Review: Tell the truth, so help you Brothers Grimm

“Fairy Tale Courtroom” offers a funny, family-friendly take on villians

By BECKY THOMAS

Staff Reporter

The auditorium in Eastern Washington University's Showalter Hall is a grand space. The ornate plaster columns and dark wood stage are the perfect setting for a dark, serious or extravagant performance.

StageWest Community Theatre's current play, “Fairy Tale Courtroom,” takes every opportunity to turn seriousness on its head through a constant stream of quirky fairy tale characters.

The solemnity in a typical courtroom is dashed as the judge sleeps through parts of the trial and takes bets on a fight that breaks out between Sleeping Beauty and Snow White. The crimes of assault and attempted murder become fodder for jokes because the charges come against the Big Bad wolf.

“Fairy Tale Courtroom,” directed by Patty Steen, premiered Friday, Feb. 11. For Sunday's matinee, the auditorium was certainly not full, but around 40 people attended and participated as jury in the cases—the first act tried the Big Bad wolf, while the Wicked Witch was on trial in Act II. Besides a couple of references to alcohol, the play is kid friendly without being boring for adults and many families were in the audience.

The play begins with the tight-laced bailiff, played by Melinda Reid, reading the charges against the Big Bad wolf. Breaking and entering, willful destruction of property, impersonating a sheep, corrupting a minor, attempted murder, assault with deadly natural weapons (teeth, of course) and—to the shock of the players—jaywalking.

The district attorney, played by Carmen Fernandez, calls a series of witnesses to the wolf's crimes while B.B. wolf himself, played by Phil West, scratches himself, yawns and otherwise makes a mockery of the court.

West plays a sly, smooth talking wolf who tries to convince the jury/audience that he's sad and misunderstood. He tries to bribe the witnesses—three little pigs, Red Riding Hood, Hood's senile grandmother played by the hilarious Kay Pacheco—into changing their stories, but his true colors shine through.

While the unorthodox trial plays out, Tom Crick's judge is either snoring or settling arguments between lawyers with games of “Rock Paper Scissors.” Sometimes there are two or three little things going on behind the main action; a laugh from the audience causes other viewers to scan the stage—someone in the background must be doing something funny.

Ultimately, the decision of Big Bad wolf's fate cam down to the audience members, who yelled either “guilty” or “innocent” depending on their reading of the events. The wolf was resoundingly guilty, though several “innocent”s came through from the crowd.

In Act II, the Wicked Witch a.k.a. Evil Queen is on trial. Donna Neubauer's witch was excellent; her cackle was perfect and highly contagious. Another stream of witnesses testified, from four of the seven dwarves to the magic mirror and a flying monkey. Dorothy and Toto also made an appearance. While the Big Bad wolf defended himself in Act I, the witch had a sharp defense attorney, played by Russia Demitro. She turned many of the witness testimony's around, charging Hansel and Gretel with trespassing on the witch's property and Dorothy with killing the witch's poor sister. This time the audience decided that the witch was innocent, the first “innocent” ruling in the play's run, sending the witch off on her broomstick, screeching with glee.

Showalter's auditorium is a great setting for StageWest, and that atmosphere combined with excellent music from accordion player Sam Thomas and the actors' enthusiasm made the performance feel professional. “Fairy Tale Courtroom” is well worth the $12 admission ($8 for students and seniors) for an entertaining evening that supports arts on the West Plains. The play runs this weekend and next. The final performance is Feb. 26.

For show times, tickets or more information on StageWest, visit http://www.stagewestct.org.

Becky Thomas can be reached at becky@cheneyfreepress.com.