Jack and the Beanstalk laughs it up

Fee. Fie. Fo. Fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman.

Capitol Theatre’s upcoming production of Jack and the Beanstalk may not exactly have these classic lines spouting from the giant’s mouth.

However, Fort Edmonton Park is the perfect setting for a splendid fresh spin on this ages-old fairy tale running Dec. 11 to 31.

Adapted by Jocelyn Ahlf and directed by Dana Andersen, artistic director of Capitol Theatre, Jack and the Beanstalk carries on a centuries old tradition of the British pantomime.

True to the classic, the panto relies on all the old stock characters, the spritely Jack, a poverty-stricken mother, a dancing cow, a giant with an agenda, a plucky golden harp and a chicken that lays golden eggs. But Ahlf added a few new faces to keep the fractured fairytale’s plot interesting.

The panto brings back St. Albert actor Madelaine Knight as Jack BeNimble, Ahlf as Widow BeNimble, Jason Hardwick as Jill Muffett, Jesse Gervais as the Giant, Rebecca Merkley as Harpy, Alyson Dicey as Old Man and Moo Moo. Erik Mortimer also returns as the on-stage accompanist.

The Gazette reached Ahlf at home where she tells us how she connected with panto-styled theatre.

“I first fell in love with the panto when I saw The Cinderella Gang on TV with Karen Kain and Ross Petty. I loved it so much I taped it on VHS and watched it over and over. I’d always wanted to do a panto, but it was perceived as lowbrow. I talked about it around town, but no one was interested. I was so possessed with the idea, I approached Dana Anderson and said, ‘I have an idea. You need to do a panto at Fort Edmonton.’ He said, ‘Great. I had the same idea,” said Ahlf.

She wrote Cinderella, the first Capitol Theatre panto that debuted in 2014. It was a successful raucous blast where the actors delighted with spontaneous improvisations and the audience cheered the hero, and booed and hissed the villain.

As writer and actor in both the 2014 production and this year’s panto, Ahlf is modest about her contribution.

“As much as I’ve written the script, a huge part that makes it special is the actors’ improvisations. As much as it’s my writing, there’s a good percentage the actors added,” she said.

Contrary to the name ‘pantomime’ it is probably the noisiest, rowdiest theatre a family can attend. Although the tradition takes root in familiar fairy tales, it also includes a bit of music hall entertainment and loud jokes with double meanings. Actors will often throw in contemporary asides, often dealing with current political events.

Many versions of Jack and the Beanstalk are available and proved a challenge for Ahlf. So she settled on a western element.

She describes this story as a cocktail of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Fievel Goes West and Little House on the Prairie.

As a mother/actor, Ahlf is excited about performing for a multi-generational audience.

“Last year we had a mother breast-feeding in the front row. That’s great. Where else can you do it?”

She closes by saying, “There is nothing else like it. There’s amazing actors, great music and amazing projection screens. You should come because you’ll laugh your head off and be part of a community experience. Plus being in a room with kids laughing is magic.”