Hansel & Gretel Hit the Road

Our Vancouver Opera In Schools touring production of Hansel & Gretel is almost ready to roll! Right now, the cast are here in the Martha Lou Henley Rehearsal Hall  putting the finishing touches on the show.

Hansel & Gretel is a 45 minute long adaptation for children of Englebert Humperdinck's most well-known opera. This adaptation is sung entirely in English and will soon be touring the province, entertaining kids all over the province.

In order to do that, the entire production has to be portable. Have you ever tried stuffing an entire set, with costumes and props - AND singers - into a van?

The cast seems skeptical....

In this photo: Melissa Tsang (Vancouver Opera In Schools Manager) with the cast of Hansel & Gretel, at last week's first load-in attempt. Note the giant orange jujube  - just one of the many set pieces that need to fit in the van.

From left: Melissa, Caroline Jang (Gretel), Katherine Landry (Mother/Fairy), Sylvia Szadovski (Hansel), Amy Lee (Pianist), Kayleigh Harrison (understudy).

Gregg will help us fit everything in the van!

Wade Nott (Father/Witch) gets some tips on packing the van from Gregg Steffensen, VO's Head Carpenter. 

Taking a break in the van

And here are Caroline Jang (Gretel) in the van, with Stage Manager Jennifer Swan taking notes and Katherine Landry (Mother/Fairy) looking on.

So what exactly is going in that van? Well, we have some giant candy (actually made of styrofoam), some scary looking trees (actually made of real trees), lots of costumes and props.. and a lot of fun for all the kids who'll see the show!

Mmmm yummy

If you're a teacher who would like Hansel & Gretel to visit your school, click here for more information.