Behind the Curtain

Like a sleight-of-hand artist showing how the trick works, the foremost trompe l'oeil painter and stage designer Christian Thee introduces young readers to the magic of the theater. Giving a tour of the popular opera Hansel and Gretel, Thee's interactive paintings take the reader from lobby to backstage. Curtains lift up, die-cut pages create a three-dimensional scene-and we watch the hidden "performance" actors and actresses, theater manager and stagehands, orchestra members, lighting directors, costumers and artists. Includes a tipped-in program to the story of Hansel and Gretel.