speeltheater show

Reviews — Apple to Grandma

Warm and Gentle 'Apple to Grandma' Translates Well Outdoors at Sundance
Celia R.Baker, The Salt Lake Tribune (August 12, 2001)

The scenery for "Apple to Grandma" consists of only three items: a pencil, an eraser and a sketchpad -- all giant-sized. And isn't that all a child needs for a journey of the imagination?
In this thoughtful play, a little girl named Josie takes a trip via the sketchbook and her fertile mind -- a voyage that helps her face a troublesome event in her life. Josie's Grandmother has entered a care center, and Josie can no longer go to her Grandma's home for the overnight visits both enjoyed.
Sundance Children's Theatre is presenting this production, by Speeltheater Holland, on the resort's outdoor King Stage. It is a project that introduces Utah kids and parents to a type of theater they haven't seen; the Dutch theater company is meeting new challenges, too.
The two performances on Thursday marked the first time the players presented "Apple to Grandma" in English -- thus, "Josie" becomes "Yosie" now and then. It's also the company's first time performing on an outdoor stage. Mother Nature made the occasion memorable by dumping a sudden summer thundershower in the middle of the second show, necessitating a long interruption.
Director Onni Huisink and his cast greeted the difficulties with the same air of gentle good humor that pervades the play. Huisink speaks softly and confidingly to his young audience, and he doesn't talk down. In terms American kids can understand -- the Speeltheater philosophy resides nearer Mister Roger's Neighborhood than Pee-Wee's Playhouse.
As Josie makes her sketchbook journey to reunite with her Grandmother, she carries an apple from the tree at her grandmother's former home -- a talisman of shared memories. The drawings in the sketchbook -- based on real children's drawings -- are brought to life by puppets and live actors. All the actors are adults, Josie included.
By clever, yet simple theatrical means, Josie triumphs over a busy intersection, a hilarious "classy lady" who wants to steal the apple, and a pair of amorous caterpillars who want to eat it. When this duo becomes too menacing, Josie offers the ultimate threat: "I'll erase you!"
The action moves languidly; there is time to think and absorb; time to be amused rather than overstimulated. Video game-jaded children older than 8 or 9 might lack the patience for this story's slow unfolding, but younger children in the audience were enchanted with this glimpse inside a child's thoughts. There is universal wisdom here, and it is found in a colorful and humorous package.
Josie finds she can take pleasure in her happy memories, and can imagine her way back to her Grandma. She gets caught up in her daydreams -- a Santa Claus who wants to be a ballerina, for one -- and nearly forgets why she was sad. She draws, she play-acts, and finally she does something every kid has to do eventually. She copes.

Kids Bite Into Dutch Humor of SCT's Apple
Leslie Clarke, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (January 2001)

