Springer’s ‘The True Story of the Three Little Pigs’ takes a twist on the classic tale

The Springer Opera House continues their Children’s Theatre season this week with “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs” in the Dorothy McClure Theatre.

The show is a spin on the classic children’s tale of “The Three Little Pigs” — but this time the wolf gets to tell his side of the story. Audience members participate by entering the Jury Box to decide whether the Big Bad Wolf is really guilty after all.

Sally Baker, Springer’s director of education, is directing the show. She recently corresponded with arts reporter Carrie Beth Wallace to discuss the upcoming show, what the rehearsal process has been like and what families can expect when they attend the Springer’s production of “The True Story of the Three Little Pigs.”

Q: What ages is this show geared to?

A: Just like the children’s book, the play “The True Story of The Three Little Pigs” is written for young elementary students. It is extremely fun. I have laughed through each rehearsal and I think the whole family can enjoy this silly musical with an important message. The play focuses around the decision of the wolf’s guilt or innocence. Really. The audience is the jury in his trial and will decide in each performance the wolf’s fate. The lesson of the show revolves around that decision; the narrator encourages us all to question one side of the story to find out the real truth for yourself. How different would our world be if we all spent more time considering the other side of the story?

Q: How is your cast? Have you enjoyed working with them?

A: The cast is a combination of professional actors, Columbus State University actors and students from the Springer Theatre Academy. The combination of their personalities, experiences and perspectives on the show has helped make this a wonderful experience. We have laughed a lot. One of my favorite parts of working in children’s theatre is knowing that this show is a first Springer experience for some of our younger cast members. I remember what it was like to be a kid in Springer shows with professional actors and a professional technical team. It’s what made me love this place and work here as an adult. It’s unlike any other experience a young actor can get in our area.

Q: More on the cast: Who are your leads? How old are they?

A: The play centers around Alexander T. Wolf, also known as Big Bad. The prosecuting attorney is named Julia. Those two characters anchor the play, supported by Judge Prudence and a narrator-type character, a reporter named Magill. Mickey Cole, a CSU alumni, has come back to Columbus to play the wolf. I saw him perform in a CSU show a few years ago, and I knew I wanted to cast him one day. When I first read this script about a year ago, Mickey immediately came to mind. He was built for this role. Everyone else is double cast in the show. We do that in the children’s theatre to give more young actors stage time and experience. CSU actors Madison Stepnowski and Madison Romeo play the two Julia characters. Judge Prudence is played by academy students Ella Crowley and Carolina Thompson. Our Magills are played by CSU actor Elizabeth Gibbs and academy student Macy Cardwell. The rest of the cast is rounded out by characters you might expect from the story of the three pigs. One of my favorites is Maxwell, the brick house pig. He makes me laugh.

Q: The show is a musical. In what ways do you feel this enhances the experience for children?

A: The Springer Children’s Theatre does not produce a lot of musicals, but I thought it would be a great challenge for our actors and audience to see a musical this season. We have worked with musical director guru Debbie Anderson and the show has been choreographed by CSU alumnus Maddie Tweed. The style of the music has helped us set a style for the production team — in costume, lighting, scenic and props design. It also lifts the energy of the show in a whole new way. You’ll leave singing “Cheeseburgers Ain’t Cute!”

Q: What are the show’s challenges for the actors? As a director, how do you feel this show has challenged you?

A: One challenge of the show is that the entire cast stays on stage for basically the whole show. All actors — even our youngest ones — have to stay focused for an entire hourlong show. That’s a hard thing to do. They are doing a great job at it, though. Another challenge is in the way the play is built — there is constant audience participation because the characters are trying to convince the audience as the jury to vote one way or another. We have taken this framework of the show and exploded it — the audience’s experience will begin as soon as they approach the theater. They won’t have to wait for the play to begin. We are excited about seeing our audience play with us a bit!

Q: Anything else readers should know?

A: Because the audience plays the role of the pig jurors in Pigsylvania, we encourage you to come as pigs. Wear your best piggy snout or curly tail. This play will certainly be a different experience than ones you have had before.

This story was originally published September 30, 2017 at 9:30 PM with the headline "Springer’s ‘The True Story of the Three Little Pigs’ takes a twist on the classic tale."