New World Rep breaks mold for holiday show
Lots of theaters stage holiday shows. But most are variations on familiar stories. And then there's the Downer's Grove-based World Repertory Theatre. They're doing a holiday show called "Princess Donkey-Head, A Christmas Tale."
"Princess Donkey-Head"?
"Yes," director Alison Henderson said with a laugh, apparently amused by the title. "It's based on a Scottish folk tale, Kate Krackernuts. It's about two princesses who go on a magical journey in search of beauty."
Despite its fairy tale/children's theater title, the show is meant for the whole family.
"I read the story a year and a half ago," Henderson said, "when we were looking for shows for the family reading series. We were frankly looking for something new to adapt. Something that wasn't too well-known.
"The original story has all of the classic elements in it like other fairy tales that we are familiar with," she said. "The evil step mother, the fairy queen. There is a witch. But they are used in a way that makes the story very different."
Henderson sent out a general e-mail to potential playwrights and then settled on Evanston-based playwright M. E. H. Lewis.
"This is New World Rep's first commission," she said, "and I wanted to work with someone in town, or at least close by."
Henderson commissioned her to adapt it into a play. In October of last year they got together and started collaborating on the adaptation.
The work went smoothly, although there were some major rewrites after a series of readings around the table, with members of the company playing the parts.
"There were some things we had to work out," Henderson said. "But from the first draft, there were parts that the actors loved."
Ultimately, things went well. So well, in fact, that the folks at New World decided to bump it up from the family reading series to the main stage. The only thing was that the only slot open was the holiday slot.
"We looked at the material and realized we could easily turn it into a holiday show," Henderson says. "The show is all about a series of spells that have to be broken. We just changed the time they had to be broken to 12 o'clock on Christmas Eve. And we decided to use holiday music in fairyland. It is not a religious story, but it has a good message.
"The story isn't just for kids," she said.
It is after all, being performed in the evening in prime time.
"It has a 'Shrek'-like quality to it," she said. "It's quirky and fun."