfa. Not only did they break a normal routine on a Friday, but they brought the house down and warranted a standing ovation.
The program stated that “The Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm are turned on their heads in this fast paced, rollicking ride as two narrators and several actors attempt to combine all 209 stories ranging from classics like Snow White, Cinderella, and Hansel and Gretel to more obscure stories like The DevilsGrandmotherandThe Girl Without Hands”, and this was exactly what ALT delivered. The show was as exciting as a roller coaster ride and included crowd participation for animation and direct questions.
The crowd was also asked to do group sound effects. A few actors were staged in the crowd as regular spectators but really shined at some precise moments leading the crowd to believe that regular folks were moved to the point of participation.
The props where right on cue and really brought to life the imaginary stories that we have read and been told for centuries. As the show went on, the inclusion of all the Brothers Grimm stories slowly became evident and as real as one could imagine.
A glance around the room revealed folks literally on the edge of their seats applauding and laughing. The attendance included a range of age groups and our party included grandson, daughter and her boyfriend whom all were laughing, clapping and hollering at the spectacular performance.
It only took a minute to jolt the crowd’s memory of such heartfelt and familiar stories that were played out in the production. The cast and crew performed an amazing, personalized version of the inclusion of so many childhood stories.
The performance steadily escalated and toward the end a mysterious sickness left the stage to one actor who had to play the rolls of every character in the skit. At first, this seemedlikepuredoomforthe play. However, it turned out to be the highlight of the show as Carson Timmons played the birds, Cinderella, her stepsisters and stepmother.
The actor changed outfits on stage as fast as he changed his voice and each character had a different colored wigs and kept them flying. As the spectacle went on, the narrator kept adding another character for him to play and it seemed each one got better and better.
As if the challenge of multiple characters was not enough, the crowd was roaring and some in tears. One would think that all the action from the crowd would distract the actor, however, it seemedtofuelhisspectacular talent and performance as he sang louder, changed clothes faster and sang with a level of glee that could not be written on a page.