The Director Sector

Last night I had the honor of seeing The House Theatre’s “The Rose and the Rime”.  When I walked into the theatre, I saw these men and women dressed from head to toe in white and, quite frankly, it made me think “Oh geez, this is gonna be lame.”

I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The show opens with Rose (Carolyn Defrin) chasing bunny rabbits in the snow and then returning home on her birthday.  The opening sequence of Rose walking through town and being cheerily greeted by the townspeople reminded me of the opening sequences of those classic Christmas films that we’ve all watched when we were kids (and sometimes still watch today).  Like those sequences, everything in The Rose and the Rime’s first few minutes is portrayed as hunky-dory, happy-go-lucky, everything’s-perfect life in a small town in winter.

Also like those movies, when the opening sequence is over, we find that Radio Falls isn’t quite as cheerful and perfect as we thought.

Rose’s uncle tells her the same story he tells Rose every year, but this year, Rose wants to know more.  As her uncle expands the story she’s always heard, Rose begins to suspect that this isn’t just a fairy tale — it’s a true story.

The rest of the show deals with her adventures in finding the secrets within the story and the aftermath of her discoveries.

I’ve read other reviews and talked to at least one other person about the show, and the consensus seems to be that it’s too cute.  The first few minutes are too cute.  The beach scenes are too cute.  Everything’s too cute.

I couldn’t disagree more.

This is a fairy tale — it lends itself to cuteness.  It’s darkness is only dark compared to its light-hearted beginnings.   From the moment Rose began chasing the bunny at the beginning, until the (adjective redacted) ending, I was pulled along for the ride, the cutesy moments tickled my inner child and the more serious moments brought back thoughts of consequences and lessons learned.  With the exception of the summer scene in the middle (which I felt was about 5-10 minutes too long), I was entranced from start to finish and gripped by the story of Rose and her people.

The choreography was inspired, the music used creatively and excellently performed by the cast, the costumes were spot-on.  In short, it was one of the best put-together productions I’ve seen since I arrived in Chicago.  More than once I found myself thinking “Wow! That’s a great idea!” as Rose threw her bag across a gaping chasm, climbed a mountainside, survived a blizzard and tossed around the magic coin.

The magic coin, by the way, was awesome.

The ensemble did their jobs perfectly, flowing from “snow fairies” to townspeople and back with ease.  Their characterizations were memorable and creative, their dancing was great, and they set the mood in each scene perfectly.  I was really impressed with their musical abilities, especially the bottle scene.  Great stuff.

Don’t let the term “fairy tale” fool you.  This story is a little dark for little kids, but if you walk into this show with an open mind and expecting a compelling story, superlative acting, and artistic vision worthy of… well… me, then you won’t be disappointed.  Let your inner child enjoy the experience.

It’s worth it.