If you know of someone with a kid who could use a little time off this summer, why not offer to take that child to CVRep next weekend to experience Snow White?
The show lasts a little more than an hour, which is about as long as any child can sit still. Or you could even go alone if you are curious, or you long for your own youth, when you read these stories, or learned about them from the Disney movie. Snow White is a tale that will never grow old, although it first appeared thanks to the Brothers Grimm in 1812.
The theater’s Conservatory is presenting this as their very first offering for young audiences. Whether or not the audience members can yet read, the printed program contains some games to keep the youngsters amused until showtime. Cute.
The talented cast includes only two people—but they play a total of 14 roles between them! Good grief. I once played five parts in a play and thought it was something special, but these actors go way beyond that.
Haley Kooyman looks a lot like what many of us picture when we think of Snow White, with a cascade of black, curly hair and smiling red lips. She attended an arts boarding school and then went on to study circus arts, including both mime and clown lessons. She became a magician and went on tour in Australia and New Zealand for two years, and this is her first show back in the United States.
John Corr is a local talent who has performed all over the valley. He is an award-winning actor and a singer as well. Tall and bearded, he plays all the dwarves—and even several females.
Both actors wear a basic outfit for the whole show, only using a few props and costumes to change their looks for these multiple roles. Kooyman wears a loose pair of apricot slacks paired with a blue bodice and a short-sleeved off-white blouse. Corr is attired in a very plain brown T-shirt and loose-fitting beige pants rolled to the knee. Both wear running shoes, which struck me as an odd choice—until I saw how very physical their interpretations of the parts were.
Jimmy Cuomo is the set designer, and he has come up with a breathtaking stage that adapts to every possibility. Both indoors—in the castle or the Seven Dwarves’ home—and out in the woods, the versatile set finds a nook for every possible scene of the play, including some ingenious twists.
We don’t have to discuss the plot, because you remember it: Think Magic Mirror, Wicked Stepmother, the Huntsman, the Prince and, of course, the dwarves. Remember the poisoned Apple? You might not have actually thought about all this for a while. Mounting the story as a play for children couldn’t have been the easiest task, but the solutions—such as a hair bow to indicate which actor is playing Snow White (yes, even Corr takes a few turns as our heroine!) are clever and original.
Though it’s an old story, there is indeed a modern playwright, Greg Banks. He is a working actor, director and author based in Britain, and his plays have been shown in London’s West End and on Broadway. He is known for writing for the young.
Though this version of Snow White barely qualifies as a musical, the show also boasts a composer, Victor Zupanc. A Canadian, he has more than 300 shows to his credit, and has made his name by expertly weaving his music into the stories being told, in addition to being a successful movie/TV music creator.
The show’s director is Howard Shangraw, CVRep’s own director of conservatory and youth outreach. He had a 10-year run as chair of the theater department of Idyllwild Arts Academy, as has a wide and varied history in Southern California as actor and director.
The comedy was definitely enjoyed at the show I saw, with screams of appreciation given by the little ones in the audience. In fact everyone, is invited to join in and yell answers to the questions posed by the actors, which makes things fun for all. The Prince—with a Russian accent, for some reason, and a hilarious way of walking—was the most-loved character by the little tykes at my show.
The pace is very high, and the actors never stop moving. (Except perhaps when briefly downed by a poisoned apple.) The physical energy has got to take its toll on the performers, even at this early hour of the day, and one experiences exhaustion sympathy just from watching. The shows happen at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, and at 2 p.m. on Sunday—leaving time for an afternoon nap afterward.
Although geared toward the littlest members of the audience, from age 4 and up, there is plenty in this show to interest the adults, too. Though the actors break the “fourth wall” and actually speak to the audience, there are moments of drama that hold the audience in anticipation, even though we all know the outcome. It is a production that hits just the right notes, combining comedy with some scary situations.
CVRep deserves a salute for creating a children’s theater for the Coachella Valley. It is a profound experience for a child to see a production. My mother told me that she took me to one when I was very tiny, and she became so involved in the play that she didn’t notice I was moving—and the next thing she knew, to her horror, there I was up onstage with the actors! Fate …
Snow White will be performed at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., Saturday, June 15; and 2 p.m., Sunday, June 16, at the CVRep Playhouse, 68510 E. Palm Canyon Drive, in Cathedral City. Suggested ticket prices are a minimum $5 ($10 with fees) for adults and $1 ($6 with fees) for youth 12 and younger, but you may choose any amount. For tickets or more information, call 760-296-2966, or visit www.cvrep.org.
