By Liz Connolly
Hometown Weekly Staff
Walpole Children’s Theatre (WCT) is back with a modern twist on an old-fashioned tale with “Rapunzel”, written by Karen Boettcher-Tate and directed by Jess McNamara. This seventy-five minute production debuted at Footlighters Playhouse with three packed shows last weekend.
It was easy to see by their attire that many of the children in the audience were more familiar with the Disney adaptation of the story, but many aspects of this version were around long before the newer, tangly tale. We first meet a husband and his rapunzel (a turnip-like root vegetable) obsessed wife, who get caught swiping the rare crop from a nearby witch’s garden. The witch forces the couple to pledge their firstborn daughter to her, and in exchange, she will overlook the theft. Many years later, the couple is preparing to host a milestone birthday for their daughter, Rapunzel (named after the prized veggie, of course), when the witch shows up to claim payment on the long-forgotten promise. Nearby, a dysfunctional royal family and their court get recruited to help find Rapunzel, and a fun, uplifting, and entertaining story unfolds.
The cast of twenty-five range in age from 10-18, and many go to local schools. We recognized numerous performers from past productions like “Wizard’s Crystal” and “Treasure Island”. Previous interviews have revealed that quite a few of the actors and production staff have been with the group for many years and, they consider it to be like a second family. It was also fun to see several new faces, and while looking through the program, it was great to see that at least one of the new cast members caught the acting bug after seeing “Treasure Island” last year.
There are three more showings of “Rapunzel” at Footlighters Playhouse on Scout Road in East Walpole, so “hairy” up and get your tickets! The performance dates are Friday, March 3, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 4, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for children and seniors, and can be purchased online at www.WalpoleChildrensTheater.org, wct.booktix.com, or by calling the box office at (508-921-0542).
