North Gem students Channel “Grimm”
The cast of "Channeling Grimm" with their final bows.
Last week, North Gem put on its spring play, “Channeling Grimm” to the delight of audiences. The play follows a skit-based format (along the lines of a variety show or Saturday Night Live), where the same revolving troupe of actors participate in a series of interrelated sketches that revolve around the idea of modernizing Grimm Fairy Tales.
The basic setup is that Cameron (Ryver Hayden) needs to complete a report on the Grimm brothers fairy tales for school, and is not very excited about it. His friend Jamie (Parker Hill) gives him an assist by telling his to just watch the stories instead of reading them. One magic remote later, and the pair make their way through a number of wacky short pieces that present familiar characters in modernized surroundings.
A court trial concerning the Big Bad Wolf’s grandmother eating, for instance, involves the wolf (John Roberts), the Huntsman (Gracie Christensen), Little Red (Mariah O’Brien), the Queen (Kaly Foster), and Granny (Vivienne Owens), on a TV courtroom drama where the Queen Judge takes a loose approach to jurisprudence.
A running bit involves a TV news channel, featuring the anchor duties of Cinderella’s stepsisters Bunion (Sadie Daniels) and Cornelia (Mariah O’Brien), and the input of a range of colorful and entertaining characters, such as weatherperson Henny Penny (Vivienne Owens), or the Dwarves protesting work conditions (Caroline Cook, Jessie Christensen, and
Ian Moody).
The play also managed to work in a Drag Race style reality show, soap operas, breaking news events, and a number of goofy commercials.
Other actors included Mercedez Mabey, Katelyn Whiting, Kymberli Jensen, Hayden Frandsen, Madalyn Barnes, Marli Whiting, Joanna Cook, Bailey Perkins, and a few uncredited others.
The play was directed by Minnarett Goff. Costumes and sets were made by Dayna Moody. Haydn Welker was the sound tech. Backstage help included Hayden Frandsen, Hunter Stoor, and Colt Christensen.
It was a fun night of seeing the world of fairy tales through a slightly cracked lens!
