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A holiday favorite, Babes in Toyland, promises a show full of singing, action and original pieces from the 1903 production.
By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published December 14, 2001
The Center for the Arts at River Ridge gets into the holiday spirit on Sunday with the musical Babes in Toyland, based on the 1903 Broadway show by Victor Herbert and Glen MacDonough.
The show is produced by American Family Theater, a 31-year-old, Philadelphia-based theatrical touring company that plays to about 1.5-million school children a year, according to founder and producer Laurie Wagman.
"We do 24 tours a year with different shows" and several different casts, Ms. Wagman said. "Babes in Toyland is our holiday special. It's become a tradition in many communities."
The original Babes was written as a companion piece to The Wizard of Oz, which had debuted earlier in 1903. Both shows have frightening storms, a long journey through the woods, a nasty villain and eventually arrival at a mythical land, Emerald City in the Wizard and Toyland in Babes. At least two movie versions of Babes have been made, the first in 1934 with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, the second in 1961 with Annette Funicello, Tommy Sands and Ray Bolger as the villain, Barnaby.
The company's version of Babes in Toyland is very similar to the original, Ms. Wagman said. "There is Toyland, the young couple and Barnaby the villain." Several of Herbert's original songs are in the American Family Theater's production, including I Can't Do the Sum and, of course, Toyland, Toyland, she said.
"There are marvelous songs about pretending, lots of action and lots of audience participation," Ms. Wagman said. "We also have a lot of special effects."
Although the show is geared toward ages 6 through 12, it appeals to all ages, she said. It's about 70 minutes long, with no intermission. "Intermissions break the mood," Ms. Wagman said.
The show has a cast of six singer/dancer/actors, all of them doing several different roles. The orchestration is on tape.
WHAT: Babes in Toyland
WHERE: Center for the Arts at River Ridge, Town Center Road, New Port Richey
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday
TICKETS: Center front sections, $15; outer and back sections, $12. Ages 12 and younger, $5. Call (727) 774-7381 or 774-7382 between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. today. Box office opens one hour before the show.