He's Big. He's Bad. Or is he...?
In this hilarious musical within a play, our compassionate, maligned Wolf is rather upset! With the help of his woodland friends, the Wolf bravely defends his reputation and reveals Red for who she really is. Filled to the brim with cheesy puns, a kid-friendly story, one highly stressed out stage manager and plenty of gags for the grownups, this show is sure to please all kids, great and small.
The cast
Christy Stang
Role: Little Red Riding Hood
A member of the Upstage resident cast, Christy has evolved as a performer through roles such as Mother in Jack and the Magic Beanstalk, Model Boat in The Velveteen Rabbit, Nick in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Sadako in A Thousand Cranes, Miss Quackenbush in Recess!, and Sardines in The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.
Christy is excited to be performing as a part of the Fringe Festival, reprising her 2005 Upstage role as Little Red Riding Hood. She is also excited to be having her 13 1/2 birthday during the festival.
Russell Schneider
Role: Wolf
Russell joined Upstage for the first time in 2007, playing the Shoeman in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day and again for one of Upstage's Showcase performances. An avid and talented actor, Russell has also had roles in Angels in America, Three Penny Opera, and Warplay.
Russell also plans to own the Twin Cities by weight of his unholy acting talent! And he is already Macalester College's go-to guy for roles with a ton of lines needed memorized fast.
Marie-Helene B. Grzesiak
Role: Grandma
Marie-Helene, Elly to the Upstage gang, is the Artistic Director for Upstage Musical Theatre Workshop. The main creative force behind all Upstage does, Elly's contributions are too numerous to mention. Upstage students find her to be a choir director, vocal coach and extra big sister.
As a day job, Elly also works as a voice and dialect coach, consultant, script doctor and documentary writer and is a sought-after playwright on both sides of the border. She is currently composing a full-length opera and, at dusk, fights zombies with a formidable combination of C4, awkward sartorial choices and dubious mathematical expressions. Affiliations include: NAPW, AFM Local 30-73, WGAe, MAD!Scientist.
In the end, she is an Elly...she does stuff...and things.
Elizabeth Kenison
Role: Red's Mother
Elizabeth joins Upstage for the first time to take on the role of Mother. Prior to Upstage, Elizabeth has played Holofernes in Love's Labours Lost and Belinda Cratchet in A Christmas Carol.
This 15 year old is sweet and quiet, but with a killer sense of humor, allowing her to fit right in and win over the Upstage team instantly. Upstage faculty warn audiences to watch for this one!
Jordan Loeffler
Role: Deer
Jordan is joining the Upstage cast for the first time. As a member of the Henry Sibley Drama Club, he has played such roles as John Proctor in The Crucible and Narrator #2 in The Brothers Grimm Spectaculathon. A recent graduate, Jordan plans to attend University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire to study education and business.
The Upstage faculty have found Jordan to be not only a delightful addition to the cast, but also a quick wit and great sense of humor throughout the workshop process.
Nicholas Christenson
Role: Rabbit
Nicolas is becoming a regular with the Upstage crew. He has wowed audiences in Upstage's regular student written showcases, and he starred as Keith (the stupid looking kid) in The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. At an energetic and fearless 9 years old, Nicolas has a varied theatre background that includes Streetcar! Twin Cities Bound at the Stepping Stone Theatre and playing the role of Max in the Guthrie's production of The Falls.
Nicolas' contagious personality makes him a joy for the Upstage team to work with. Always helpful, always smiling, and always a great character!
Grace Scribner-O'Pray
Role: Skunk
From her first Upstage role as Princess Grace Full in What's Eating Francis Charming?, Grace has grown into her own as a character actor, including roles in multiples showcases, Recess!, A Thousand Cranes, and a two roles in The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.
The Upstage staff have watched Grace grow to a strong, beautiful 13 year old who has a mind of her own! Her instinct for character and her infectious smile have helped Grace become a key member of the Upstage team.
Madi "The Hat" Hyde
Role: Butterfly
As a member of Upstage's resident cast, Madi has played numerous roles. She started as the sweet and quiet Gypsy Ann in The Magic Beanstalk and evolved into a sensational character actor and vocalist through roles such as Miss Marmelstein and Snoopy in Upstage's showcases, the Train Engine in The Velveteen Rabbit, Audrey and Philip Parker in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, and Darktan in The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.
A truly versatile triple threat teen performer, Madi stepped into the director's role for Upstage's production of A Thousand Cranes. Her insight, wit, humor, and talent make her an asset to the Upstage team. She is excited to reprise her role of the Butterfly from Upstage's 2005 production.
Anthony Letourneau
Role: Woodcutter, Understudy (many roles)
As the Drama Club President for Henry Sibley High School this year, Anthony lives and breathes theatre. Though this is his first appearance with Upstage, Anthony has been in many productions with Prairie Five Theater as well as the Henry Sibley Drama Club. His favorite role was Daisy the Gangster in Hallelujah Hotdish by Dan Hurleburt!
Always quick with a quip, joke, or breaking into random song, Anthony kept the whole Upstage team on their toes. He proved his versatility and immense skill stepping in to understudy any role available.
Madeleine O'Connor
Role: Stage Manager (in training)
At the ripe old age of 10, Madeleine has become an Upstage regular. She has performed in Upstage showcases, A Thousand Cranes, Recess!, and The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents.
Deceptively quiet in appearance, Madeleine has brought to Upstage a keen sense of humor, fabulous character ideas, a blossoming staging instinct and plenty of smiles. Madeleine says she would like to perform on Broadway someday.
