Grimm!Die wirklich Wahre Geschichte von Rotkäppchen und Ihrem Wolf is a German musical, with lyrics written by Peter Lund, music by Thomas Zaufke, and choreography by Neva Howard. The musical premiered on December 7, 2014, in Graz, Austria, at the Next Liberty Youth Theater. The German premiere took place as a co-production with the Berlin University of the Arts at the Neuköllner Oper in Berlin, Germany, on March 19, 2015.
Synopsis
is a 14-year-old girl who is tired of her nickname and wants to be called Dorothea. She lives in a village inhabited by various fairy-tale characters. The villagers are united in their fear of the forest and wolves. Other than Little Red Riding Hood, mother goat and her children, the three little pigs, the old farm dog, Sultan, and his son, Rex, live there. Everybody in the village professes to have had bad experiences with the wolves. The wolves live in the forest, which fascinates Little Red Riding Hood in spite of the stories. Eventually, her curiosity prevails and she goes into the woods where she meets Grimm the wolf. She finds out that he is not as frightening as his reputation suggests. Little Red Riding Hood is drawn to the hermit wolf, and they become friends. The wolf has only ever known Pig Wild and Granny Owl. Pig Wild believes that a wolf and human cannot be friends, in spite of her own taboo love. Granny Owl supports the friendship of Grimm and Little Red Riding Hood. Moreover, she encourages her to bring him to the village to put an end to the rumors, unaware of the villagers' cruelty. The villagers are become defensive when Little Red Riding Hood brings Grimm to the village. The old yard dog, Sultan, the current mayor of the village, has dark secrets he wants to remain hidden. The Pig aspires to be mayor and plots against the wolf.
World premiere
Grimm! was premiered at the Children's Theater of Opera Graz on 7 December 2014. The German premiere took place at the Neuköllner Oper in Berlin on March 19, 2015.
In August 2015, the performance in Graz was nominated in four categories for the German Musical Theatre Award by the German Musical Academy. On October 26, 2015 Peter Lund was awarded in the Best Book category, and Christof Messner won Best Actor.
Reviews
"Lund and Zaufke have created an interesting new family musical which, despite some difficulties, works quite well. The score is wonderful, packed with some great moments, with all sorts of musical influences.“ ''
