RAPUNZEL Written by Barry Crossley Directed by Michael Lawlor assisted by Gavin Chadwick Musical Direction by Michael Holmes and Roberta McIntosh Choreography by Janet Fagan Hyde Little Theatre “Rapunzel” was the subject of Hyde Little Theatre’s 2023 pantomime. This fairy-tale retelling sticks to the story arc of the Disney movie and the brothers Grimm fairy-tale. There are the king and queen of the newly renamed “Ashton” who have, for the last 18 years, yearned to find their long-lost daughter, Rapunzel; an evil “mother” who has spirited away the princess to a tower; a couple of hapless palace guards, and a dashing palace horse who is yet to decide which side he should actually be on; Finn Ryder, the not-so-typical principal boy, and Netty Hairspray, the archetypal pantomime dame in true panto-style. Hyde Little theatre produced a simple yet effective set which ensured the story moved swiftly making the action the focus of the evening, and boy, was there action! From the off set, the chorus numbers had me and my daughter dancing in our chairs. At one point I though my daughter was going to join in with the choreography. Janet Fagen managed to get the entire audience on board, as soon as the lights went up, with a rousing rendition of “Walking on Sunshine” in which the entire cast took part. Michael Holmes and Roberta McIntosh chose great numbers which really played to the cast’s strengths. One perfect example of this was the duet between Finn and Rapunzel, the ballad version of Katy Perrys “Firework”. This song
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