‘Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life’ debuts Oct. 21

 

  • Beckham Carr, community member, sings “A Part of Me” during rehearsal. Carr was selected for the role of Young Hans Christian Andersen in Washburn Theatre’s adaptation of “Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life” by June McCarty Clair, John Clair and Derek Hakes.

    '
  • Beckham Carr (left), community member, sings “Big Success” alongside Hannah Andersen (right), undeclared freshman. Carr’s character role is Young Andersen while Andersen’s role is Anne-Marie Andersen, the mother of Andersen.

    '
  • Teri Walton (center), Washburn alum, sings “There Is A Path” as fortune teller Madam Mette. Walton’s character as a fortune teller is tasked to predict the future of Young Andersen and his successes – or failures – as an adult.

    '
  • Casey Van Eaton, Washburn alum, sings “Welcome to Copenhagen” in their role as a townsperson. Many other actors and actresses sing along with Van Eaton, their collective voices echoing in the theater during rehearsal.

    '
  • Joseph Coddington (left), senior in voice performance, talks with Molly Flachsbarth (right), community member. Coddington’s role in this scene is Teenage Andersen while Flachsbarth played Little Match Girl.

    '
  • Young Andersen (Coddington) helps the Little Match Girl (Flachsbarth) pick up her matchsticks after stumbling next to him. After listening to the Little Match Girl’s story about her family life (a future inspiration for a fairy tale), Young Andersen decided to be generous with what little he had left.

    '
  • Hannah Kirby, Washburn alum, stands still as a painting of a Harlequin. Hans Christian Andersen is portrayed with a vivid imagination, which allowed the Harlequin to talk with him during internal dialogue.

    '
  • Joseph Coddington plays the lead role of Teenage Andersen. In “Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life”, Hans Christian Andersen coped with stress by starting imaginary conversations with inanimate objects.

    '
  • Hannah Kirby, Washburn alum, performs the “Dying Child Dance” as Angel. This costume, like many others used in “Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life”, had weeks of development put into it.

    '
  • Abby Strella, freshman in nursing. performs as the mother of a dying child in “Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life”. In an early tale from Hans Christian Andersen entitled “The Angel,” an angel of God is directly sent to escort good children up to heaven.

    '
  • Josh Staats, senior in accounting, plays the role of Simon Meisling, an aggressive school teacher instructed to teach proper grammar to Teenage Andersen. Meisling’s teachings haunt Andersen throughout the story.

    '
  • Nicolas Carr (left), community member, and Sam Revel (right) perform the song “Complaints and Consolations”. Carr’s role is Jonas Colin, a supportive father figure to Andersen, while Revel plays Edvard Colin, a character that is skeptical of Andersen’s talents upon meeting them.

    '
  • Joseph Coddington, senior voice performance major, plays Adult Andersen during the second act. Andersen received successful feedback, an unexpected impact that knocked the character to the ground.

    '
  • Adult Andersen (Coddington) and Anne-Marie Andersen (Hannah Andersen) sing “Big Success Reprise” together. Adult Andersen returned home to visit his mother and gifted her a copy of his work.

    '
  • Joseph Coddington (left) and Josh Staats (right), play the roles of Adult Andersen and H.C. Orsted, respectively. This scene rehearsal began as a party celebrating Andersen’s new fairy tale book.

    '
  • Beckham Carr, community member, plays the role of the Ugly Duckling. The Ugly Duckling held up swan wings after seeing their reflection in the water.

    '
  • Adult Andersen (Joseph Coddington) and H.C. Orsted (Josh Staat) sing “No One Is A Stranger”. Coddington and Staat, along with the rest of the cast, have prepped tirelessly this semester in preparation for “Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life”.

    '
  • Joseph Coddington, senior in voice performance, sings “A Fairy Tale Life” as Adult Andersen. The final showing of “Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life” has been scheduled for Oct. 30, 2 p.m. in the Neese-Gray Theatre at Garvey Hall 130.

    '
Navigate Left
Navigate Right

Looking for something to do this weekend and not sure what? Well, look no further because a family-friendly play will debut this Friday, Oct. 21, at the Neese-Gray Theatre in Garvey Hall 130. This play is full of surprises and is written by one of Washburn’s very own alumni.
“Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life” is written by June McCarty Claire, who graduated in 1966. Julie Noonan, associate professor of the theatre department and director of “Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life,” explains how meaningful it is to have a play featured at Washburn that was written by an alumni.
“June McCarty Claire was in the first group of students who traveled to Copenhagen in international travel in the 60s,” Noonan said. “She was inspired from that trip to write about the life of Hans Christian Andersen.”
The Friday debut of “Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life” marks the 50th reunion for those who took the trip to Copenhagen decades ago, an event linked with Homecoming this year. Additionally, the play also features three generations of actors from Teri Walton’s family and other Washburn graduates.
The actors for this play have been preparing for weeks to perform in front of an audience. One of the lead actors, Joseph Coddington, senior in voice performance, plays the role of teen and adult Andersen in the play. Coddington said that he puts in a lot of work outside of rehearsals to fully prepare himself for the role. For example, he will spend time practicing his lines, listening to the music to get a better feel for it and will even research his character to discover little tidbits of information.
“Andersen is really that ugly duckling character. He’s very awkward and gawky, very much like a misfit,” Coddington said. “He’s not your normal person. His character doesn’t pick up on social cues, but he’s very bubbly. He very much wants to become famous and be a writer, but then also he’s just an over-the-top person with such big goals, and he wants that to reflect on his personality.”
“Andersen: A Fairy Tale Life” will be shown Oct. 21-22 and Oct. 28-29 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 30 at 2:00 p.m. The play tells the story of Andersen from childhood to adulthood, his journey and his personal struggles as he writes his way to success. The show is family friendly and open to all ages.
“I think the show is a very fun, quirky show for all ages,” Coddington said.
Children are also featured in the show, which was very important to Claire when she wrote the play. The show is appropriate for all ages and entertaining for the whole family. Tickets can be purchased before the show at the Neese-Gray Theatre in Garvey Hall 130.
Copy edited by Justin Shepard, Glorianna Noland