Cherry Arts brings Andersen’s ‘Snow Queen’ to life

Tompkins Weekly Staff

ITHACA – A new take on Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen” – the tale that inspired Disney’s “Frozen” – is coming to Tompkins County this week.
The Cherry Arts production – featuring live actors, original puppetry, projections and music – will take place at the Kitchen Theatre, located at 417 W. MLK Jr./State St. in Ithaca. There will be a total of five performances from Friday, December 16, to Sunday, December 18.

Here’s how the story goes: When little Kai falls into the hands of the Snow Queen and is whisked away from his former life, his best friend Greta begins a fantastical journey to find him, encountering ravens, snowdrops, sages, thieves, and many other eccentric characters along the way. This classic story of friendship and tenacity has been in development for over nine months, resulting in an innovative adaptation like none before, featuring original puppets by Scott Hitz of PuppHitz Productions, original music by Paul Leschen, and original lyrics by Cornell University professor Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon.
“What we are trying to do with this version is to capture the real magic of the original,” said Samuel Buggeln, artistic director, adaptor and director. “Andersen’s tale is something like Alice in Wonderland, full of weird and wonderful imagery that doesn’t necessarily add up to a conventional narrative.
“For The Cherry’s Snow Queen we weave Andersen’s outlandish material into a story that is magical and engaging for both adults and children, without losing the delicious disorientation of the original,” he added.
The cast of the show includes Jordan Dunn-Pilz, Jeffrey Guyton, Caroline Maloney, Robin Mazer, Darcy Rose, Camilla Schade, Josh Sedelmeyer and Erica Steinhagen.
Original puppets by Scott Hitz will take center stage in this production, inviting audiences on an enhanced journey into the world of The Snow Queen.
“The story begins in a child’s world: a world without consequence,” Hitz said. “Once we enter the Snow Queen’s world we find that it is made up of paper and shadow.
“Paper representing the written word of Mr. Andersen’s original work, and shadow representing the mystery and chaos of the world of magic and fairy tales,” he added.
With The Snow Queen, The Cherry is creating a constantly living and evolving holiday piece to present to our community on an annual basis.
“Every year we’ll innovate a little bit more, and make it a little more special and a little more unusual. Something to come back to every holiday season,” said Buggeln.
The creative team for The Snow Queen includes Lisa Boquist (costume coordinator), Emily Goldman, (music director), E.D. Intemann (lighting design), Norm Scott (sound design), and Rachel Terwilliger (illustrations).
The Cherry Arts is a not-for-profit theater company that provides Ithaca and surrounding area audiences with theater that is radically local, radically international, and formally innovative. The company creates works over long periods of time, developed by an ensemble of professional theater artists based in Ithaca. For more information, visit TheCherry.org
Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, December 16; at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 17; and at 3 and 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, December 18. Tickets may be purchased at cherrysnowqueen.bpt.me.