Rapunzel in Metuchen, New Jersey
My daughter, her friend, her friend’s mom and I had the pleasure of attending the play Rapunzel at the Forum Theatre in Metuchen, New Jersey. When you attend a play at the Forum, you are in for a treat. The actors talked directly to us from the stage; in the second half of the show, they went through the aisles of the audience. Some of the play was narrated, and much of it was bursts of creative song. I had a feeling when the witch showed up, she was not going to be all that scary. Indeed, by the end, she was one of the good guys (and there were only four actors, so they were all good guys). Here’s a photo of the witch signing her autograph outside the theater for my daughter:
My daughter thought the prince was the funniest actor, the way he reacted to the witch. Here’s a line from one of his songs, when he is bemoaning his poor luck as a prince: “Never come with a dragon – I only come with a cold.” At one point he pretends to be the witch, and my daughter thought that was SO funny! I found Simon, his valet, was amusing and versatile in the many roles he played (he’s in the top photo as a hairdresser).
Looks like the next children’s play at the Forum is The Three Little Pigs. You can fan the Forum Theatre on Facebook to keep up with their events.
ramblingwoods says
We had a theater group like that here but with the economy crashing, they closed. It used to be a very personal experience and a lot of fun...
leoraw says
I think they are struggling. There is a lot of theater in New Jersey; we live right next to New Brunswick, which has big and small theater. But I really like what I've seen at the Forum. I hope they can make it.
Ilana-Davita says
This looks good! No wonder you all enjoyed it.
leoraw says
The best part was meeting the actors outside the theater at the end.
Mrs. S. says
Sounds like fun!
The picture of the witch is a gorgeous shot, BTW.
leoraw says
Thanks - I wasn't expected it to come out so well, but when I took it off my camera, I said, yes, that's a good one! She was an awfully friendly witch, with a bit of a Yiddish accent ("Rapunzeleh, Rapunzeleh...").
Dhaval Jani says
yup its a beautiful picture especially with the stage/low lighting!
leoraw says
Whenever I take stage pictures, I only end up with a few usable pictures. Many turn out too shaky; I usually try for a shot when actors are not moving, but these actors moved a lot!
Ellie says
What a wonderful experience. These are the unforgettable moments that kids carry whole their life! Very happy pictures!
Graham says
What a great write-up of your experience at the show, Leora. It was great meeting you there.
As far as "struggling," I think that's a fair assessment of the Forum Theatre Arts Center right now. It's essentially a start-up, having been relaunched this year, and any startup, especially one with no budget and having to rely on help from a small but dedicated bunch of volunteers, is going to be struggling in this economy.
But the people behind this venture have good hearts and lofty ambitions (not to mention a small but dedicated bunch of volunteers), so I'm hopeful that they are going to make it.
Hope to see you at The Forum again soon!
Graham.
leoraw says
And bravo to all the people behind the scenes! I hope my daughter and I (and possibly other family and friends, too) can continue to support the Forum Theatre Arts Center.
Karin Leone says
Thank You!
My name is Karin Leone and I am the Managing Director of the Forum Theatre, It means so much that you all have taken the time to share such kind thoughts with the public.
Yes, we are absolutely struggling and we feel we have a very valuable resource for residents of central New Jersey. We are a non-profit theatre, with no outside funding to speak of. We are largely volunteer run. Your support means the world to us. Any thing at all that you can do to help us spread the word or obtain financial support would be terrific.
Would you mind if we put these picture on our website along with your comments?
Thank you again from the bottom of our hearts. We hope to see your soon.
Sincerely,
Karin
leoraw says
Thank you for your response! I sent you an email about the photos.
Look forward to my next opportunity to visit the theatre (and maybe write another blog post, too).
Sharon says
Excellent! Looking forward to seeing more! My kids LOVED it!
Karin Leone says
You guys have to come see The Three Little Pigs...not to brag or anything...but it is AMAZING!!! Every Sat & Sun in November at 11am as well as the Friday after Thanksgiving at 11am. Nov.21 is GRANDPARENTS DAY!
leoraw says
Maybe ... sounds good. I would encourage anyone in Central New Jersey to go to any of the children's theater at the Forum that they can!
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