A giant red pencil lays on the stage, set off not only by a black backdrop, but also by its monstrous size. Written on the side of the shiny, scarlet-tipped object is the word "Holland. Like the pencil, Apple to Grandma was made in Holland (or, if you're being picky, it was made in the Netherlands). But despite its international incarnation, the humor, imagination and ultimate message in this Seattle Children's Theatre offering can be enjoyed by children of all ages, no matter what their location on our globe.
The Dutch husband-and-wife duo of Saskia Janse and Onny Huisink - founders of the prestigious puppet theater company Speeltheater Holland - are the brains behind this play. Janse wrote the story, Huisink both directs and designed the sets, costumes and puppets. The talented team last pleased young SCT audiences with 1997's Stellaluna.
Apple to Grandma is the story of a girl named Josie who is told that she can't stay at her Grandma's house anymore. Before her Granny's move to a retirement home, Josie remembers picking apples for her beloved relative. Her wish is to bring her Grandma that perfect, succulent apple. So Josie decides to venture to her Grandma's anyway - in her mind, that is. Wielding only a pencil and an eraser, Josie's imagination takes her on a journey where anything is possible. She visits a gas station, goes to the beach, finds a house that is really a mushroom (complete with a doorbell) and sleeps under the stars, all before finally making it to Grandma's. Along the way, Josie meets all sorts of wild characters, most of whom would just love to sample her juicy apple. The delightful characters range from a so-called "classy lady" with a car named Henry to an eight-legged caterpillar to a round-faced man in the moon. She even has a chat with Santa Claus. In bringing a child's imagination to life, Janse and Huisink's whimsical yet understated set, costumes and puppets are the real stars of this production. A yellow-hued sketch book and squishy eraser, like the red pencil, reach wonderfully largeproportions. The book serves as a good transitional toolÖwith each page turning, a new scene unfolds. The costumes, most made of foam, reflect the light-hearted nature of the play. The classy lady sports a striped dress, topped off by her spiky head of hair. Each costume looks as if it has been colored by a young hand, with white spots peeking through the vibrant colors.
The classy lady is, indeed, not a lady at all. Todd Jefferson Moore is perfect as the mischievous, snob-nosed woman. Moore's comic style also shines as Santa, who confesses that he's always wanted to be a ballet dancer (wonderfully, Moore then proceeds to shed his red coat and folic about in a tutu). The actor interacts well with the youngsters, and ventures into the audience at one point. Bill Robison is equally delightful as Josie's imaginary red dog with white spots, among other characters. In the lead role, Ellen Orenstein is skilled and playful. However, the physical, boisterous Moore and Robison stand out more.
The children can relate. The kid-focused humor results in plenty of giggles from the audience. Most kids ages 4 and older should enjoy this show.
In addition to laughs, there is also the message that anything is possible in your imagination, even a red dog with white spots and a gas hose that talks. Certainly that is something that all of us too-serious adults from the United States to the Netherlands can learn.

A Shiny Storybook Apple
by Misha Berson, Seattle Times (February 2001)

You can find some of the best children's theater in the world in The Netherlands. But you won't have to venture that far to find out why. As part of its ongoing relationship with the internationally known Speeltheater Holland, Seattle Children's Theatre is presenting Apple to Grandma, a charming and imaginative 55-minute romp that should spread delight among youngsters in the 4-to-8 age range. If many productions at Seattle Children's Theatre are adaptations of books, Apple to Grandma is a storybook and a very animated one, in which stick-figure drawings come to life with pop-outs, added dollops of color and live actors emerging from the enormous pages.
The show was written by Saskia Janse and staged by Onny Huisink, who also co-designed it. This husband-and-wife team run the touring Speeltheater Holland, and they created another winning show at Seattle Children's Theatre in recent years: Stellaluna.
In deft Crayola strokes, it imparts the saga of how little Josie (played by Ellen Orenstein, an exuberant adult in a sunshine-yellow jumpsuit) endeavors to bring a special apple to her grandmother, who has just moved to a retirement home.
That simple premise of making a journey to reunite with a loved one, easily grasped by most young viewers, leads to all sorts of challenging and off-the-wall adventures.
First, you should know that most objects on the stage are super-size. There's a bright crimson 8-foot pencil, a gum eraser as big as a chair, a handkerchief wide enough to serve as a tablecloth, and Josie's giant notebook.
All help convey the wacky plot in a way that makes perfect silly sense to children.
On her trip, the intrepid Josie encounters a ‹very classy ladyS¹ eager to steal her apple, a number of friendly seagulls, a caterpillar that becomes two caterpillars, andá Santa Claus?
Yes, Santa Claus with his reindeer, on a seafaring vacation. And after the old guy confides wistfully to Josie that he's always wanted to be a ballet dancer, Santa does a few pirouettes for us in tutu and all.Apple to Grandma is filled with such zany touches, carried off by the adept cast of Orenstein, the marvelously versatile (and sometimes very campy) Todd Jefferson Moore, and co-caterpillar Bill Robison, with help from the backstage wizards who manipulate a slew of puppets and other effects - the kind you won't ever see in a computer game, by the way, but only onstage.

