In a half-crammed attic, a little girl takes refuge from the dreaded real life and its pains. There, amid the toys and props left behind by her grandfather, stories act themselves out by what seem like puppets. In the process, she finds a courage she never knew she had--growing up a little bit, while learning to hold on to the child she will always be.
Such in a nutshell is Robert J. Watson's new play Ain't All So Grimm from FON Productions in Noho.
Little One (Tessa Willshire) is the girl from whose eyes we see the magic happen. She comes across as a blend of Dorothy, Alice, and Wendy. Quite to her surprise, the puppet called Storyteller (Graydon Schlichter) notices her presence and tempts her to stay, to be their audience. Soon enough we meet Ingenue (LeeAnne Rowe), whom Storyteller feels strongly for yet behaves at the same time as if he hardly knows her at all. This proves the fault of the villainous Stage Manager (Jerry Don Chappell).
Beginning as a passive watcher, Little One eventually wants to choose her stories, becoming most interested in one titled "Bearskin," which may or may not be an original folk tale, or one composed by Watson. Maybe some blend of the two. It certainly echoes The Beauty and the Beast as well as The Little Mermaid and others. Most of the cast play multiple roles, such as Legend (Paula K. Long) whose main roles are God, Bearskin's mother, and of course the Devil's Grandmother. Ensemble (Melanie Shone) portrays the Devil Herself and obviously has a ball doing so! Vaudeville (Ron Babaldon) plays Bearskin's father, who at the start of the tale goes seeking a godfather for his newborn boy. He finally settles on the fairest and most just of all who offer themselves--Death, played by Veteran (Richard Large).
Despite the warning above, I don't really want to spoil the show, but strongly recommend you go see it yourselves. To be fair, I think the play comes across as a tiny bit short and I get the feeling director Jennifer Novak Chun didn't get as much rehearsal as she'd hoped. Yet these are nuances. What remains despite what are pretty minor imperfections, is a charming and wonder-filled fairy tale about the perils of foolishness, the value of love and loyalty, the nature of malice, and the treasure that is wisdom.
Ain't All So Grimm plays Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm until March 21, 2020 at the Actors Workout Studio, 4735 Lankershim Blvd (just south of Little Toni's), North Hollywood CA 91602.
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