Synopsis Our story begins with a little girl at bedtime, afraid of the dark. To help calm her fears, her father reads her the story of Hansel and Gretel. Hansel and Gretel live with their father, a poor woodcutter, and their stepmother. With famine rampant in the land, their stepmother devises a plan to abandon the children in the forest so she can have more to eat. The father, upset that he cannot provide for the family reluctantly agrees. After several attempts to lose the children in the woods, the stepmother finally succeeds. Lost, the children stumble upon a cottage made of candy and cake and are invited inside by a kindly old lady and her servant Gumdrop. But the old lady is really a witch who plans to cook the children and eat them. The witch imprisons Hansel and tries to fatten him up, but he fools her by holding a chicken bone for her to touch instead of his finger. Eventually, the witch loses patience and begins to prepare her “child stew.” Ever resourceful, Gretel manages to trick the witch into climbing into the oven where she burns up. The woodcutter arrives and the family lives happily ever after. The little girl is slowly inspired by Hansel and Gretel to face her fears and finally, convinced of her own resourcefulness, she is ready to fall asleep without a care. Rodolfo Ortega Rodolfo Ortega received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music from the University of Arizona and his Master’s of Music from Manhattan School of Music, where he studied piano and composition. The recipient of multiple awards, his compositions are frequently showcased at many of the Pacific Northwest’s premier theaters. Northwest Children’s Theater and School The mission of Northwest Children’s Theater and School is to educate, entertain and enrich the lives of young audiences.