	Reviews — Apple to Grandma Warm and Gentle 'Apple to Grandma' Translates Well Outdoors at Sundance Celia R.Baker, The Salt Lake Tribune (August 12, 2001) The scenery for "Apple to Grandma" consists of only three items: a pencil, an eraser and a sketchpad -- all giant-sized. And isn't that all a child needs for a journey of the imagination? In this thoughtful play, a little girl named Josie takes a trip via the sketchbook and her fertile mind -- a voyage that helps her face a troublesome event in her life. Josie's Grandmother has entered a care center, and Josie can no longer go to her Grandma's home for the overnight visits both enjoyed. Sundance Children's Theatre is presenting this production, by Speeltheater Holland, on the resort's outdoor King Stage. It is a project that introduces Utah kids and parents to a type of theater they haven't seen; the Dutch theater company is meeting new challenges, too. The two performances on Thursday marked the first time the players presented "Apple to Grandma" in English -- thus, "Josie" becomes "Yosie" now and then. It's also the company's first time performing on an outdoor stage. Mother Nature made the occasion memorable by dumping a sudden summer thundershower in the middle of the second show, necessitating a long interruption. Director Onni Huisink and his cast greeted the difficulties with the same air of gentle good humor that pervades the play. Huisink speaks softly and confidingly to his young audience, and he doesn't talk down. In terms American kids can understand -- the Speeltheater philosophy resides nearer Mister Roger's Neighborhood than Pee-Wee's Playhouse. As Josie makes her sketchbook journey to reunite with her Grandmother, she carries an apple from the tree at her grandmother's former home -- a talisman of shared memories. The drawings in the sketchbook -- based on real children's drawings -- are brought to life by puppets and live actors. All the actors are adults, Josie included. By clever, yet simple theatrical means, Josie triumphs over a busy intersection, a hilarious "classy lady" who wants to steal the apple, and a pair of amorous caterpillars who want to eat it. When this duo becomes too menacing, Josie offers the ultimate threat: "I'll erase you!" The action moves languidly; there is time to think and absorb; time to be amused rather than overstimulated. Video game-jaded children older than 8 or 9 might lack the patience for this story's slow unfolding, but younger children in the audience were enchanted with this glimpse inside a child's thoughts. There is universal wisdom here, and it is found in a colorful and humorous package. Josie finds she can take pleasure in her happy memories, and can imagine her way back to her Grandma. She gets caught up in her daydreams -- a Santa Claus who wants to be a ballerina, for one -- and nearly forgets why she was sad. She draws, she play-acts, and finally she does something every kid has to do eventually. She copes. Kids Bite Into Dutch Humor of SCT's Apple Leslie Clarke, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (January 2001) A giant red pencil lays on the stage, set off not only by a black backdrop, but also by its monstrous size. Written on the side of the shiny, scarlet-tipped object is the word "Holland. Like the pencil, Apple to Grandma was made in Holland (or, if you're being picky, it was made in the Netherlands). But despite its international incarnation, the humor, imagination and ultimate message in this Seattle Children's Theatre offering can be enjoyed by children of all ages, no matter what their location on our globe. The Dutch husband-and-wife duo of Saskia Janse and Onny Huisink - founders of the prestigious puppet theater company Speeltheater Holland - are the brains behind this play. Janse wrote the story, Huisink both directs and designed the sets, costumes and puppets. The talented team last pleased young SCT audiences with 1997's Stellaluna. Apple to Grandma is the story of a girl named Josie who is told that she can't stay at her Grandma's house anymore. Before her Granny's move to a retirement home, Josie remembers picking apples for her beloved relative. Her wish is to bring her Grandma that perfect, succulent apple. So Josie decides to venture to her Grandma's anyway - in her mind, that is. Wielding only a pencil and an eraser, Josie's imagination takes her on a journey where anything is possible. She visits a gas station, goes to the beach, finds a house that is really a mushroom (complete