The Off-Broadway theatre company The Shelter - an ensemble of writers, directors and actors who collaboratively develop original works for the New York stage - will present the world premiere of their newest work FAIRY TALE, five original short plays inspired by the stories of The Brothers Grimm, Washington Irving and Charles Perrault. Preview performances of FAIRY TALE begin Thursday, December 1 prior to an official press opening of Sunday, December 4 at the 45th Street Theatre (354 West 45th Street) in Manhattan.
The Shelter's FAIRY TALE is a 90-minute evening of theatre comprised of five short plays inspired by classic fairy tales. Each play explores the fundamentals of fairy tales, diving into their exotic worlds and finding inspiration in their rich archetypes and shadowed psychologies. The playwrights have re-imagined these elements in a grown-up world, and in doing so, expose the fears and joys which have driven fairy tales to become deeply ingrained into global culture. Ranging in genre and style, the plays are funny, sad, gruesome, touching, strange and fantastical... everything a fairy tale should be.
The Shelter's FAIRY TALE comes at a time when fairy tales have resurfaced in popular culture in a big way, examples include: ABC's "Once Upon A Time," NBC's new series "Grimm," Syfy's upcoming mini-series "Neverland," a prequel to J.M. Barrie's classic fairy story, "Peter Pan," the upcoming untitled movie adaptation of "Snow White" starring Julia Roberts, and the upcoming "Snow White and the Huntsman" starring Kristen Stewart.
The five plays are: Michael Bernstein's KATE (inspired by the French fairy tale "Donkeyskin" by Charles Perrault) directed by Meghan E. Jones; Andy Hassell's R.I.P. CAPTAIN WENDEL (inspired by Washington Irving's short story "Rip Van Winkle") directed by Beth Jastroch; Jonathan Ashley's TERROR ON HAXOS 9 (inspired by Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel") directed by Belle Caplis; Beth Jastroch's THREE SISTERS AND A CARNEY (inspired by the Norwegian fairy tale "The Three Billy Goats Gruff") directed by Michael Kingsbaker; and Meghan E. Jones' DINNER FOR THE QUEEN (inspired by The Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Snow White") directed by Jonathan Ashley.
The cast of FAIRY TALE include: Aubrey Ball, Michael Bernstein, Laine Bonstein, Chris Cardona, Rachel Cora, Alec A. Head, Ginger Kearns, Michael Sean McGuiness, Edwin Sean Patterson, Melinda Smart, Nick Stevens, Tanya Verafield, and the voice of Stephen Wilson.
Design team for FAIRY TALE is Jonathan Ashley (art direction), Jake Fine (lighting design), Brandon Hardy (set design), and 2011 NYIT Awards nominee Andy Cohen (sound design).
The Shelter (theshelternyc.org) - under the guidance of Artistic Directors Meghan Jones and Michael Kingsbaker and Executive Director Dave Lankford - is a family of writers, directors, and actors creating authentic theatre for the New York stage. All productions are written, directed, and acted by its members and are developed through the company's weekly Shelter Sunday workshop series. The heartbeat of The Shelter, Shelter Sunday provides a safe harbor where New York's top emerging theatrical artists can collaboratively challenge themselves to explore their artistry and hone their respective crafts.
Through its productions, The Shelter strives to connect with patrons seeking innovative, independently produced theatre with a focus on character-driven storytelling. Past productions include: NIGHT WINDOWS (2011), a trio of one-act plays inspired by Edward Hopper's 1928 painting of the same name; F***ING CHRISTMAS (2010), an assortment of short plays, each providing a singular view of a joyful, sorrowful, ridiculous, and endlessly complex holiday; MOTEL (2010), eight short plays set in the same lone motel room, somewhere in Middle America; and 3:56 AM (2009), nine short plays set in an apartment building on the Lower East Side between the hours of 3 and 4 AM.
