Ocean City is coming to Carroll County tomorrow in the form of an annual stage musical that the entire family can enjoy.
William and Sue Wills will bring their Parker Playhouse to Westminster High School at 2 p.m. for a single, free performance of the Grimm fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel."
Rewritten as a stage play with five songs by Mr. and Mrs. Wills, "Hansel and Gretel" follows the classic story until the end, which comes as a happy surprise, said Mr. Wills.
"It's just a different viewpoint," he said.
The story opens with Hansel and Gretel singing "Come and Dance with Me." After the youngsters disagree in their opinions of their new stepmother, we meet the woman through a tender ballad, "Call me Mother."
Later, in the forest, the children meet with the witch in the gingerbread house. But the Wills' witch is not as scary as most witches.
"When you first meet the witch, she comes off as a nice, kind lady, even singing a song, then the story eases into her true character," Mr. Wills said. "But in the play, she's just an old woman."
The cast includes Mr. Wills as the father, Mrs. Wills as the stepmother and witch, and Dan Flynn and Emily Keeley as Hansel and Gretel.
The couple have been doing these children's plays for 17 years. For more than 10 years, they Parker Playhouse, an independent theater group, has been coming to Carroll County, Mr. Wills said.
Mr. and Mrs. Wills share the writing of the scripts and songs for the productions.
He creates the set, and she makes the costumes.
Performances are presented from October through May as cultural shows for schools and publicly in several Maryland counties.
The Westminster performance is sponsored by the Carroll County Youth Recreation Council in cooperation with the Carroll County Department of Recreation and Parks.
Free tickets for "Hansel and Gretel" are available from all Carroll County Public Library branches or the Department of Recreation and Parks, 125 N. Court St., Suite 205, Westminster.
Although tickets are not required for admission, ticket-holders will be seated first. The doors open for seating at 1:30 p.m.
Information: 857-2103.