Friday October 17

Hansel & Gretel

Kids will enjoy this super-sweet re-telling of the classic Brothers Grimm fairy tale, full of deception, wit and cupcakes the size of your head. Parents might leave with a lingering saccharine aftertaste, however, from the many long-winded repetitive musical numbers. Sets and costumes are beautifully embellished and intricate, and the dancing trees make choreographing teenagers look like a walk in the, well, woods. Performers Roxanne Stathos (Gretel) and Lea Zawada (Hansel) handle their vulnerable roles with intelligence and ease, and Melody Bridges (stepmother and witch) keeps the audience laughing with her hot-oven hijinks. DEEDA SCHROEDER. NW Neighborhood Cultural Center, 1819 NW Everett St., 222-4480. 7 pm Fridays, 2 and 7 pm Saturdays, 2 pm Sundays. Closes Nov. 2. $10-$20.