Picture all of the characters from your favorite fairy tales stuck together and acting "real," instead of playing nice for the storybooks.
That's the idea behind "Twisted Fairy Tales," an Insurrection Theater Company production running May 3 to 13 at Little Theatre at Phoenix Theatre, located at 100 E. McDowell Road.
"Please don't come see 'Twisted Fairy Tales' if you're really serious," said Veronica Harner, an art education and fibers major who plays Snow White in the show. "You'll leave during intermission."
Harner's warning is best not taken lightly because this twist on your average fairy tale has her character trying to kick a cocaine habit, and Alice in Wonderland playing the lesbian lover of Little Red Riding Hood.
This production sets out to break all the rules of acting as well as of story telling. The play is only partially scripted with some parts improvised and some audience participation mixed in.
It's never the same show twice because the characters' interaction with each other and the audience can vary greatly depending on the performance.
Twisted Fairy Tales is Harner's second play with Insurrection Theater Company, following a recent nude performance in the company's Taboo Festival, a series of one-act plays focusing on taboo subjects.
Harner said many of the cast members that took part in the Taboo Festival have come back together to do this surprising variation of the fairy tale world we all grew up with.
Directed by Dana Cianciotto, the performance also has a musical component and includes original songs, such as "It's Good to be Bad" and "Narcolepsy."
"I'm really excited," said Yichao Wang, a theater and English major who is playing Jack from "Jack and the Beanstalk."
"It seems like it's going to be something like I've never seen or even heard about before."
If you are curious to see what kind of trouble this production has your favorite fairy tale characters getting into, get your tickets by calling (602) 254-2151, or visit insurrectiontheater.com.
Reach the reporter at jenifer.delemont@asu.edu.
