Tonight, a children’s theatre company in Bonita Springs, Florida — which is part of the Center for the Arts of Bonita Springs — is opening a play that caught my eye. Though it’s been a good two decades since I, myself, acted and sang my little heart out in youth theatre, Not So Grimm Tales by Kevin Bean has me wanting to dive back in.
Little Red saves the wolf!
A tongue-in-cheek retelling of classic Grimm fairytales, Bean’s version of Little Red Riding Hood makes Little Red an animal rights activist and vegetarian who saves the wolf from the Woodsman! Since I’m in NYC, I won’t be seeing this youth play (unless, of course, it comes to Broadway), but I can vehemently tell you that, aside from immediately liking Bean because, well, his name is BEAN — I so appreciate that the Youth Theatre of the Center for the Arts of Bonita Springs is producing this clever adaptation. I just hope against hope that that some little tyke in the play thinks that the retelling is the real version. And that the cast party includes vegan pizza.