Playhouse Jr. puts storybook characters on stage
Two famous but very different storybook characters -- one a sentimental rabbit, the other a bratty tot named Fudge -- will entertain audiences this weekend with two shows under one roof.
Playhouse Jr., the kid-centric division of Point Park University's Pittsburgh Playhouse -- presents "The Velveteen Rabbit" and "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," plays that will show in the Playhouse's Rockwell and Rauh theaters, respectively. Each of the plays uses a cast of Point Park students.
"Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" and "The Velveteen Rabbit" give kids a good variety, says David Vinski, managing director of the Pittsburgh Playhouse in Oakland. Someone can see both shows in one day, or come back another day for a second play during the three-weekend run.
"'The Velveteen Rabbit' is old-fashioned, turn-of-the-century Victorian," Vinski says. He also is the director of "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," which he calls "very modern, hip and crazy."
"The Velveteen Rabbit" -- based on the classic book by Margery Williams -- tells the story of a Christmas morning in Victorian England, when a boy receives the toy rabbit as a gift. As the boy grows to love the rabbit, it comes to life -- and so the warm, fuzzy story goes.
"It doesn't matter what you look like or how different you are or what you can do; it's the meaning and experience of love that helps you to become a real person," says director Penelope Miller Lindblom, describing the theme of "Rabbit."
Lindblom -- also an actress and professor of theater arts at Point Park -- says the dancing and piano music add an appealing dimension to one-hour play.
"Older kids might like it just because the dancing is done very well by our students," she says. "Younger children will be interested because of the subject of the toys coming to life."
"Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing" -- based on the classic novel by Judy Blume -- tells the tales of Peter Hatcher, the 9-year-old "fourth-grade nothing," and his incorrigible 3-year-old brother, Fudge. The comedy comes from Fudge's constant shenanigans, which culminate in the infamous turtle incident.
"If you're familiar with the story, you'll be wondering, 'When's he going to do it?'" Vinski says.
One of the funniest aspects of the play -- which lasts about 70 minutes -- is watching college-age adults play characters ranging from the toddler Fudge to the older parents, he says.
"It may remind us that no matter what our age is, there's still a little child inside," Vinski says.
The play's rollicking humor, he says, comes with highly relatable characters: the pesky and attention-stealing little sibling, and the resentful, annoyed older one.
"These are real people in a family that's very believable," Vinski says. "It's real things you can relate to that are true to life." Additional Information:
Details
'The Velveteen Rabbit' and 'Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing'
When: Each play shows at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; also May 21, 22, 28 and 29.
Admission: $7.
Where: Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Ave., Oakland.
Details: 412-621-4445.
