Gardner-Webb Students Present One-Act Opera for Children

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Actors, stage crew and musicians from the Gardner-Webb University Departments of Theatre Arts and Music will present two weekends of “Little Red Riding Hood—A Children’s Opera In One Act” by Seymour Barab. Hosted by the School of Performing and Visual Arts, the production is directed by Dr. Stafford Turner, associate professor of Music.

Performances are open to the public and will be presented in the Millennium Playhouse, located behind the GWU Communications Studies Hall on Main Street in Boiling Springs. Dates and times are Feb. 21-22 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 23 at 2:30 p.m., Feb. 28-29 at 7:30 p.m. and March 1 at 2:30 p.m.

“This children’s opera was composed to help introduce the genre to young audiences,” Turner observed. “Although it is technically labeled an opera, it is far from what we typically think of when we imagine the great operas of history and is actually much more akin to a musical theatre show. Sung in English, it provides a clever and entertaining twist on the Brothers Grimm classic.”

In addition to the public performances, the GWU cast and crew will present the opera for local students in two private showings. The story is the same as the fairy tale, where Little Red Riding Hood goes through the woods to visit her sick grandmother but instead finds a hungry wolf.

Because the opera has only three parts, there are two different casts to give more students an opportunity to participate. The cast members for Feb. 21, 23 and 29 are: Madeline Bame as Little Red Riding Hood, Cheyenne McCall as the mother and grandmother, and Chris Adams as the wolf and woodsman. Cast members for Feb. 22, 28 and March 1 are Deja Fields as Little Red Riding Hood, Kaitlin Craig as the mother and grandmother, and Marshall Townsend as the wolf and woodsman.

For information about tickets, contact the Box Office at (704) 406-4656 or [email protected].

Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 10 working days prior to the event. Please call (704) 406-4270 or email [email protected] with your request.