If you have a heart beating inside you, you’ve got to feel at least a little bit sorry for Cornelius “B.B.” Wolf, or “Big Bad” as he’s known to his friends.
At least four times by my count, the hapless forest-dwelling carnivore, through a series of mishaps worthy of the Three Stooges, ends up heading in the emergency room during the 50-minute run of “Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?,” which opened this past weekend as part of the Theater for Young Audiences initiative of the Vienna Theatre Company.
The show, penned by Tom McCabe, is a mash-up of two classic tales – Little Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. Goofy and featuring a good dollop of audience participation, “Wolf” is a solid choice for those ages 10 and under while also delivering enough cornpone humor to keep parents entertained, too.
As the wolf (portrayed with relish by Mike Cash) is stalking his prey, he in turn is being tracked by pelt-hunting Piedmont Pierre (Henry Gill), sporting what the show admits is an over-the-top French-Canadian accent (“I hunt ze vulf – here, vulfie-vulfie!”).
The three pigs (the brains of the operation played by Hailey Barton, with Erika Horton and Ellen Woodstock adding comic relief) are kept busy putting up houses based on the forest’s sketchy building codes, while elsewhere, Mrs. Hood (Marissa Dolcich) sends daughter Bernice (known to history as Little Red, played by Catherine Thompson) off to visit her 99-and-364/365ths-year-old grandmother (Soni Oberleas) and deliver some custard that seemingly no one else has a hankering for.
Directed by Scott Olson, the one-act show does hit high notes with its target audiences, who are allowed in on the action at times as the tales overlap to engaging effect.
Kathy Dunlap (costumes), Tom Epps (light design) and Stacy King (sound design) each get extra credit for very nice work in a show that has plenty of charms and knows what its audience wants.
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“Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?” continues Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 3-4, at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at the Vienna Community Center, 120 Cherry St., S.E.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $5 for children, and are available at the door. For information, see the Website at www.viennatheatrecompany.org.
