Meet the
2008-2009
Company

For booking
information call
704-973-2808

2008-2009 Touring Season

Praise For The Tarradiddlers...

This was the best show! Characterization was superb! We loved it. Wish we could see it again. Thanks for the outstanding performance.
-- Beverly Scott, Principal, Berrien Elementary

The Velveteen Rabbit

We created so many activities after viewing the show - slide show on computer, story map, retelling and dictating to parents… it was fabulous! Thank you.
-- Beverly Shields, 1st Grade Teacher, Kitty Hawk Elementary School

The Commedia Princess & the Pea

Our school is unanimous! The Tarradiddle Players are a huge hit! We loved the performance. Kids got very involved with the stories. Teachers have commented that you guys are the best group we have ever had come to our school.
-- Denise Hall, Teacher, W. H. Robinson Elementary

The Tarradiddle Players are professional and their performances are always appropriate for our elementary students. Their costumes and stage props etc. are creative and engaging for our children. The students are "wowed."
-- Pat Smith, Principal, Wolf Meadow Elementary

Harry the Dirty Dog

Excellent performance; very timely topic; brisk pace; professionally done; easy to work with. Thank you for coming.
-- Leslie H. Barnette, Principal, Oxford Elementary

Excellent! Students laughed and thought; this was a great experience for them. Singing and acting were superior. Please come again.
-- Andrew Miller, Assistant Principal, Sweetwater Elementary

Wiley & the Hairy Man

I think you were excellent. Any play you perform would be wonderful. Thank you so very much for coming. The children talked about you all day.
-- K-2 Teacher, Idlewild Elementary

Our students always respond very positively to this group of performers. They feel as if they have become friends over the years.
-- Judy Adams, Principal, Wayne Avenue Elementary

A Thousand Cranes

This theatre group is the best we have ever had.
-- Becky Lawrentz, Cultural Arts Chairman, Kitty Hawk Elementary School

The performance was outstanding! The variety of scenery, characters, and mood was excellent, especially with a cast of four! I would love to have a performance like this available for parents and children to see together.
-- Becky Strickland, 3rd Grade Teacher, Kitty Hawk Elementary

The Littlest Angel

The students were spellbound! That's very hard to achieve in today's society.
-- Donna Newell, 4th grade teacher, Bain Elementary

New Kid

The children were mesmerized during the show and talked about it long afterwards! Great set, super costumes, clear dialogue - just all around outstanding event.
-- D. Fischer, 3rd Grade Teacher, Kitty Hawk Elementary

A Thousand Cranes

By Kathryn Schultz Miller

This delicate and beautiful play tells the true story of Sadako Sasaki, a story of personal strength, courage and love of life. Sadako was 12 years old in 1955 when she developed leukemia from exposure to the atomic bomb that devastated her city. Once a star runner, Sadako finds herself confined to a hospital bed. A friend reminds Sadako of the Japanese legend that if a sick person folds 1,000 origami paper cranes they will be healed. With the help of her friend, Sadako pours all of her energy into folding the cranes, of which she wrote “I will write Peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world.”

Adapted by Scott Davidson
from the story by Margery Williams

The Velveteen Rabbit is an ordinary stuffed bunny filled with sawdust. All the other toys in the nursery snub him for being boring and old-fashioned, but once the Boy discovers the forlorn little rabbit they become instant friends. As their friendship grows, the Velveteen Rabbit learns what it means to be truly loved – and the joy and pain of what it means to be real. Adapted from the classic book by Margery Williams, this poignant story of the transformative power of love has charmed generations of families and continues to be one of our most popular productions.

The True Story of the
Three Little Pigs

Book and Lyrics by Robert Kauzlaric
Music by Paul Gilvary and William Rush
Adapted from the book by
Jon Scieska and Lane Smith
© 1989 by Jon Scieska and Lane Smith

Everyone knows the story of the Three Little Pigs, right? Three piggies build houses, but two of them choose lousy materials and get devoured by a Big Bad Wolf. The third builds with brick and lives to see another day. The End. But have we heard the whole truth, or is this porcine propaganda? Jon Scieszka raises that question in this brilliant parody of The Three Little Pigs, brought exuberantly to the stage by Robert Kauzlaric. This rock ’n’ roll musical finds the Big Bad Wolf on trial for his purported deeds, and, believe me, he has an entirely different version of the story. The audience becomes the jury and helps decide: guilty or not guilty!! Your vote could change the fate of the Big Bad Wolf (or, is it the poor, innocent Wolfie) forever...

By Lane Riosley

Hop on a magic carpet with Aladdin as he summons the powerful Genie of the Lamp and changes his fortunes forever. With The Commedia Aladdin, our Tarradiddle Players continue their tradition of bringing classic stories to the stage with a hilarious twist. The centuries old Italian Commedia dell’arte theatre style inspired such modern day comedians as Abbott and Costello and the Marx Brothers. Fresh, fast-paced and full of physical humor, our Commedia shows are always faithful to the original tale – but with an irresistible mix of naivety and silliness that leaves audiences helpless with laughter.

We are excited to present our Early Childhood Tour for the 2008-2009 season. Each show lasts 40 minutes and is especially crafted to appeal to children ages 3-7. The shows are based on familiar and not so familiar books and stories, poems and songs, and we will send you a curriculum guide so that you can share many of the stories with the children beforehand.

Tarradiddle Tales

By Flora B. Atkin

A great introduction to live theatre for our youngest audiences, Tarradiddle Tales explores four simple folk tales from four different countries: “The Magic Tree,” a Bantu folk tale; “Peter the Fool,” a Danish story; “Spider Talk,” an Anansi story from Ghana; and “Tiger Trap,” from India. Three actors tell the tales in a playful storytelling style that makes clever use of colorful prop pieces and involves audience interaction.

Available mid-October through mid-November, 2008
 

Animal Tales

By Joanna Gerdy

Animal Tales, one of our special performances for preschoolers, features a variety of different animal stories, poems and songs drawn from fables, folk tales and legends. The stories teach universal lessons and spark youthful imaginations. Animal Tales is a wonderful introduction to the joys of live theatre.

Available mid-March through mid-April, 2009

Create-A-Play Workshops
These workshops introduce students to the basics of playwriting and are an excellent foundation for all creative writing activities. Call us for more information.

For bookings, call the Tarradiddle Players at 704-973-2808.