Hansel and Gretel Are Coming to Carrollwood

Play’NAround is a children’s theater company that has been delighting audiences throughout the Tampa Bay area for the past 11 years by performing their brand of modern adaptations of older fairytales to entertain and educate children of all ages.

"They’re fantastic, and so passionate at what they do. Kids love their shows, which provide such a positive message," said Adrienne Hutelmyer, marketing and community relations manager for the Carrollwood Cultural Center, where Play’NAround will perform Hansel and Gretel this Sunday at 3 p.m.

The show tells the story of Hansel and Gretel, who venture into the woods to find blueberries. In the woods, they encounter an extremely misunderstood and friendless ogre named Oggy, played by Casey Wilson, who has been rumored to eat little children who trespass on his land.

"Never judge a book by its cover," is the message that we’re trying to get across to kids with this story, said Brad Colley, Play’NAround co-creator.

Each show poses a variety of different moral dilemmas that the characters face, which are similar to real life situations that kids face every day.   

Their "Let's Talk About It" series features a little girl, Penelope Jane (played by Robbie), who must deal with bullies, environmental issues and, in the next addition to the series, confront anxieties about the FCAT's.

Brad and Robbie Lynn Colley formed the traveling theater company in 1999, and perform between 400 to 500 shows annually in schools, theaters and other performance venues. They have a total of 15-16 different shows that they perform, and all the stories and music are written and composed by the couple, who have been married for 17 years.

Robbie Lynn has been involved with theater since she was in junior high school and has been writing since she was a child.

"Writing and performing, for me, is organic, because they always comes from the heart, and there is something magical about how a good script and music can touch people’s lives," she said.

According to Hutelmyer, Hansel and Gretel is the fourth show of the 2010-2011 season that the company is doing for the Carrollwood Cultural Center.

Earlier in the year, they did Little Red Riding Hood, the Nutcracker and Bully Proof: The Musical. Their final show of the season for the cultural center will be a part of Play’NAround’s "Let’s Talk About It Series," and is titled: Going Green: The Musical, which will occur in April.

Ticket prices for Hansel and Gretel are $7 for members, $10 for nonmembers and children under 4 are free.

For more information about purchasing tickets for this event, call 813 269 1310.   Or, go to Play'nAround's website for information about future performances:  http://www.playnaround.com/.