Little Rascals

About a couple hundred audience members enjoyed the Little Rascals of Waseca’s production of “The Adventures of Rose Red” this past Friday and Saturday, June 23-24 at the Waseca High School Performing Arts Center. The play, written by Sean Abley, was directed by Karen Pfarr Anderson with the assistance of Waseca High School student Sadie Schimming.

The play focused on the idea of “fame”: 13-year-old Rose Red, portrayed by Maren Schimming, struggles with the idea of becoming famous after her sister, Snow White (played by Maddie Halla), gets famous for falling into a deep sleep that can only be broken by a kiss from Prince Charming.

Everyone in the kingdom — two Prince Charmings, Cinderella, and Goldilocks to name a few — want to help her find a way to become famous. But Rose Red doesn’t want to become famous; she wants a normal life without the press following her all the time. She consults a man turned frog in the middle of the woods for advice. He tells her to be herself.

Despite Rose Red’s wishes, the Grimm Times newspaper does make her famous, reporting that she “murdered a worm” that was in an apple she was eating. When Rose Red is forced to prepare for her first press conference, she admits that the story is fake, and shares the advice of “being yourself no matter what.”

In a way, though, Rose Red does get her happily ever after. She kisses the frog who turns into a man named Jack, and she realizes that she loves the normal life.

In the end, the Grimm Times gets its story that makes Rose Red and Jack famous; Jack finds a seed that will grow a magic beanstalk, and the Grimms are there to get the scoop on how he found the plant.

Before the play, Anderson took a few minutes to acknowledge everyone who made the production possible, starting with Schimming. “Schimming was actually unable to be with us tonight,” she said at the Friday evening performance. “She’s rehearsing for another production. But she’s been so good with the kids and so helpful. I can’t thank her enough.”

Anderson also gave credit to the newly formed non-profit, the Waseca Drama Department, which funded many of the props and set pieces created for the play. “In the past, we paid for a lot of these things out of pocket,” Anderson explained. “But because of the Waseca Drama Department, we didn’t have to. They made all this possible.”

The Waseca Area Foundation and Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council also made it possible for the Little Rascals to perform by providing grants. Additional special thanks went to Paul DeMorett and Nikki Benson of Waseca’s Community Education; Chuck Pollock, Anna Pollock, Jodie Pollock, Tracy Kopetzki, and Karie Priebe.

After both shows over the weekend, two eighth graders were recognized during the bows: Eryn Harrison, who portrayed Evil Mrs. Blush; and Max McShane, who played Baby Bear. “These two will graduate out of the program after this summer,” Anderson said.

A photo page of the play is on Page (12) of this week’s Pioneer.