Last year, I posted on Matthew Bourne's Sleeping Beauty with vampires and puppets in his ballet adaptation. This year, Sleeping Beauty and Her Winter Knight at the Pasadena Playhouse weaves in "Eye of the Tiger," a drag queen, Lucy Lawless and Patrick Cassidy, and some fabulous kiddie dancers. Yes, same story, but this time it is panto-style!
Panto is interactive theater, where you are encouraged to hiss and boo at the baddies, and cheer for the good ones. Not only is the fourth wall broken, it doesn't even exist. Characters speak directly to the audience and invite ticket holders to become participants in the fun. Lucy Lawless as Carabosse joked about always wanting to be a princess; Patrick Cassidy shared that Florence Henderson is actually the ideal TV mom.
Pop music keeps the story moving forward, and the audience was invited to sing along to "Happy," "Footloose," and "Best Day of My Life," to name a few. Lucy Lawless totally had the audience in her hand with "One Way or Another." Fun, fun, fun!
Our drag queen - Nanny Tickle, to be precise - was hysterical. The kiddie dancers were amazing, and switched costumes several times to entertain the packed audience.
Go see it!! Like most of the special holiday performances, this one closes January 4.
Click here for Pasadena Playhouse's website.
No comments:
Post a Comment