It’s a longtime tradition at Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix. For years the theater company has welcomed families from HopeKids to attend special performances of their shows. Before each show opens on Friday night, HopeKids youth see a Thursday advance performance. Last week VYT performed “Rapunzel” for an audience of HopeKids families who also got to meet cast members after the show.
It’s one of many ways HopeKids partners with community groups to provide fun experiences for children facing cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. Each experience is meant to foster hope, promote acceptance and reinforce the will to live.
Though Lauren Antioco, director of education for VYT, enjoyed reading other scripts with a darker take on “Rapunzel,” she chose a lighter retelling of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale — an adaptation by Houston Shakespeare Festival founder Sidney Berger. Antioco directs the show, which is VYT’s only non-musical production of the season.
Apparently the story of “Rapunzel” is all the rage these days, despite being more than two centuries old. Taylor Swift, a young singer/songwriter featured in the Artist Gallery of the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, recently posed as Rapunzel as part of the Disney Dream Portraits series photographed by Annie Leibovitz. The portrait was inspired by Disney’s 2010 film titled “Tangled.”
Valley Youth Theatre’s take on “Rapunzel” feels especially fresh thanks to scenic design by Sara Trickel infused with mostly fabric.
A set piece featuring a portion of Rapunzel’s tower is covered with rectangles of fabric that feel like traditional granny squares for quilting, and the home shared by Rapunzel’s true parents has a roof sporting beautiful billows of burlap in assorted shades.
A giant garden sits center stage, crafted of fabric with slits that allow planted vegetables to get plucked from the ground. The set also includes several tall trees made of iridescent fabric that brings a beautiful bit of shimmer to the stage. “Rapunzel” also features costume design by Karol Cooper and lighting design by Daniel Davisson.
“Rapuzel” at VYT has a cast of just six, all students attending various schools in the Valley — including Thunderbird High School, Desert Vista High School, Pinnacle High School and Desert Mountain High School. Baily Shultz is Rapunzel and Rebecca Caswell makes her VYT debut as Witch.
Other cast members include Wil Arends (Dragon), Jamin Metcalf (Prince), Jenson Metcalf (Husband) and Alena Sanderson (Wife). Their performances exude humor and charm, and Thursday’s audience often showed their approval with laughter and applause.
Valley Youth Theatre performs “Rapunzel” through Sunday, Feb. 24. Click here for details.