| Rumpelstiltskin | |
| Music: | Dov Seltzer |
| Lyrics: | Avraham Shlonsky |
| Basis: | Brothers Grimm Fairytale Rumpelstiltskin |
Rumpelstiltskin ("my-advisor-my-midget") is a Hebrew language-musical based on the Brother's Grimm Fairytale of the same name, written by Avraham Shlonsky. Shlonsky's rendition casts the story in a humoristic light, rather than the grim tone of the original.[1] All monologues and dialogues are spoken in rhyme, and incorporate sophisticated wordplay using the Hebrew language at a high level alongside many inverted allusions to Jewish tradition, including one to the taboo over uttering the Tetragrammaton. Most notable of these allusions are those to the holiday of Purim and its connected piyutim, and to the bases of Hebrew grammar and pronunciation.
| Character | Original cast 1965 | 4th Cameri Revival 2002 | 5th Cameri Revival 2020 |
|---|---|---|---|
| The King | Ze'ev Revach | Alon Ofir / Itay Tiran / Ido Mosseri / Asaf Goldstien / Shoham Shiener | Nadav Netz / Gilad Shmueli |
| Miller | Eli Gorenstein / Simcha Barbiro | ||
| The Miller's daughter | Shoshik Shani | ||
| Rumpelstiltskin | Avraham Chalfi | Alon Sandler / David Bilenca | |
Rumpelstiltskin was first performed in the Cameri Theater in 1965, directed by Yossi Yizraeli, who adapted Shlonsky's original script of a non-musical play into a libretto for a musical.[2] In Israel, this musical is considered a classic and is still presented to this day.