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Friday, December 01, 2000 Page: 13A
Look for an exciting ice skating race across the stage as the ArtsPower
National Touring Theatre brings “Hans Brinker’s Christmas” to the F.M. Kirby
Center on Tuesday.
“It’s done through music and lyrics and very compelling orchestration,”
said Gary Blackman, who co-founded the theater with his identical twin
brother, Mark, 15 years ago. “It’s quite a powerful scene.”
But the show isn’t so much the story of an athletic competition as it is an
affirmation of the belief that those who act nobly are eventually rewarded.
Based on Mary Mapes Dodge’s timeless classic, “Hans Brinker and the Silver
Skates,” the original musical is set in 1840s Holland, where the title
character dreams of becoming a doctor.
Unfortunately, his father’s crippling accident has forced him and his
sister, Gretel, to remain at home and support the family.
Though times are hard, Hans and Gretel remain optimistic with the coming of
Christmas and the annual ice skating race for a prize of silver skates. In the
song, “Our Luck is Bound to Change,” the two imagine their prosperity if
Hans were to win the very expensive first prize.
The race also attracts the famed surgeon Dr. Boekman and his nephew, Peter.
Hans knows that Dr. Boekman could cure his father’s condition if only his
family could afford the operation. With even more incentive to win, Gretel
sells her favorite necklace to buy her brother a better pair of skates. Hans
prepares for the race with the song, “When I Win.”
However, the elitist Dr. Boekman has no intention of operating on Hans’
working class father and knows that if Peter wins the race, the Brinkers will
remain too impoverished to pay. Peter is also eager to win the race in order
to prove himself to his uncle.
Disaster strikes on the day of the race, but Hans faces the situation with
integrity and courage.
“The reason the play is so popular and compelling is that the script is
very strong,” Blackman said. “The way the story is told is from the
perspective of two young people and how they overcome adversity. Seeing two
young people triumph is entertaining not only to children but to adults. It’s
a very hopeful story.”