Wiess Tabletop returns with a Grimm spectacle

By Maggie Sulc     1/23/13 6:00pm

After last spring's Hello Hamlet, Wiess College Tabletop still has the parody slot covered with its new one-act, The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. Though the cast and crew are mostly underclassmen still new to the world of college theater, they have created a fast-paced romp through all the classic fairy tales, with jokes about current events and college life set to raise chuckles from Rice audiences.

David Zoldis' "spectaculathon" presents itself as a mixture of a play, a television program and a bedtime story on Ritalin that attempts to act out all 209 of the Brothers Grimm stories, including "Hansel and Gretel," "Rapunzel" and "Cinderella," with only two narrators and five actors. By donning different wigs, the actors change from prince to villain, witch to princess, and sometimes even man to woman or vice versa. But be prepared: Not all of the action is contained on Wiess' stage. The melting witches, dying princes and flurried narrators sometimes burst into the audience with even more break-neck, in-your-face comedy.

Overall, the actors do a fantastic job covering so many parts while bringing a new accent or physicality to each role. A show with so much slapstick humor would quickly die were the ensemble unable to adapt and keep the audience engaged. Even when speaking with a British accent or fake swooning, the cast members make sure their voices carry to every corner of the Wiess Commons.

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Most of the time, all seven actors work together as an ensemble, playing off each other's vocal and physical cues, but there are moments when the two narrators, Wiess freshmen Vicky Comesanas and Sean Doyle, lose their connection with the rest of the cast. It becomes difficult to see the difference between the two narrators

and the evil enchantress and to decide whether the audience should be laughing with the narrators or at them. Much of this problem stems from uneven pacing throughout the production. At the beginning, the narrators rush through their opening monologues, barely leaving the audience enough time to relish their introductory jokes and adjust to the narrators' role in the upcoming spectacle of mashed-up fairy tales. But by the end, many of the actors begin to show the wear from this demanding show, and although I appreciated their efforts, I felt exhausted just watching Wiess junior Ian Bott

continuously switch from wig to wig to Prince Charming crown in "Cinderella." However, with the feedback of a full house of laughing Rice students, hopefully this talented and energetic cast will let the audience pause from time to time to enjoy the witty writing and the actors' added comedic touches.

The bare set gives the actors plenty of room to prance and fight, allowing the audience to imagine them in both the Grand Canyon and the desert surrounding Rapunzel's tower. At some points, the set also contributes to the slapdash, rushed feeling that weaves through

the show. Because all of the costumes are present onstage, the actors have to rush on and dart awkwardly behind the narrators to exchange their hats and wigs. That this madness occurs every few moments on stage right distracts from the more calculated hilarity on center stage. Still, the lighting works well to create different moods and present the looming shadow of the dreaded Mouse over the Grimm brothers' original stories.

While not the most polished show on campus, Wiess' The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon is certainly a spectacle and comedy show worth experiencing. Maybe it is the perfect excuse to laugh a little before the rest of the semester picks up and the narrators' jabs about writing college term papers become all too true.

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