'Elves and the Shoemaker' has story for all ages
Part of the fun of being cast as an elf in the Theatre Factory KidWorks' production of "The Elves and the Shoemaker" is getting to choose your character's identity.
As a result, elves with names like Ratchet, Timberwinkle, Piper, Minnie Molly, Lickety-Split, Bubbles and General Lacey are unique to this musical adaptation of the Brothers Grimm fairy tale written by Sharon K. Schmeling and Sharon K. Lindblad.
The elves are played by youngsters as young as 7 years old, and keep director and choreographer Laura Wurzell of Delmont and vocal director Sharon Schaller of Monroeville on their toes.
The eight singing and dancing pixies include Beata Leighton of Level Green, Nolan Gall of Wilmerding, Nicole Zabelsky of Harrison City, Jamie Wilson of Irwin, and Michaela Flood, Eilish Morse O'Rourke and Kelsey and Elyse Schaller, all of Monroeville.
"They've been fun to work with," says Wurzell of the youngsters in the cast that also includes four adults and two teens. "They work like a team."
Besides the age range of actors in the show, the musical features actors with varying amounts of stage credits. The diversity of talent is a bonus, according to Wurzell.
"We have quite a range of skills," she says. "It's nice that the newcomers with no acting experience have a chance to work with some of the best actors I've ever seen."
The stage veterans include Kevin Bass of North Huntingdon and Briana Downs of Murrysville as the shoemaker and his wife. Bass most recently appeared at the Theatre Factory as Monty Wooley in "Red Hot and Cole" and Downs has acted in several KidWorks productions and is the KidWorks' coordinator.
Sharon Schaller has the task of teaching vocals to the cast members, including her daughters, Kelsey, 9, and Elyse, 7, who play elves. Sharon Schaller's mother, Carol Connelly, is managing director at the Trafford community theater.
Schaller says she has worked on theater projects with Wurzell since her senior year at Penn Trafford High School, when Wurzell choreographed her school's musical production of "Sweet Charity," in which she played the leading role. The two will work together on Penn Trafford's upcoming spring musical, "Seussical the Musical."
Schaller also teaches workshop classes at the Theatre Factory, and Wurzell is an elementary guidance counselor in the Franklin Regional School District.
As for "The Elves and the Shoemaker," the director says the show is a very simple story that all ages will enjoy.
"Its basic message is that if you do kind things for people, they'll do kind things for you. It's an old-fashioned sentiment, but one that we need to be reminded of every once in a while," Wurzell says.
Even the "bad guy" in the musical, the landlord (Josh List), isn't a threat to young theatergoers, according to the director. After the show, children are invited to come up onstage and meet the cast "to realize they're not really a witch or a bad guy, they're just acting."
Additional Information:
'The Elves and the Shoemaker'
Presented by: Theatre Factory KidWorks
When: 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and Jan. 24 and 25; 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23
Admission: $6
Where: The Theatre Factory, Cavitt Avenue and Third Street, Trafford
Details: 412-374-9200 or www.thetheatrefactory.com
