Tales with Teeth: Four Nightmares
By Don Nigro
Planet Connections Theatre
The Clemente, The Latea
107 Suffolk St, New York, NY 10002
Review by Alexa Garcia

Tales with a teeth is a collection of Don Nigro shorts with a terrifying nightmare theme, stories, and characters from our childhood. Hear the stories of Jack (in the box), Humpty Dumpty, Maria from The Nutcracker, Katrina from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow – and Medusa – as they tell you how their lives have unexpectedly turned out. Most of these characters originate from the Victorian Era. You’ll scream or cry like a baby or maybe Tales with Teeth will just ruin your childhood stories – forever.

Written by Don Nigro and directed by Janet Bentley, Ivette Dumeng, Gregg Pica, and Lori Kee, this quorum brings you genuinely thrilling, hair-rising fairy tales sure to terrify. The production benefits Brooklyn Public Library. The cast pulled out all the stops in the scary department turning in a magnificent set of performances. Notable among the notable is Daniel Lugo (Jack), a surprising entrance was all he needed to get the audience quaking in their shoes. Lugo marinated us in the most macabre sauce making him a real standout. His vocal quality and screeches were absolutely unbridled. He is joined by Alex C. Ferill (Humpty Dumpty), Lori Kee (Katrina/ the wife of to the headless horseman and director/Nutcracker), Tatyana Kot (Marie/ Nutcracker), and Christine Ann Vega (Medusa).

Nigro picked characters identifiable enough so anyone can enjoy the night’s event. Another memorable player was Alex C. Ferill’s Humpty Dumpty and Christine Ann Vega’s star-turn as Medusa as they gave us recognizable characterizations peppered with equal parts of drama and comedy (I guess they knew their horror show requirements).

If you’re like I am and want a bit of fright once in a while, enter freely and of your own free will!