Hansel and Gretel November 12 and 13 at Teatro La Plaza in Panama
Hansel and Gretel (German: Hänsel und Gretel) is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. In the Brothers Grimm Fairy Tale Collection. In some old Spanish editions, the names of the brothers Hansel and Gretel are translated to Juanito and Margarita or changed to Pedro and Margarita.
Two brothers, a girl named Gretel and a boy named Hansel, children of a woodcutter, live with their father and stepmother near a forest, the stepmother hated children. Since they were very poor, the stepmother came up with the idea of taking the children to the deepest part of the forest and leaving them abandoned there. The father did not want to because he loved his children so much, but his wife insisted so much that he finally convinced him. One night, while the two children were about to sleep, they heard their parents' decision. So Hansel gathered a handful of white stones and put them in his pocket. The next morning they got up early to fulfill the hatched plan, Hansel, surreptitiously, was throwing pebbles so as not to get lost and to be able to return home together with his sister.
Already in the forest the tired children fell asleep; when they woke up at night, they realized their loneliness but thanks to the pebbles thrown by Hansel it was easy for them to return home. This same thing was repeated on several occasions, because when the family had nothing to eat, they took the children to the forest and disoriented them. However, one day Hansel marked the path with breadcrumbs instead of pebbles, and the birds ate them. They could not return or leave the forest and thus they were lost for three days.
Suddenly they arrived at a strange little house made of chocolate, biscuits and sugar windows. Hansel climbed onto the roof and took a bite; Gretel began to eat the sugar crystals from a window. Suddenly the door of the house opened and a very old woman appeared, leaning on a cane. The children were scared, but with her kind attitude she convinced them to come in, served them a delicious dinner and prepared two lovely beds for them to sleep in. That woman was a very bad witch; she with her house made of sweets she attracted the children; she then she locked them up, killed them and roasted them to eat them.
She did so the next day with Hansel: she locked him in a pen and ordered Gretel to bring him water and food to fatten him up until he was ready. At four weeks, Gretel was forced to help the witch in all the preparations to kill and cook her brother. When the evil woman put her head into the mouth of the oven to see if it was hot, she Gretel gave her a push, made her fall inside her and closed the door.
She then sought out her brother and freed him. Before leaving the witch's house, the pockets of pearls and diamonds that she had hidden were filled. They walked for many hours, they came to a river and a little duck passed them to the other shore; then it was easy for them to recognize the way home. When they arrived, the father wept with joy. The father had divorced the stepmother. The children emptied their pockets and the precious stones rolled on the ground, the father was very happy and the boys with him. They had become rich, from that day the three of them lived happily together3.
Performances: November 12 and 13, 2022.
Time: 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.
Venue: La Plaza Theater – Director: Lisette Condassin
General Admission: B/.17.12 (14.00 ticket + 2.00 gdm + 1.12 ITBMS).