Hansel and Gretel: An Appalachian Musical Retelling at NC Stage Co.
By the time you read this, it’ll be too late to see Be Young. A Theatre Collective’s Hansel and Gretel: An Appalachian Musical Retelling at NC Stage Co. And that’s too bad because the two-night, too-short run of this locally written, locally produced play is an excellent specimen of a home-grown and engaging piece of theater with a tone that is right in Asheville’s wheelhouse.
In Hansel and Gretel, writer, actor, and musician Ben Mackel has crafted a Depression-era Appalachian take on the Brothers Grimm’s tale of wayward woods-bound youngsters that’s a solid accomplishment in both its storytelling and its musical vivacity.
Mackel wrote the script and score some six years ago as a commission on behalf of a theater in Florida, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, that production never came to light. In the ensuing years, he envisioned a local live reading of the story, but, he says, everyone he approached to participate encouraged him to produce it onstage. And thus was born Be Young. Enter some backing through an ArtsAVL grant, some local sponsorships, and a bit of crowd sourced funding, and Hansel and Gretel found its way home to the NC Stage Co.
On the eve of June 12, the night of its premiere, the lobby at NC Stage was buzzing with local theater hounds and a healthy host of local songwriters as well. The latter should come as little surprise, not only because Mackel is a performing musician, but also because song is wound throughout Hansel and Gretel. With the exception of only a couple of numbers, the action does not stop for musical performances. Instead, the songs are braided into the dialog, playfully ducking in and out to provide backstories, banter, internal motivations, and advancing the storytelling itself. Mackel has done exceptional work at creating a musical treatment that strikes a mountain tone without settling firmly into bluegrass or old-time picking, and the continuity makes the running musical thread soundtrack-worthy.
The songs are often wide-eyed and childlike without being childish, especially those sung by young Hansel (Mackel). But the opening number “Everything Will Turn Out Good,” sung by Papa (Will Hartz), lays down crucial narrative information and builds to a rousing stomper with both Hansel and Gretel (Dax Dupuy) joining in on guitar and spoons, respectively. Meanwhile, the enchanting duet between Mama (Glenna Grant) and Papa on “Wanna Be Part of My Story” is a sweet retelling of the couple’s meet-cute.
Most theatergoers are likely familiar with at least the bones of the Brothers Grimms’ tale, wherein naïve children fall prey to a house made of sweets and the cauldron-tending witch inside. But Mackel has customized the story in ways that not only center it in a poor Appalachian valley beset by TVA flooding, but strengthen the family’s ties. When we learn that Papa has been missing since he left to find food for the family, it’s easier to understand why “man of the house” Hansel sets off to follow in his father’s footsteps. When older sister Gretel chases after, she does it out of protection for her brother, and despite the ingrained warnings from Mama, who wants above all to keep her children out of the dangerous woods.
And when we do meet the “Witch” (Betsy Bisson), we find that, despite her own “Witch Song,” she is not all she has been made out to be and has her own history with this family.
At 45 minutes, the production is an efficient one and the stage is adorned with only a few crates and chairs, but the setup and simple yet evocative lighting from stage manager Stephanie Clark creates a suitable storytelling atmosphere. Director Andrew Livingston clearly understood the assignment, keeping the movement, music, and action at a pace that primes the audience’s curiosity throughout.
This is not Mackel’s first foray into either musicals or children’s stories, and apparently not his last — the playbill notes an upcoming production of Rumpelstiltskin at Flat Rock Playhouse in the fall — but hopefully this brief appearance of Hansel and Gretel has left behind enough breadcrumbs for someone to find it and bring it to the stage for a longer engagement.
(Photo by Ben Mackel)
