By David F. Rooney
The Snow Queen may have been a fairy tale penned by Danish storyteller Hans Christian Anderson but it’s certainly not a play for very young children.
Adapted for the stage by Charles Way, The Snow Queen deals with some relatively adult themes such as abduction, love and friendship, black magic, and the existence of evil. I wouldn’t recommend this for kids age six or seven but older children and adults should appreciate this three-act play.
The 24 cast members, well supported by the 19 members of the crew, staged an excellent dress rehearsal on Tuesday evening. They were spot on with their dialogue and there were noticeable glitches in those instances where sound effects coincided with specific actions or gestures by the actors and actresses on stage.
The play tells the tale of cold, heartless and highly manipulative The Snow Queen (Ana Polo) who seeks a human child capable of restoring the magic mirror she needs in order to create a new Ice Age. She find the boy she needs in the person Cei Fyn (Matt Kurtenbach) who she steals while he sledding near a frozen river with his friends Elisa (Arden Davis and Jade-Lyn Harder) and John (Grayson Norsworthy). His sled is found on the surface of the ice-covered river leading many to believe he had drowned. However, his friend Gerda Overskou (Frankie Howe) continues to search for him and is eventually carried off by the river to a magical land ruled by the four seasons. After a variety of adventures Gerda is taken by a talking reindeer to the land of winter where she breaks the spell the Snow Queen had cast over Cei, thereby forcing him to work himself to death while restoring the shattered mirror. Beyond that my lips are sealed; I won’t betray the ending.
The Snow Queen is very ably directed by Anna Fin and produced by Zofie Humphreys. I enjoyed watching this performance by its enthusiastic and mostly young cast and I suspect you will too.
The Snow Queen is being staged at the Revelstoke Performing Centre on February 26, 27 and 28 and on March 5, 6 and 7. Tickets are available at the Credit Union, at the door or online by clicking here.
Here are a few photos from the dress rehearsal:
