Rapunzel Rocks at The Capitol
Reviewed by Mary Alderson
It’s not a hairy experience but a frightening witch makes it a hair-raising experience. This year’s panto at Port Hope’s Capitol Theatre is fun for adults at the naughty version and also fun for adults watching the children react to the nice version. Rapunzel – A Merry (Hairy) Holiday Panto is cleverly written, well-cast, and well-paced, with credit going to playwright Carly Heffernan and director Cherissa Richards.
It more or less follows the traditional Rapunzel fairy tale. A girl with long, long hair is trapped in a tower by an evil witch. One day a prince visits, and frees her from the tower. He is punished for this by losing his eyesight, but eventually regains his vision and he and Rapunzel live happily ever after. Of course, this version has a few modern twists and turns. The narrator is a drag queen who is also the substitute teacher bringing an unruly class under control. She is also a bartender on the side. Those unruly kids morph into woodland animals and birds who visit the lonely Rapunzel. Gothel the witch has a couple of underpaid helpers who are tie-dyed hippies. They are smoking something in the naughty version, but while they are still hippies in the family version, they’ve left their smoking or vaping behind.
The entire cast is impressive, all with the right combination of singing, acting and dancing skills. Lia Luz is perfect as Rapunzel and she rocks the songs with her powerhouse voice. Naomi Costain is a scary witch – just enough to get the attention of little kids, but not give them nightmares. She makes a believable switch to contrite at the end.
Caulin Moore is suitably handsome and brave as the Prince, and uses his voice to harmonize with Luz. Stewart Adam McKensy is delightfully feminine as the drag queen/narrator/substitute teacher, and manages to charm everyone with his shiny gold wig and gorgeous gown. Even his mustache doesn’t detract from his or her beauty.
Jeremy LaPalme is hilarious as the stoner hippie, along with his sidekick Jennifer Villaverde. Christopher Sherwood and Yunike Soedarmasto are charming as the birds who look out for Rapunzel. All four are excellent singers and easily handle dance moves, having great fun with the Time Warp dance.
The singing by the entire cast, both solos and group numbers, is fantastic. The songs are a myriad of former hits, that are somehow fit aptly into the plot. Of course, the show kicks off with “Hair” from the musical. “The Witch is Back” is sung in the nice version, but the Bernie Taupin/Elton John lyrics were changed for the naughty version. “She’s a Maniac”, the Footloose dance number was complete with Rapunzel dumping a bucket of sparkling water over her head. Rapunzel also belts “All by Myself” and “I will Survive”. Prince gives an amazing rendition of “Blinded by the Light”, but I’m still not sure about those most misheard lyrics in the second line.
The characters ask for audience participation, each time they say “You know what I mean?” and the audience dutifully replies “Yeah, we know.” This is hilarious with the risqué comments in the naughty panto. But it also works in the nice panto because the kids in the audience have great fun shouting out the response while the innuendo slides right over their heads.
After seeing the naughty version, I took my assistant reviewer, my four-year-old granddaughter, to the nice (family) version. Her first observation – the witch didn’t really pull Rapunzel’s long hair right out of her head. Maybe she chopped it off. She was also afraid of the witch, but liked the witch’s pretty, colourful dress at the end.
Other things I noted regarding a four-year-old’s viewpoint – The first act seemed a bit long and she was getting tired just before it ended. Walking around looking at all the Christmas trees at intermission totally revived her for Act II. Gramma had to buy tickets for her favourite Christmas tree draws.
She really wanted to dance along, especially with the Time Warp dance. Perhaps an invitation to dance in the aisle might be in order. But most of all, she wanted to go up on stage and say hello to the actors and the audience. I know that’s a big risk, but I’ve been to pantos where the characters chat with children in the audience, or invite them up for a Q & A. The little ones love it.
Her final summation: It was a good show, almost as good as Paw Patrol Live. That’s saying a lot.
Rapunzel continues at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope until December 22, 2024. Tickets are available at the box office by calling 905-885-1071 or visiting https://capitoltheatre.com/ Make sure you book the naughty version or the nice version, whichever is your preference, and don’t get the two mixed up!
Photo: 1. The narrator, substitute teacher and drag queen is played delightfully by Stewart Adam McKensy. 2. Caulin Moore as Prince and Lia Luz as Rapunzel. Photos by Sam Moffatt.
Rapunzel
By Carly Heffernan
Directed by Cherissa Richards
Musical Direction by Chris Barillaro
Choreography by Hollywood Jade
Performed by Naomi Costain, Jeremy LaPalme, Lia Luz, Stewart Adam McKensy, Caulin Moore, Christopher Sherwood, Yunike Soedarmasto, Jennifer Villaverde.
The Capitol Theatre, Port Hope
November 22 to December 22, 2024
Reviewed by Mary Alderson