Fearsome Fairies

When most people think of fairies, they think of Tinker Bell, the mischievous but harmless little sprite of Disney's "Peter Pan."

But that wasn't always the case. In olden days, before they became Disneyfied, fairies were feared as powerful supernatural beings who could really wreak havoc on the world. That was what Shakespeare had in mind when he wrote "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and populated it with the likes of Puck and especially Oberon, the ferocious King of the Fairies.

My son, Doug, has been cast as Oberon in the upcoming production of "Midsummer" at the College of St. Elizabeth in Madison. I've warned him that he'd better start hitting the gym, because every Oberon I've ever seen has been a muscular, bare-chested athlete.

In this week's column, classical music writer Anita Donovan has observed that fairies are the common theme of two major concerts in the area this weekend. On Friday night at the Trenton War Memorial's Patriots Theatre, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra will present its program "Best of ...Fairy Tales." It will feature Ravel's "Ma Mere L'Oye," or "Mother Goose Suite." Then on Saturday night, the Tchaikovsky Ballet Theatre presents "Sleeping Beauty" at the Matthews Theatre at the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton. The princess is cursed into her lengthy sleep by an evil fairy because she felt snubbed at not being invited to her christening. Believe me, that's no Tinker Bell!

Elsewhere. the cover story in this week's Good Times is Backbeat columnist Lisa Rich's story about fiddler Natalie MacMaster, who brings her energetic, foot-stompin' Cape Breton style of fiddling to McCarter tonight.

Michele Angermiller warns people they need a thick skin to attend Lisa Lampanelli's performance at the War Memorial Saturday. Lampanelli is an equal opportunity offender with an unkind word for just about everybody.

Fine Arts columnist Janet Purcell tells us about a photography show showcasing Tasha O'Neill's unique perspective at Gallery 14 in Hopewell.

Theater columnist Ted Otten interviews playwright Barry Wyner, whose new musical "Calvin Berger," based on the timeless story of Cyrano de Bergerac, is making its debut at New Brunswick's George Street Playhouse.

Food maven Susan Yeske reviews Hanami, the reincarnation of the popular Chinese restaurant Sunny Garden in West Windsor.

We also have a heads-up about the Trenton Film Society's annual "Oscar Shorts" screening Saturday at the Mill Hill Playhouse. There will be two showings of all 10 Academy Award-nominated short films, both in the animated and live action categories. Among the animated shorts will be a new Wallace and Gromit cartoon, "A Matter of Loaf and Death."

As for full-length movies, film critic Stephen Whitty gives a thumbs-up to the remake of "The Crazies," but he wasn't so crazy about the Bruce Willis-Tracy Morgan flick "Cop Out."

As always you can read all of these stories on nj.com. Go to The Times of Trenton link and then click on Entertainment.