As storytelling goes,  Rose and the Rime currently in production as a West Coast premiere at Sacred Fools Theatre Company Hollywood Row, is mostly fable with a few bits. And as a friend casually pointed out, it is slightly reminiscent of a Struwwelpter. The story takes place in the small snowed-in town of Radio Falls, MI. And it focuses on its youngest inhabitant Rose. To rectify a mistake, Rose sets off to find a mysterious Rime witch and a coin that will release the town from an icy curse. But there’s another reason she seeks the witch. Rose discovers that the witch is responsible for her parents’ disappearance.

It’s true that sometimes in the most screwed up, unfair, and strange ways, fables, fairy tales, and myths teach us about good and evil, vice and virtue, and right and wrong. Sometimes, there’s a happy ending. 

In a fable, there is no hidden meaning. The writer intends for a fable to convey a moral truth. And, the main characters are usually animals. Fairy tales have a little magic and of course, fairies, elves, and such. Myths explain why something is the way it is. Myths also teach us lessons and have a few gods and Goddesses thrown in.

Like many of these types of stories, we don’t always get the full history, only a placating back story.  And in Rose’s case, only a half-truth which critically sets her on a circular path charging into fate and destiny.

According to Wikipedia Rose and the Rime is a fantasy play. Written by the House Theatre of Chicago’s creative team of Nathan Allen, Chris Mathews, and Jake Minton in 2006, it encompasses a fantastical plot and the human themes of greed, power, birth, and age.  All of these themes are very clearly and creatively defined by director Jacob Sidney who employs gorgeous and imaginative production design.

The physical elements in this production set a lighthearted tone and are wonderfully expressive of the style and exploration of the piece, “underneath the dialog”.   However, they are not always fully utilized. And this keeps the experience of the story from expressing more emotional depth.  The combination of a superior set design, the use of puppetry, movement sequences (albeit a bit long), animation, music, and barefoot actors (mostly to control sound issues) to emphasize the winter cold, is incredibly effective.

Apress note offers this explanation. “The Rose and the Rime reminds us that in order to last, happiness must be shared: if we keep it for ourselves, it will disappear.”

Rose journeys through many dangers to the witch’s cave to defeat the enemy, rescue the coin, and restore light and warmth back to Radio Ralls for all.  However, what complicates this visually and narratively straightforward presentation is the director’s interpretation. And it questions why Rose is required to give or share more than what she does in the first place.

Rose makes the fatal mistake of using the coin selfishly at a critical moment in her adult life. It’s a decision that is humanly forgivable in her circumstances. Because she only does so based on the limited information she has been afforded about the past.  This in turn perpetuates a disastrous cycle.  So, who then is really at fault? Rose or someone else? Because, if, instead of a fairy tale, Rose had been told the full truth about her parents, about the reason for the town’s curse, about the witch, and the coin, might she have made different choices?

Sidney otherwise lightly guides Rose and the Rime without too many bumps. This leaves lead actress Amy Rapp (Rose) to immerse herself in the role of the delightfully naive child who before our eyes subtly grows into a young woman whose desire to do the right thing comes into conflict when she is personally affected by tragedy. Notably, Andy Hirsch as Uncle Roger offers up the real gravitas in a singularly moving performance.

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