Hawaii Theatre Center's SHOWTIME! Student Matinee Series presents
RUMPELSTILTSKIN

March 11-13, 2008

For information on
attending a student matinee performance
your educational institution should contact:
Hester Kamin
Education Director
(808) 732-0358
hesterkamin@hawaiitheatre.com

In order to make himself appear more important, a miller lied to the king saying that his daughter could spin straw into gold. The king called for the girl, shut her in a tower room with straw and a spinning wheel, and demanded that she spin the straw into gold by morning, for three nights, or be executed. (Some versions say that if she failed, she would be skewered and then fricasseed like a pig.) She had given up all hope, when a dwarf (Rumpelstiltskin) appeared in the room and spun straw into gold for her in return for her necklace; then again the following night for her ring. On the third night, when she had nothing with which to reward him, Rumpelstiltskin spun straw into gold for a promise that the girl's first-born child would become his.

The king was so impressed that he let the miller's daughter marry his son, the prince, but when their first child was born, Rumpelstiltskin returned to claim his payment: "Now give me what you promised". The queen was frightened and offered him all the wealth she had if she could keep the child. Rumpelstiltskin refused but finally agreed to give up his claim to the child if the queen could guess his name in three days. At first she failed, but before the second night, her messenger overheard the dwarf hopping about his fire and singing:

When the dwarf came to the queen on the third day and she revealed his name, Rumpelstiltskin  lost his bargain. In the 1812 edition of the Brothers Grimm tales, Rumpelstiltskin  then "ran away angrily, and never came back". The ending was revised in a final 1857 edition to a more gruesome version where Rumpelstiltskin  "in his rage drove his right foot so far into the ground that it sank in up to his waist; then in a passion he seized the left foot with both hands and tore himself in two." Other versions have Rumpelstiltskin  driving his right foot so far into the ground that he creates a chasm and falls into it, never to be seen again. In the oral version originally collected by the brothers Grimm, Rumpelstiltskin  flies out of the window on a cooking ladle.
 

This production, made possible by a generous grant from the James and Abigail Campbell Foundation, performs specifically to 6th, 7th and 8th grade students from the Leeward area.

In 2006, through a grant from the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture & Arts, the Hawaii Theatre Center was able to host, for the first time, the 4th Annual PUNCHBOWL MUSIC FESTIVAL. This festival brought together neighboring schools; Central Middle School, Kawananakoa Middle School, and Stevenson Middle School; together in a professional setting which allowed for comfortable attendance of family, friends, and faculty.

The PUNCHBOWL MUSIC FESTIVAL features both "Beginning" and "Concert" bands from each school as well as a Beginning and Concert "Honor Band" comprised of students from each of the schools.

In our historic professional venue, these students are afforded the opportunities of musical performance as well as social interaction with other students in a safe and professional setting. The Hawaii Theatre looks forward to once again hosting the PUNCHBOWL MUSIC FESTIVAL for its 5th Anniversary!