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One of the first gems of the cable TV age, Faerie Tale
Theatre brings 26 classic tales to life. Produced over a five-year span
(1982-87) for Showtime, FTT brought together creative dramatics and
whimsical writing with some of the top talents of the day. Executive
producer/host Shelley Duvall (who was coming off her breakout role in The
Shining) shepherds this mix of theatrical simplicity and grand storytelling
for these oft-told tales ("Goldilocks and the Three Bears," "Little Red Riding
Hood," "Hansel and Gretel," "Sleeping Beauty," and the like) for kids and their
parents. Since they are not elaborately produced, FTT may be a hard sell
for some smaller members of the family at first, but most should be hooked, even
older kids who may pooh-pooh fairy tales. There's always a slight twist that
makes these productions fresh. The cast is amazing, especially when you think how lightly cable television was
thought of in the '80s: Jeff Bridges, Bud Cort, Liza Minnelli, James Coburn,
Susan Sarandon, Christopher Reeve, Klaus Kinski, Billy Crystal, Matthew
Broderick, Gregory Hines, Eric Idle, Robin Williams and Mick Jagger are some of
the talented--and varied--actors appearing. |
