Hansel and Gretel - August 1998

The Show Must Go On!

When ComEd plays a dirty deal and dumps the power at the Kindig Performing Arts Center, the cast and crew of Hansel and Gretel take the show on the road. Proving once again that there's no people like show people, sets and props were moved outside and the play was performed in the courtyard in front of the PAC.

There’s No People Like Show People!

Audience members pitched in and set up chairs, crew members created sound effects "live" from behind the bushes and the sun replaced all of Lydia and Duckie's brilliant lighting design. Adverse conditions? You betcha! But this ensemble of trusty troubadours never missed a beat. The final performance of Hansel and Gretel was perhaps the best and decidedly the most fun.

~ Click on any image to see a larger picture. ~


Duckie Drechny, decked out as a pink cat, entertains the crowd as they are getting seated.	"You two are lazy, shiftless children!" Tianna Ruelas (center) as StepMother, Kurt Davies (left) and Heather Young as Gretel.	"Is that a Mag Light® in your back pocket or are you happy to see me?" ~~Instigator~~ Director Ellie Shunko heads back into the darkened theatre to fetch another prop.

"Hansel, stop talking about food!" Heather (left) as Gretel and Kurt as Hansel.	Eric, splendiferous in his oh-so-macho cow costume, watches from the sidelines.	"There are two children lost in the deep, dark forest..." Siobhán McGuire (left) as Rasputin and Shannon Lisewski as Dizzy.

René Sauriol as The Witch (or RuNé as we like to call him), really milks the audience with his first entrance.	"Madame, you look mah-vel-ous!" René Sauriol as The Witch (left), Siobhán McGuire (center) as Rasputin and Shannon Lisewski (right) as Dizzy.	Rasputin gives Dizzy a hard time about carrying that "B-R-U-M-E" around with her.

"I just washed my hair and can't do a THING with it! Dizzy (left), Rasputin (center) and The Witch.	"Isn't he delightful?" The Witch (right) trots out a freshly baked gingerbread boy as Dizzy drools.	Hiding behind some handy branches, Matt Drwiega (as Father, center) escapes detection from the wascally witch.
		Directed by Ellie Shunko, Set Design by Vernon Schwartz, Costume Design by Dawna Sladcik, Lighting Design by Lydia Bellamy-Palma and Tina Drechny.
"Hey! Let me out of this oven!!"	"Even the Witch has a happy ending!" The Witch belts out an aria at the end of the show as Gretel (right) and Hansel (left) try to silence him.	Photos by Paul Braun and Jon Jenkins