Today’s the final show for THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND. I can’t believe it! The time has flown by!

I’ll do a wrap-up post in a few days, but I want to thank our wonderful and dedicated cast, our fantastic Director Marc Richard, and my gifted collaborator (and Musical Director) Mitchell Kitz for turning this into such a creative and energizing experience.

I’m so proud of everyone involved in the show — we’ve done a great job, and our sell-out audiences are a great testament to what we’ve created.

I’ve talked to a bunch of people who have seen the show again and again — thank you to all you honorary PIGLETS.

It looks like you’ll need to be at the Palmerston Library at least an hour before showtime today to get a ticket. Don’t miss it!

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I never read reviews…I just post them on my blog!

Well it’s been a crazy week of sold-out shows for THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND down at the Palmerston Library Theatre! I wish the theatre were bigger, ‘cuz I hate it when we have to turn away parents with kids!

Check out our nifty reviews! Congrats to the cast and musicians and crew!

From NOW Magazine’s “Best and Worst of the Fringe” issue July 13 -19 page 75:

Rated: NNNN [Ed: Yeah! We rock!]Adapted from a Beatrix Potter tale, this bright and entertaining kids’ musical follows the adventures of an innocent pig sent to market. Marc Richard’s sharp direction enlivens the production, as do the talents of a group of committed young performers, including Daniel Greenberg in the title role. You have to love a show that opens and closes with a chorus about stinky pigs, features a chorus line of cleaver waving butchers and gives the three piece orchestra porcine snouts.

From EYE WEEKLY Best of The Fringe edidition July 13, 2006 page 44:

Rated: *** [Ed: Hmmm…]

Daniel Greenberg is fabulous as the very personable Pigling Bland in this solid musical adaptation of the Beatrix Potter classic…the piggy behaviour is well-rendered and the portrayals of (and costumes for) the other animals are brilliant. Farmer Piperson…is not overly scary for young children. Well-sung, and with live instrumentation from the side of the stage, the production’s music contributes well to the tale.

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I guess I’m just a party animal…

Whew, what a weekend. We started off on Saturday with a 12:45pm show of THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND at the Palmerston Library Theatre. We had a really good crowd, with lots of kids. What a thrill to see the kids get so involved with the show. One little girl said out loud for everyone to hear “He’s the bad guy” as grizzled old Piperson walked out. And when Pigling said “look at that farm over there” in the direction of the back of the theatre, all the kids heads turned to look for thismysterious farm! What fun!

Then off to the Fringe Club tent where we checked our stock of postcards and of course, had a beer in the Fringe tent (the kids had a coke of course…). Then, it was off to the Tarragon Theatre Mainspace to see “WELCOME TO EDEN, POPULATION 2″, with music by the wonderful Mark Selby! My husband Grad worked the lines masterfully convincing everybody to see THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND and take a postcard! Props to Grad!

Then, it was dinner at the Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar where

we actually got a table right away! It’s actually a fun place to take kids cuz they always have French fries on the menu!

We got an early start on Sunday because we had to get to the Performing Arts Stage at Dundas Square at 11am for the Celebrate Toronto Street Festival! No rain, but about 150 degrees in the shade! W00h00! The cast arrived in costume at 11:45am (pretty brave I must say to walk through the Eaton Centre dressed as a pig…) and we did a sound check at noon. We even got buzzed by three F-18 fighter jets who were (I hope) flying in an air show!

Then at 12:30pm the party started with FLAMENCO CONFUSION, a really cool Spanish guitar with flamenco and hip hop dancing. Then came THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF, and finally THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND. The whole gang did “We’re Pigs” and then Daniel soloed on “Little Patch of Potatoes”. Of course Grad and I were pounding the pavement accosting people with postcards!

Then off to see GIANT KILLER SHARKS THE MUSICAL at 3:30pm and work the lines. What a hilarious musical! Perfect Fringe Fare!

Then back to the Fringe Club tent to re-stock our cards, and of course, have a beer in the Fringe tent! It really is fun to hang out there and talk to other fringers.

Finally, we headed over to the Palmerston Library Theatre for our 6:15pm show of THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND. Another great show!

Suntanned and bleery-eyed, we headed home for Sunday sushi!

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Give my regards to Broadway, Remember me to Dundas Square!

THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND was one of four Toronto Fringe shows asked to perform at the City of Toronto’s Celebrate Toronto Street Festival on Sunday, July 9!

That’s right — on Sunday July 9 between 12:30pm and 1:00pm the cast of THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND will be performing a short segment from the show on the Performing Arts Stage (located in the heart of the Festival, on Yonge St. just south of Dundas Square on the west side of the street). We promise to sing loud enough to drown out the Indy cars, and the World Cup parties. OK — let’s be realistic — we’ll drown out the Indy cars, but we may have a challenge with the Italian soccer fans.

Come on down — it’s free and promises to be a piggy good time!

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Congratulations to Marc Richard, our fantastic director and the wonderful cast of THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND which got Now Magazine’s highest rating: “NNNN” from a review of yesterday’s opening. And hey — that was our FIRST SHOW — it’s only going to get better!

