There are several aspects of the discussion over the SFO-suggested
"no-children-under-10" warning for the current "Hansel & Gretel" production,
some having to do with children-in-theater, some specifically with this
"adult" show.

In general and personally, I am more concerned about others in the
audience than the impact of a show on the child. I took my daughter
to "Die Walkure" when she was 5, after she exhibited great interest in
televised Monteverdi operas, but I kept her in the standing room (balancing
her on that low wall separating seats and standees), ready to yank her
instantly if she made any noise. (She didn't, not through the entire
Magic Fire, focussing, I'd guess, on the production, not on the Jungian
undertones in the Wotan-Brunnhilde dialogue.)

There were lots of children, some way under 10, in the War Memorial
yesterday, most making a fairly consistent racket, their parents talking
a blue streak in a mistaken effort to keep the kids silent. My "favorite"
was a little girl, about 9, who sang along with the Overture... on pitch,
Mother beaming at her proudly.

I believe the main consideration should be for the commonweal, more than
over the possible impact on a single fragile psyche. About the latter,
questions have been raised if the Welsh National/Chicago Lyric production
is appropriate for small children, and if my review yesterday was accurate
in that regard.

For example, what I saw as bloodstains on the children's clothes were
attributed by others to the strawberry feast preceding the formal dinner,
served by a valet with a fish's head and 14 angels appearing with Bismarck
masks and chef's hats. I saw the stains after that dinner, not before,
but even if I am wrong, there is no dispute about the huge plate on the
drop curtain with blood (not strawberries) on it.

Just how bizarre is the production, how much shtick is forced on top of
the "boring old conventional story"? Don't take my word for it; here's
Tom Sutcliffe's description, from the SFO program:

   "The children... when they meet the Witch, come face to face
   with a cake on a huge model of a tongue that is wheeled on
   stage... A front-cloth shows a greedy open mouth at its center
   and, as the cake on its painted tongue moves forward, it starts
   to look like a pill in a giant, salivating red mouth..." (rotting
   teeth, for a full measure in the fairytales-for-grownups genre).

   "The final act is a tour de force of sustained, grand guignol.
   The vision it supplies of the witch's houise and kitchen is at
   first severely realistic, then frighteningly paranormal, and
   finally sheer sci-fi, as if a Max & Moritz-style brutalistic
   farce were taking place in a metallic dungeon with delicious
   jellies and kiddies' treats and a vast professional stove were
   all furnishing an inescapable prison..."

As it happens, for me, this scene was one of the highlights of the
performance, thanks to Graham Clark's exactly-right singing and acting,
Nicholas McGegan directing the orchestra in a superb performance. Why
did I like the scene? Not because of the juvenile grand guignol aspects
or the Witch's appearance "as a friendly landlady from the musical
`Cabaret' set in 1930s Berlin... with thick legs, woolly stockings, and
vast rubber double chin," but because it was so well executed.

You can argue about what is right or wrong for children, but I suggest
that by and large, they are just like most sensible grownups, able to
recognize the difference between quality and excellence on one hand and
lazy, cheap, overworked, antiquated show-biz devices on the other.

Janos Gereben/SF
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