SnoWhite

Synopsis

There is turmoil in the fairy-tale kingdom. Witches attempt to disrupt and ultimately destroy the fairy-tale world with the help of a “spy.” The Snow White story, confronted with such an attack, provides fertile ground for a large-scale musical spectacle. Monumental fantasy worlds and sounds combine with musical highlights that strike directly at the heart—and the gut. Witches and dwarfs, hunters and hunted.

The story: Witches—here the “Mirror Witches,” responsible in the Grimm Snow White tale for answering the Queen’s questions—seek to throw the fairy-tale world into disarray and cause its collapse. In doing so, they hope to free themselves from dependence on the mirrors and the fairy-tale realm.

To achieve this (and because they must feign an “honorable intention” to a higher power), they intercept a suicidal man on his way to death and insert him into the role of the “Hunter” from the Snow White story. Allegedly, this is to redeem him and teach him about the meaning of life, death, and the power of choice.

The plan is that the Hunter will eventually abandon his “fairy-tale compliant” role, thereby triggering chaos. Initially, this unfolds in accordance with the witches’ intentions: the Hunter does not end his function after sparing Snow White, as in the original tale, but falls in love, remains, and personally takes responsibility for saving her. This predictably disrupts the familiar storyline. One consequence is that Snow White truly dies, and the known rescue attempts (expelling the apple, removing comb and bodice) fail.

At this point, the witches realize that if Snow White remains dead, the Queen will indeed be—and remain—the fairest of them all, leaving them eternally bound to her and the mirrors. The situation must therefore be corrected.

Through an oracle’s prophecy, they grant the Hunter—initially without his knowledge—the power to awaken Snow White with a kiss. This occurs, but with an unexpected final twist to the entire story and the evening as a whole.

Performance Rights: @franknimsgern@me.com