Emily Burton-Weinman
Role: Stage Manager
Emily is the Program Director for Upstage Musical Theatre Workshop. To the Upstage gang, she is often director, stage manager, goofy dancing teacher lady, and make up girl. Constantly with a script, clipboard, and an armload of props, Emily tends to play shepherd to the ever growing band of Upstage misfits.
Emily brings her background not only in theatre, but also as an attorney to run the business end of Upstage. According to Elly, Emily is the one "who knows what's going on".
Although she has played many onstage roles in her theatre past, Emily's heart truly lies behind the curtain in the director's and teacher's chairs.
Upstage! Musical Theatre Workshop
The Real Story of Little Red Riding Hood
Fri., Jul. 31 @ 7:00 p.m.
Sun., Aug. 2 @ 5:30 p.m.
Tue., Aug. 4 @ 5:30 p.m.
Fri., Aug. 7 @ 5:30 p.m.
Sat., Aug. 8 @ 8:30 p.m.
Venue Mixed Blood Theatre
For ages 2+
Written by Judy Wolfman & David Reiser
Web site www.upstagemtw.org
genres Musical theater, Comedy
subjects Kids
features Audience participation, First-time Minnesota Fringe Festival producer
Overall rating
User reviews
Great story needs a little tweaking
by Norm Johnson Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Great story very fun and entertaining, the kid put in a performances that were above the age level they were. some tweaking and timing issues with the adult members of the cast.
the stage manager appearance in the show were too frequent and needed to be less of an interruption. Elimination of some of the interuptions would help the pacing. Over all a great play for the kids. The wolf especially did a great job when he broke the 4th wall to talk to the audience.
The tiny kids liked it - I didn't
by Meli Kalikimaka Follow this reviewer
Rating 2 kitties
Some good performances, particularly the Wolf.
Hard to hear sometimes.
The stage-manager-keeps-interrupting bit was extremely lame.
Not just any old fairy tale
by Deanna Larsen Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Kids will enjoy the slapstick hijinks and audience participation, while adults will appreciate the more subtle humor. The musical numbers are funny and well performed. Most importantly, the actors really seem to enjoy themselves which brings a lot of energy to the whole theatre.
Also, keep an eye out for the chicken puppet, I think he's an up-and-coming star.
Enjoyable
by Anna Thor Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
The cast of this play really seemed to be having a good time in it, which rubbed off on the audience. All the actors did a great job. Kudos also to make-up and costumes. The blocking was a little unpolished at spots, but overall I would recommend this show, especially to those who have kids!!
Creative bunch!
by FringeBob Squarepants Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
The props, the costumes and staging in this show are worth the trip. It's nice to see a show with child and teen actors who aren't standing around like a bunch of robots.
I went without a kid and laughed like a maniac at jokes aimed at the adults in teh crowd, not the kids...... so it's for everyone for sure!
Sweet Red, Big Bad Wolf
by Eileen Maloney Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Or was it the other way around?
A great show for little ones and their parents - the story and actors are sprightly, the message is positive, the main character is sympathetic, and there's enough humor to keep youngsters entertained and adults engaged.
This wolf won't scare the itty-bitties, so bring the whole family!
Not Just a kids show
by Colin Ernst Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
HA! This is a great show! Hilarious! Great for kids but adults will get a kick out of it too. Definitely check it out.
Amazing
by Krista Krahn Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
Really, the script, the acting, and most of all, the directing in this play is amazing. A kid-friendly show during Fringe is great in and of itself, but what a pleasure to be able to go to one that is so well-done. Kudos to everyone involved, especially Marie-Helene Boyer Grzesiak. From a fan who flew out from L.A. and was THRILLED to catch this show.
A good retelling
by Dot Cleveland Follow this reviewer
Rating 4 kitties
Kept my 7 year and 13 year olds laughing. Great retelling of an old tale and LRRH is one of my favorites. Great staging and acting - a great time had by all!
Great for the whole family
by Jason Waye Follow this reviewer
Rating 5 kitties
This is a show that will be great for the whole family.
It's your classic fairy tale with a twist. With great performances from all the kids.
This show was great for any kids, with comedy and musical numbers sure to keep their attention. And just enough spice to keep parents and other adults engaged.
Nice Show Lose the Stage Manager Bit
by Chuck Beeson Follow this reviewer
Rating 3 kitties
On a quest for good kids shows, I sat on a bench waiting for the Rush Line to open. I was given a little yarn flower by one of the cast, speaking in an English accent. Once seated, the open stage was donned with a privacy screen and a couple of trees. The cast of Upstage Musical Theatre, mostly kids and all good actors and singers, came out and started the original tale of Little Red Riding Hood. But the wolf (Russell Schneider) was not interested in telling this tale—he thinks Red Riding Hood embellished the original story and that Red Riding Hood is actually a selfish brat, who disses family and friends (and even takes food from the animals in the forest). A stage manager comes out to try to stop Wolf from telling his side of the tale, and eventually he wins and justice is served. But the stage manager bit could have been completely removed—Wolf could have told the story himself instead of his thunder being stolen by a controlling adult in a black t-shirt. There were problems hearing the singers (need to turn the sound down) and the stage left business (in the forest) sometimes distracted away from the central action, but I marveled at the ingenuity of the props, the mixed-media costumes (street clothes and fairy tale) and the choreography of the busy scenes was well done. Fix the story, fix the sound and you got a winner here.
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