Grimm gags: Our Town Players tackle fairy tales in whirlwind show

When Our Town Players take the stage in their newest show, “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” they’ll portray some of the most well known stories of all time.

Audience members will follow along with Snow White, see Cinderella meet her prince and go with Hansel and Gretel into the deep, dark forest.

Audiences get a crash course in the world of fairy tales in “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” The rollicking performance steamrolls through 209 of the Brothers Grimm’s popular stories, from classics like “Snow White” and “Hansel and Gretel” to more obscure stories such as “Fisher Girl” and “Faithful Johannes.”

“It’s kind of a romp; it’s very funny and fairly fast-paced. The show is presented as one giant fairy tale where everything is linked together, so it’s fun to see how the author did that,” said Lauren Underwood, director of “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon.”

But in a case of art imitating life, Our Town Players’ own situation reads like a story as well — one with what they hope is a fairy tale-ending in the future but with challenges in the present.

In a year when Our Town Players have temporarily lost their home performance space, the opportunity to present a unique show in different locations around the county has been an exciting one.

“When we found out the Active Adult Center was going to be torn down, we never even considered going dark,” Underwood said. “We want to continue to be that community theater for Franklin and the surrounding areas, even in these challenging times.”

For nearly 30 years, Our Town Players has been presenting live community theater to the public. The organization is supported by Franklin Parks and Recreation, and in recent years, has rehearsed and performed at the Active Adult Center.

But earlier this year, work started on tearing the center down to make room for a new facility. Our Town Players had to take the show on the road.

In April, they presented “Lux Radio Theatre,” a Golden Age of Radio-style show featuring live sound effects, stories, commercials and jingles on stage. The performance was held at three locations: the Johnson County Museum of History, the Historic Artcraft Theatre and the Pixy Theatre in Edinburgh.

“It’s a lot of thinking outside the box, looking at places you normally wouldn’t think as performance spaces. Along with that, we have to coordinate schedules,” Underwood said.

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For Our Town Players, “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” seemed a fitting show to stage as they move from performance venue to performance venue.

“It’s definitely been the goal of the board to choose shows that require little to no set, and really rely more heavily on the storyline,” Underwood said. “This show is so fast-paced, there’s a more limited set. We’ve got some fun and unique prop boxes we turn to show it’s the woods or it’s a castle, that kind of thing. So we really rely on props, costumes and the actors themselves to portray the story we’re doing.”

“The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon” is a comedic take on the famed fairy tales. A pair of narrators take the audience through the varying stories, resulting in increasingly absurd situations as the tales blur into each other.

Because the story includes so many different characters, each cast member outside of the narrators has two or three roles, with some playing many more.

While many of the Brothers Grimm stories have been adapted into more kid-friendly versions in recent years, Underwood emphasized that these are the Grimms’ original tales, which can include some ribald and bizarre imagery.

“These are not your Disney versions,” she said. “We do recommend it as 13-and-over, just for some adult humor. But we don’t want any 4-year-olds coming thinking they’re going to see a Cinderella Disney princess.”

Again, for their fall performance of “The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon,” the troupe has lined up a diverse set of venues. The show opens this weekend at the Johnson County Museum of History. But for their shows Nov. 1 to 3, they found a brand new location to welcome audiences.

Our Town Players reached out to Taxman Hospitality Group, which has opened a Franklin event space, Church on Jefferson.

“We had seen some pictures online of stage, and I thought it was worth at least asking,” Underwood said. “I was thankful they said they had some availability, and to come meet them to talk about it.”

The discussion proved fruitful, as both sides felt it be a positive partnership — Our Town Players would have a newly renovated space to perform in, and Taxman Hospitality Group could show off the redone church for the community. The facility will offer catering and beverages during the shows,

“We’re hoping it will be a beneficial relationship, where there might be some more opportunities in slow times to use the space. But we think this is going to be great,” Underwood said.

IF YOU GO

“The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon”

What: An Our Town Players performance featuring a comedic take on 209 of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. Recommended for audience members age 13 and up.

Performances

The Johnson County Museum of History, 135 N. Main St., Franklin: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday

Church on Jefferson, 201 E. Jefferson St., Franklin: 7:30 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2, 2:30 p.m. Nov. 3

Tickets: $10 pre-sale, available at Franklin Parks and Recreation, 396 Branigin Blvd.; $15 at the door, cash only

Information: OTPFranklin.org