‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ Is a Holiday Treat Worth Savoring
Elisabeth VincentelliDecember 11, 2017:
America has an acute case of Anglophilia, but it’s a highly selective one. We love “Downton Abbey,” Shakespeare and John Oliver but studiously ignore prawn-cocktail-flavored crisps, Cliff Richard and pantomime. The new Off Broadway show “Jack and the Beanstalk,” presented at the Abrons Arts Center, may help rectify the situation regarding panto, a vaudeville-derived, proudly lowbrow genre that happily endorses an anything-goes approach.
In Britain, pantos are beloved Christmas staples delighting children and adults alike thanks to a cartoonish mix of slapstick, drag, clowning, recycled pop songs, groan-inducing puns and active audience participation; suggestive double entendres are also included for the parents’ benefit.
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