BROADWAY BULLET - Maria's NYMF 2007 Blog

I have always loved children's theatre. Why? Because almost all of them are creative and efficient in their setting and costumes, most of which is probably because of budget constraints and they tour. I love that children's theatre isn't afraid of thinking outside the box, in terms of staging and casting. Children's theatre needs the best kind of actors, those that have a big bag of tricks (dialects, voices, dancing, etc); they need to have great timing, skills and the kind of energy that will make a child stay tuned for an hour or so. That's why I am so glad that Petite Rouge: A Cajun Red Ridinghood was in the Festival. The show was such a blast! Sure, the plot wasn't complicated. Sure, the music wasn't, oh I don't know, groundbreaking. But those two kids in the front row that day were just completely engulfed in the story and in the music. And so was everyone else. Part of what really made this production successful was giving Little Red a little makeover. They set it in Louisiana, with Little Red (some sort of bird) lives. Grandmere is sick, and Little Red needs to give her--what else, gumbo with hot sauce! Instead of venturing off into forest she goes into the swamp, with the help of her friend,TeJean the cat (Billy Bustamante). The mean wolf is replaced by a really hungry and deceitful crocodile. Little Red's swamp adventure includes a ride in a riverboat and the Mardi Gras celebration. Add to that heartwarming and fun songs by composer Joan Cushing, a talented cast--you've got a winner. Indeed, even before their New York debut, Petite Rouge already had great reviews. And if you visit their site at NYMF, it seems that New York loves her, too. My favorite songs include "Waiting for Life to Start" sung by Petite Rouge (Felicia Curry) and "I'm Hungry" sung by Claude, the hungry crocodile (Bobby Smith). But really, all the songs were just so entertaining, so full of flavor and soulful beat, sung with so much heart and love, you can't help but fall in love with the show.