Now in its fourth installment, PrideArts’s annual naughty take on a classic British pantomime, or “panto” goes to the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of Rapunzel, transformed by British writer Tom Whalley into Rapornzel (using the same subtlety demonstrated by his earlier titles such as Throbbin Wood and Jack Off the Beanstalk.) For those unfamiliar with the concept of the pantomime, the first thing to know is that it’s not silent. That is really the case with Claire Hart Proepper’s staging, where the actors all gleefully follow the “more is more” principle. Pantos generally combine a well-known fairy tale with contemporary jokes and pop songs, a “panto dame” played by a man in drag, a “principal boy” played by a young woman in male clothing, and lots of audience participation (hissing at the villain, etc.) Rapornzel Through 12/14: Thu-Sat 7: 30 PM, Sun 3 PM; no shows Thu-Sat 11/27 and 11/28; Hoover-Leppen Theatre in Center on Halsted, 3656 N. Halsted, 773-661-0770, pridearts. org, $35, $30 students/seniors In Rapornzel, the title character was snatched away from her royal parents after they stole poppers from the witch next door, Mother Fucker (Gina Cioffi). The stolen princess’s pubic hair apparently has some youth-preserving elements, which is another reason Mother Fucker (decked out in domlike leather and lace by costumer Shawn Quinlan) keeps her hidden away. (Do you need help guessing where the hair that Rapornzel “lets down” to help Mother Fucker and the prince get into the tower comes from?) Prince Ride-Her (Bryan Fowler), along with local hair salon maven Dame Fanny Follicle (Peter Moeller) and her mischievous son, Pascal the Rascal (an effervescent Charlotte Harris), join forces with King Merkin (Dave Kelch) to rescue Rapornzel (Hannah Efsits). There’s also Hairy Fairy Dandruff (Jeremy Cox-even the actor’s last name sounds like a double entendre here), who hopes to earn his wings by saving the princess. Kind of like Clarence in It’s a Wonderful Life, if Clarence were a twink. If you’re allergic to dirty jokes and puns, this definitely won’t be your show. And at two hours, I’d argue there’s a little too much of a good thing here-some tightening of the action would definitely make some laugh lines land harder. But Proepper and her cast know what they’re doing. The script has been updated with local jokes about DeKalb and Naperville, and the songs under Alex Rembold’s music direction (choreography by Jean Wildest) give new and naughty twists to numbers such as Queen’s “Fat Bottomed Girls,” Shocking Blue’s “I’m Your Venus,” and more. (Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” is delivered straight, so to speak.) For those who like their comedy light-hearted and dirty-minded, Rapornzel offers a break from the more overtly Christmasy tales onstage.
https://chicagoreader.com/performing-arts/theater/theater-review/rapornzel-pridearts/
Hairy holidays