with a doorbell) and sleeps under the stars, all before finally making it to Grandma's. Along the way, Josie meets all sorts of wild characters, most of whom would just love to sample her juicy apple. The delightful characters range from a so-called "classy lady" with a car named Henry to an eight-legged caterpillar to a round-faced man in the moon. She even has a chat with Santa Claus. In bringing a child's imagination to life, Janse and Huisink's whimsical yet understated set, costumes and puppets are the real stars of this production. A yellow-hued sketch book and squishy eraser, like the red pencil, reach wonderfully largeproportions. The book serves as a good transitional toolÖwith each page turning, a new scene unfolds. The costumes, most made of foam, reflect the light-hearted nature of the play. The classy lady sports a striped dress, topped off by her spiky head of hair. Each costume looks as if it has been colored by a young hand, with white spots peeking through the vibrant colors. The classy lady is, indeed, not a lady at all. Todd Jefferson Moore is perfect as the mischievous, snob-nosed woman. Moore's comic style also shines as Santa, who confesses that he's always wanted to be a ballet dancer (wonderfully, Moore then proceeds to shed his red coat and folic about in a tutu). The actor interacts well with the youngsters, and ventures into the audience at one point. Bill Robison is equally delightful as Josie's imaginary red dog with white spots, among other characters. In the lead role, Ellen Orenstein is skilled and playful. However, the physical, boisterous Moore and Robison stand out more. The children can relate. The kid-focused humor results in plenty of giggles from the audience. Most kids ages 4 and older should enjoy this show. In addition to laughs, there is also the message that anything is possible in your imagination, even a red dog with white spots and a gas hose that talks. Certainly that is something that all of us too-serious adults from the United States to the Netherlands can learn. A Shiny Storybook Apple by Misha Berson, Seattle Times (February 2001) You can find some of the best children's theater in the world in The Netherlands. But you won't have to venture that far to find out why. As part of its ongoing relationship with the internationally known Speeltheater Holland, Seattle Children's Theatre is presenting Apple to Grandma, a charming and imaginative 55-minute romp that should spread delight among youngsters in the 4-to-8 age range. If many productions at Seattle Children's Theatre are adaptations of books, Apple to Grandma is a storybook and a very animated one, in which stick-figure drawings come to life with pop-outs, added dollops of color and live actors emerging from the enormous pages. The show was written by Saskia Janse and staged by Onny Huisink, who also co-designed it. This husband-and-wife team run the touring Speeltheater Holland, and they created another winning show at Seattle Children's Theatre in recent years: Stellaluna. In deft Crayola strokes, it imparts the saga of how little Josie (played by Ellen Orenstein, an exuberant adult in a sunshine-yellow jumpsuit) endeavors to bring a special apple to her grandmother, who has just moved to a retirement home. That simple premise of making a journey to reunite with a loved one, easily grasped by most young viewers, leads to all sorts of challenging and off-the-wall adventures. First, you should know that most objects on the stage are super-size. There's a bright crimson 8-foot pencil, a gum eraser as big as a chair, a handkerchief wide enough to serve as a tablecloth, and Josie's giant notebook. All help convey the wacky plot in a way that makes perfect silly sense to children. On her trip, the intrepid Josie encounters a ‹very classy ladyS¹ eager to steal her apple, a number of friendly seagulls, a caterpillar that becomes two caterpillars, andá Santa Claus? Yes, Santa Claus with his reindeer, on a seafaring vacation. And after the old guy confides wistfully to Josie that he's always wanted to be a ballet dancer, Santa does a few pirouettes for us in tutu and all.Apple to Grandma is filled with such zany touches, carried off by the adept cast of Orenstein, the marvelously versatile (and sometimes very campy) Todd Jefferson Moore, and co-caterpillar Bill Robison, with help from the backstage wizards who manipulate a slew of puppets and other effects - the kind you won't ever see in a computer game, by the way, but only onstage.