Nancy Maes

When the Brothers Grimm wrote down the tale of "Hansel and Gretel," they saw to it that the children's stepmother died in the end. Children may see the woman's death...

Every time Cynthia McKenzie sat down to write an environmental puppet play for the weekend programs she coordinates at the Chicago Botanic Garden, she kept going back to the plot...

Trains are very high on the list of kids' favorite things. "Children, particularly in the preschool years, are fascinated with trains because they are an important symbol of what is...

When children in the Organic Theater's Young Actors' Program present "The Wizard of Oz," seven girls will take turns playing the role of Dorothy during the same performance. And at...

When Edith Armstrong arrives to tell stories, she comes dressed in African clothing. She wears a long, colorful skirt and a flowing top and several yards of fabric wrapped around...

`Free" might be the key word to describe the Highland Park Strings' Family Concerts, but an even better one would be "quality." The musicians in this North Shore string ensemble...

The name YMCA doesn't mean what it says. The letters may stand for Young Men's Christian Association, but that's not an accurate description. "We translate the `Christian' in our name...

You turn on the faucet and you expect water to come out and it does . . . usually. "We take water for granted until a water main breaks or...

The Underground Railway Theater is in Arlington, Mass., but its name was inspired by the history of Oberlin, Ohio, where the company was founded in 1976. "Oberlin had been an...

Lifeline Theatre's production of "The Adventures of Pinocchio" is performed by actors and puppets, but it never really occurred to composer Michael Vitali that many of the songs would be...