Lincolnshire library hosts 'Fractured Fairy Tales'

Karey Burton of Naperville performs the roles of a chicken, a cow, a rabbit and a clothing designer — all in an hour.

Burton is one of eight members of GreatWorks Touring Theatre Company that performed six short children's stories Friday at the Vernon Area Public Library in Lincolnshire.

More than 200 children attended the family spring break program called “Fractured Fairy Tales,” said Laurel Shapiro, the library's youth service program and events coordinator.

Programs by the company have multiple layers of humor and meaning written into them, so everyone watching — children and adults alike — get something unique and personal out of the productions, according to the company's website.

“We add humorist lines and slang to the fairy tales,” Burton said.

The performers wear simple, limited costumes such as just a hat or mask to invoke the audience's imagination.

“It makes the performance more personal,” Burton said.

The company performed shorts skits of well-known fairy tales, including “Jack in the Beanstalk,” “The Emperor's New Clothes,” “Henny Penny” and “The Tortoise and the Hare.”

Burton, who has been with the touring company for six-years, said they perform 20 to 50 shows a month at area libraries, schools, and theaters.

Burton's cousin, Elaina Burton, 3, also of Naperville, rushed to the stage area and gave her actress-aunt a big hug after the program. The library's next children's performance is an Earth Day concert April 6 at 11 a.m.