EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
For over half a century, Rachel Rosenthal has been surprising audiences with her unique take on the theatrical experience. A master of performance art, she was recently honored by the city as a “Living Cultural Treasure of Los Angeles.” Over the decades she has shocked, stunned, entranced, amazed, enlightened, and even dumbfounded theatergoers around the world. The only certainty in her work is that nothing is certain. She effortlessly transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary. Now her company’s TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theatre Ensemble is tackling a new genre: fairy tales for the 21st century.
Instant Fairy Tales premieres this weekend with its first installment: The Longest Winter. The show, suitable for all ages, will play at Espace DbD, the Company’s venue on Robertson. Spinning an allegorical tale about learning to care for the environment, the performance will integrate visual arts (including lighting and sculpture work), dancing, storytelling, martial arts, and improvisation. The costumes and sets are inspired by the 1800’s woodcuts of Japanese artists Hokusai and Hiroshige, which depicted the Japanese “floating world” of the theatre, restaurants, teahouses, geisha, and the natural world.
The music springs from the mind and imagination of composer and percussionist Amy Knoles, whose work has been designated as being of “frightening beauty, fascinating, complex” by NPR, and the Times hailed her as “Los Angeles’ new music 
luminary.” Combining computer-assisted live music with electronic controllers, the compositions will sound like nothing you’ve heard before and are sure to add to the magic and mystique of the fantastical visuals.
Fairy tales have fascinated and frightened the masses for centuries. The time is certainly right for a fresh take on these stories that more astutely reflect the new moral dilemmas and human urges that color and shape our modern world. In the hands of Rachel Rosenthal, the end result is guaranteed to be at the very least illuminating—and at the very most profound.
photos courtesy Rachel Rosenthal Company
artwork by Doug Hammett
Instant Fairy Tales: The Longest Winter
Rachel Rosenthal Company
TOHUBOHU! Extreme Theatre Ensemble
Espace DbD, 2847 South Robertson Blvd
Saturday, January 25 at 4:00 and 7:00pm
Sunday, January 26 at 2:00 and 5:00pm
Saturday, February 8 at 4:00 and 7:00pm
Sunday, February 9 at 2:00 and 5:00pm
for tickets ($5), visit Brown Paper Tickets
for more info, call 310.839.0661
or visit www.rachelrosenthal.org