The classic “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” gets a modern makeover when “Grimm Women” opens the story book April 22-May 5 at Adrienne Theater.
Written by Brandon Monokian, “Grimm Women” examines the classic tales and their characters through a gritty lens.
“Grimm Women” cast member and reality TV star Briella Calafiore (“Jerseylicious,” “Glam Fairy”) said Monokian a great job of updating the classic tales for a modern audience and exploring what happened after happily ever after.
“Brandon incorporated something so fairy-tale-like and so Renaissance-y and so far away into the modern world,” she said. “It’s very nostalgic because it makes people think about their childhood. It transitions into nowadays and there’s cursing involved and we’re funny and outrageous. It’s nostalgia mixed into our cool adulthood at the same time.”
Characters in the play include Rapunzel, Cinderella and Hansel and Gretel.
Calafiore portrays an updated version of Little Red Riding Hood.
“She smokes a lot of pot and she loves Bob Marley,” she explained. “She likes being high out in nature. She gets into a fight with this guy in the woods who likes to dress up in a wolf costume because he’s one of those furries that you hear about. She’s on a reality show. She becomes famous. Then she goes into celebrity rehab because she smokes too much pot. She’s a train wreck.”
“Grimm Women” also includes a gay fairy-tale character, Rex, played by Andrew Pace.
“Rex is just the cutest thing in the whole world,” Calafiore said. “He got made fun of when he was younger. It was really hard for him to deal with the ridicule. He talks about that. Everyone when he was younger just tortured him. What’s really beautiful about the way he talks about his childhood is he’s talking about it like he’s over it, but you know it must have been very tough for him. He’s over all the crap that he went through but he’s not at the same time. He brings the reality of growing up gay, but at the same time makes you laugh. He plays the modern-day version of the Frog Prince. He talks about how he kisses frogs. He kisses a blue frog and it turns out to be a poison-dart frog. He’s got this crazy life but at the same time he’s got such a great perspective on life.”
Adrienne Theatre presents “Grimm Women” April 22-May 5, 2030 Sansom St. For more information, visit www.grimmwomen.com or call 215-567-2848.