RAPUNZEL! RAPUNZEL! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale

The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati lets down its hair in March

The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati will bring the world premiere of “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale” to the Taft Theatre, March 23-25 and 31. Music and Lyrics by Janet Yates Vogt and Mark Friedman. The show is being directed by Artistic Director, Angela Powell Walker.

The classic fairy tale of “Rapunzel” comes to life in an exciting new musical featuring that beautiful princess with the long, long, long hair trapped in the tower, a handsome young suitor who doesn’t quite know what he’s searching for – of course, an evil witch who has her eye on what should be Rapunzel’s kingdom, and a tired, yet philosophical, old dragon who tries to make sense of it all! The 17 foot dragon, known as Socrates, was created for the show by Kevin Frisch of the Frisch Marionette Company, and is the biggest puppet the Company has ever created!

A charming musical adventure for the whole family – from the writing team that created last season’s hit, How I Became a Pirate – “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale” is ideal for families with children ages 4+.

“Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale,” The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati, through March 31. 7:30 p.m. Friday March 23, 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday March 24, 2 p.m. Sunday March 25 and Saturday March 31. Taft Theatre, 317 East 5th Street in Downtown Cincinnati. Tickets $7-$20. 1-800-745-3000 and http://www.ticketmaster.com.

Would you or someone you know like to donate hair to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths Program? Plan now to participate in Pantene Beautiful Lengths and The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati’s special events in March 2012.

Eight inches of hair is all it takes to make a difference. Grow, cut and donate your hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths to help make real-hair wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment. Collection boxes will be available at the Taft Theatre (5th and Sycamore Streets, downtown Cincinnati) during the “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Tale” production run (March 23-31). Those donating at a show will receive a special reward! For more information, visit www.thechildrenstheatre.com.

About Pantene Beautiful Lengths:
We know that hair represents more than style. It is self-esteem and confidence. That’s why, since 2006, Pantene has connected tens of thousands of women across the country—inspiring them to grow and cut their hair to help us make real-hair wigs for women fighting cancer. In all, Pantene Beautiful Lengths has collected more than 300,000 ponytails. Since its inception, the program has helped distribute over 18,000 wigs, available at select American Cancer Society wig banks across the country.

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• Donated hair must be a minimum of 8 inches long (measure hair from just above the elastic band of the ponytail to the ends).
• Wavy/curly hair texture is fine—you may straighten hair to measure.
• Hair should be freshly washed and completely dry, without any styling products.
• Hair may be colored with vegetable dyes, rinses and semi-permanent dyes. It cannot be bleached, permanently colored or chemically treated.
• Hair may not be more than 5% gray. Here’s why:
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Synopsis of “Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale”
Meet Socrates – the regal, strong, fire breathing dragon! Well, okay, he used to be strong and regal and he did breathe fire once… but now he has been cursed by the evil Lady Zazalinsky (Lady Zaza) to guard Rapunzel hidden high in a tower. You see, many years ago, Lady Zaza stole a box from an old gypsy woman. Inside the curious box was a beautiful magical jewel and a book of spells. Over time, Lady Zaza became more and more powerful — and more and more evil. She enchanted the King and Queen away from the kingdom and imprisoned their only daughter, Rapunzel. Rapunzel is slated to become the queen on her eighteenth birthday but if Lady Zaza has her way Rapunzel will not show up at the castle in time to claim the crown. Lady Zaza’s ambition is to become the queen.

As Rapunzel’s big birthday approaches, Edgar, the greatest hairdresser in the kingdom, and his best friend, Sir Roderick, a handsome young man, decide to join forces. Edgar wants to go in search of the most perfect head of hair and Sir Roderick has a hunch that joining Edgar may lead them to Rapunzel. Meanwhile, Rapunzel, unaware of all the goings on, continues to do chores in the tower for Lady Zaza while lamenting her name – Rapunzel – which – unlike most other princesses – does not rhyme with anything!

Luckily Edgar and Sir Roderick meet the gypsy woman in the forest and realize that Lady Zaza may have something to do with her tale of woe. The old gypsy leads them to the tower where Rapunzel is kept hidden. It is there that Edgar becomes enthralled with Rapunzel’s beautiful hair and Sir Roderick is smitten with her beauty and charm. Socrates, the dragon – enchanted to defend Rapunzel – fights a battle of wits with Roderick which ends with all of them becoming allies and with Edgar hatching a plan.

At Lady Zaza’s coronation as Queen, Edgar valiantly tries to thwart Lady Zaza by spraying her with mousse and the battle begins – but are they able to stop her? Do they free Rapunzel on time and does Socrates find his fire? In a series of wonderful and magical surprises we see that all’s well that ends well in this comical and quirky “very hairy fairy tale.”

“Rapunzel! Rapunzel! A Very Hairy Fairy Tale” is made possible by the generous support of Pantene Beautiful Lengths. The Ohio Arts Council helped fund this program with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. The Children’s Theatre’s Season Sponsors are the Charles H. Dater Foundation and the Marge and Charles J. Schott Foundation. Media sponsors are The Cincinnati Enquirer, LOCAL 12 and Time Warner Cable. Education Sponsor is the Ladislas and Vilma Segoe Foundation. The Children’s Theatre of Cincinnati is supported by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign.