This is undoubtedly the most popular of all my young audience musicals. Theatres, teachers, and booking sponsors frequently request a second, third, and even fourth repeat booking. Originally, this rather spare plot cautionary tale was written to frighted young children from straying too far from home with the grisly conclusion featuring a little girl and her grandmother ending up inside a wolf's stomach! Over the years, story doctors have done revisions with various "happier endings". I have turned the tale into a musical farce featuring a near-sighted little girl, Rose Bluebell, who yearns for a father. She wants to "pair-up" her widowed mother, Milaminia, who never stops talking, with the local woodsman, Anxious Evermum, who is too shy to speak up. When Rose goes off to visit Granny, (the only one who'll listen to her) she loses her glasses (a common occurance) and does not see that her first encounter in the woods is a frustrated Wolf who is looking to keep up the family tradition of "gobbling up" a tasty victim. In three disguises, the Wolf tries to lure Rose off the road to Granny's house by suggesting that they "Take the Shortcut". The woodsman, Anxious, has taught Rose (and the audience) the song "Don't Take the Shortcut!"...which the audience will continually shout during the rest of the play! The Wolf arrives at Granny's house first (with Granny hiding in the hope chest) and puts on a Granny nightie disguise. Milaminia arrives, dressed in a "granny", hoping to learn why Rose isn't happy at home. Anxious arrives, in a "granny", hoping to learn who Rose wants for a new daddy. When Rose arrives at last, the house is filled with four "Grannies", all hiding from each other and singing "Something's Wrong Here". With Rose only able to see blurrs and a mix-up with Granny's sleeping medicine, a wild chase ensues....off the stage and back again.....and in the end, all is happily resolved. It is a five character musical w ith three settings and music that is as "whacky" as the plot! Other songs include "Little Red Cape with a Hood", "Ask What I'd Wish For", "Pack the Basket", "I'm Not Feeling Well, Today" and three arias in which the Wolf tries to pass himself off as an Italian opera singer, a Spanish dancer, and a Forest Fairy. I'm told that for weeks after the performance, kids are singing and shouting "Don't Take the Short Cut!"
Copyright © 2008 Richard Kinter All rights reserved