"Grunewald was a witch to cherish. Stuffed
into her no-nonsense sleeveless sweater and sensible
gray wool skirt, she was every child's vision of
an adult run amok, unpredictable and very dangerous.
She didn't tipple the cooking sherry, but there
was letal danger in her eye as she ground her hips
and her threats to the children sank into a growling,
gasping rasp.
-Chicago Sun-Times
"The
Witch (Eugenie Grunewald), swathed in extra flesh
padding around the face, torso and legs, looked
like a vicious housekeeper, the Harpy who guards
the goodies. She cooked like a demented Julia Child
in her all-steel kitchen, slinging ingredients into
her KitchenAid nixer and then force-feeding the
trussed Hänsel with funnel and tube. No broomstick
needed. Ms. Grunewald was simply astonishing, proof
that witches come in all forms."
- The Wall Street
Journal
"Eugenie Grunewald gives a cackling psychotic
portrayal of the witch in the Lyric Opera portrayal
of "Hänsel and Gretel"
- Chicago Tribune
"Later on, things
take a turn for the funny-macabre. The witch's lair
is a stainless-steel abbatoir-cum-kitchen piled
with fancy desserts that wind up smeared over the
singers and slopped about the stage"
