LITTLE ROCK — Two Benton actors will appear in the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre production of Hansel & Gretel’s Gingerbread Games. The show will open Friday and continue through Nov. 11 in Little Rock, and there will be a special pay-what-you-can preview performance Thursday.
Anthony McBride of Benton will play the part of Jacob Grimm. Georgeann Burbank, also of Benton, will appear as Gretel.
“This is not your traditional presentation of this fairy tale,” said Liz McMath of Little Rock, stage manager. “It’s a very loose adaptation of the Brothers Grimm story by our own resident playwright, Kevin Smith. In our story, Hansel and Gretel set out on a scavenger hunt through the woods, where they find a gingerbread house and a witch. It’s fun and fabulous … with lots of songs and laughs.”
McBride, the 23-year-old son of Carl and Rachel McBride of Benton, is in his second season as a company member of the Children’s Theatre, which is a paid position. He graduated from Bryant High School in 2013 and from Henderson State University in 2017, majoring in theater and minoring in dance.
“After I graduated from college, I landed an internship here and am now a company actor and costume assistant. Last year, I was a performance intern. I have done five or six shows here,” he said.
“I’m having a lot of fun with this show,” McBride said, smiling. “It’s not the scary fairy tale I knew as a child.
“My character, Jacob, is loosely based on one of the Brothers Grimm. He’s a very exciting character … very youthful. He’s a contrast to his brother, Wilhelm, who is dark and serious.”
Burbank, the 23-year-old daughter of Dean and Sandy Burbank of Benton, is a performance intern with the Children’s Theatre, which is also a paid position. She is also a 2013 graduate of Bryant High School and a 2017 graduate of Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater with a minor in psychology.
“My character is not the traditional Gretel,” Burbank said. “In the traditional story, her brother, Hansel, takes the lead in everything they do. In this version, Gretel seems to initiate more things. She’s a fun character.”
Both McBride and Burbank were in the recent Children’s Theatre production of Curious George: The Golden Meatball. McBride played the doorman, and Burbank was in the ensemble.
Both young actors will appear in the Children’s Theatre on Tour presentation of Snow White, which will open
Nov. 13 and continue through Dec. 16. The production will be presented in at least 50 performances that have already been scheduled in schools and towns throughout the state. McBride will play a character called Miner, and Burbank will portray the stepmother. This show has also been adapted by Smith from the Brothers Grimm fairy tale.
McBride and Burbank have been acting since they were in middle school, where they first became friends. Both have appeared in productions with The Royal Players at the Royal Theatre in Benton.
Most recently, McBride played the role of Doody in Grease at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse in August in Little Rock, and Burbank appeared in The Royal Players’ August production of Anything Goes in Benton. Both also participated in the Arkansas Shakespeare Theatre’s 2018 season at the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
Pay-what-you-can tickets to Hansel & Gretel’s Gingerbread Games are available for the 7 p.m. Thursday preview performance. Tickets must be purchased that day and in person at the Stephens Inc. Visitors Desk from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. or at the box office from 6-6:45 p.m. The maximum purchase is six tickets per person. Additional tickets can be purchased in person, online or by phone at regular ticket pricing: $10 for AAC members and $12.50 for nonmembers.
Pajama Night at Hansel & Gretel’s Gingerbread Games is scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 2. Patrons are invited to wear pajamas to this performance.
Stickers are available at the box office before the show for children — and parents — wearing pajamas. The cost is $10 for members and $12.50 for nonmembers.
American Sign Language interpreters will be at the 2 p.m. Nov. 3 performance of Hansel & Gretel’s Gingerbread Games. Patrons should visit the box office before the performance for seating assistance.
For more information on Hansel & Gretel’s Gingerbread Games, visit ArkansasArtsCenter.org/theatre or call (501) 372-4000. The Arkansas Arts Center is at Ninth and Commerce streets in Little Rock.