South Park Theatre retells Little Red's story
There's no big, bad wolf in South Park Theatre's "Little Red Riding Good," a clever, original play inspired by the folk story with almost the same name, organizers say.
Just like "Little Red Riding Hood," the South Park Theatre play has a little girl dressed in red, a grandmother and a journey through the woods. But in this story, Little Red -- who, true to the modern context wears a cell phone around her neck -- meets several characters during her journey through the woods and learns to tolerate people's differences. She even gets a good lesson about keeping the environment clean during the play, which has an all-children cast, even for the grandmother character.
And throughout the whole play -- which is held in the outdoor theater at South Park -- the audience will enjoy many laughs, says playwright Shirley Barasch, who wrote the play for South Park Theatre.
"It's a funny play," says Barasch, the retired director of music and fine arts programs at Point Park University in Downtown, and the retired chairwoman of the school's Conservatory of Performing Arts.
"I think (kids) will like it because they'll see that the kids playing the people are children like themselves," she says.
On her journey, Little Red -- who is delivering a basket from her grandmother to neighbors, but disobeys orders not to go through the woods -- meets bullies Duke and Prissy; and some visitors from Puerto Rico, Maria and Diego, who say a few lines in Spanish. None of the kids get along at first because they are picking on each other's speech, clothing and other differences. Meanwhile, the bullies steal a lunchbox, and make a mess by throwing its contents all over the place.
But by the end of the play, all of the kids -- and the grandmother -- become friends, Barasch says. This should teach audience members a lesson about judging people by their appearances, "as opposed to finding out what the other people are like," she says.
The grandmother gives all the kids a lesson by making them pick up the mess they created, and she will even go into the audience at the end of the play to collect some trash. This should give kids a lesson on keeping their environment clean, says Kathy Hawk, the play's director.
"Granny kicks everyone into shape by the end," she says. "It's about accepting all people's differences, as well as Granny's goal of keeping everything clean."
Characters in the play, which includes two songs, are hilarious, and they often go out into the audience, Hawk says.
"Our characters are very stereotyped and very bright and fun to watch," she says. "The way they're costumed and the way they act, and the way they interact with as the kids in the audience. ... it's just going to be one of those fun ones to watch." Additional Information:
'Little Red Riding Good'
When: 6:30 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, 10 a.m. Wednesday
Admission: $2. Bring your own lawn chairs and blankets.
Where: South Park Theatre, intersection of Corrigan Drive and Brownsville Road, South Park
Details: 412-831-8552