Here’s the capsule review by Jon Kaplan:

THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND
Presented by: M Kitz Productions
Rating: NNNN
Venue: KidsVenue — Palmerston Library Theatre

Reviewed by: Jon Kaplan

Adapted from a Beatrix Potter tale, this bright and entertaining kids’ musical by Suzy Conn and Mitchell Kitz follows the adventures of a young pig sent to market. Marc Richard’s sharp direction enlivens the production, as do the talents of a group of committed performers.

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This little Piggy is a hit at the Toronto Fringe Festival!

We had our Fringe debut yesterday afternoon at the Palmerston Library Theatre. How exciting! We had done our tech rehearsal about a week ago, and had done some re-writing over the course of the week, so I didn’t know what to expect!

The cast and crew were like a well-oiled machine! By the time I got there with my youngest daughter everone had unloaded my husband’s car and they were warming up, waiting to get into the theatre. My husband and oldest daughter were there with 100 beautifully designed and folded “PIGBILL” programmes (thank you Michael Karst!), ready to hand out.

Once the doors opened everything went like clockwork — the backdrop was hung, the set pieces arranged on the spiked floor and everyone in make up and costume. The cast then came out into the audience in costume and chatted with the kids, warming up the crowd with piggy hijinks!

At exactly 3:45pm the house lights went down and the show began! Fortunately, the band (accordian, clarinet and baritone) had stand lights so they were able to read their music (always handy!).

What an amazing first show. Everybody hit their marks, props, notes, cues, quick changes, lighting and lines! And the magic that happens when everything pulls together with everybody together — cast/crew/band/audience — began. I like to sit at the back and watch the audience. The kids were mesmerized! What a great show (if I do say so myself!).

We have shows coming up this weekend, all next week, and next Saturday. Tickets are going fast — we’ve sold out most of our pre-sells but there are still 50% of the tickets held for day-of-show sales so come and drop by!

Oink!

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Boing Boing put up this nice post about the opening of THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND. Thanks Cory!

Beatrix Potter musical opens at Toronto Fringe Fest today

My friend Suzy Conn is opening her new children’s musical called THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND today at the Toronto Fringe Festival. It’s based on the classic Beatrix Potter story of the same name, and it’s a good example of why copyright needs to revert back to the public domain.

Beatrix Potter herself was able to make a great living off her books, and she provided for a number of charities after her death. However, now that the stories have reverted to the public domain, Suzy has been able to add her own art to the stories, and bring an entirely new dimension (music and choreography) to Beatrix Potter’s original creation. Link (Thanks, Grad!)

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THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND opens TODAY at the Toronto Fringe Festival!!

We’ve been working hard to bring everyone a great show! It’s a big cast (8) with full costumes, sets, and band. Everyone will be guaranteed to have a GREAT time.

Just in case you need the details — here’s a reminder of when we’re playing and the ridiculously low ticket price. And remember, the Fringe only allows 50% of a show to be pre-sold, so if you don’t have time to buy ahead — show up!

BUY TICKETS
Toronto Fringe Tickets
Call: 416.967.1528

Children: $5
Grown-ups: $10

PERFORMANCES
Thursday, July 6 @ 3:45pm
Saturday, July 8 @ 12:45pm
Sunday, July 9 @ 6:15pm
Monday, July 10 @ 2:15pm
Tuesday, July 11 @ 4:15pm
Thursday, July 13 @ 5:30pm
Friday, July 14 @ 12:45pm
Saturday, July 15 @ 4:00pm

LOCATION
Palmerston Library Theatre
560 Palmerston Avenue (Near Bathurst and Bloor)
Google Map

Please note that the Fringe is REALLY strict on latecomers. Even if you’re 10 seconds late, they won’t let you in once the door is closed, which happens promptly at start time. They have to do this because so many shows share the same space, so they have to rigidly adhere to start and stop times.

The show is directed by Marc Richard, who also directed our PLANE CRAZY production at Sheridan College.

This show fulfills a long-held theory of mine, backed up by years of experimentation on my own children, that in our society, too often, we subject our young ones to mindlessly simplistic “hop and skips”, when they are capable of understanding and enjoying more sophisticated fare.

And, the hard-rhyming convention of Broadway is a wonderful tool for teaching language skills.

See you there! Oink, oink…

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OK, today’s the big day — the opening of the 2006 Toronto Fringe Festival!

I’m so excited to be participating in my first FRINGE, and I can’t wait to see THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND up on stage. It’s going to be a ton of fun.

We’ve got some fun PR events lined up this week — tomorrow we’re going down to the CBC to record a “Fringe Flash” which is a 60-second promo for the show. We’ve got a 44-second duet between Pigling Bland and Pigwig that will be just perfect!

On Sunday, July 9 we’ll be performing at the “Celebrate Toronto Street Festival” down at Dundas Square. We’ll be performing at 12:30, with our flak jackets on…

If you need any instructions on how to see the show or how to buy tickets, visit the PIGLING Web site, or drop me a Comment.

Please note that the Fringe is REALLY strict on latecomers. Even if you’re 10 seconds late, they won’t let you in once the door is closed, which happens promptly at start time. They have to do this because so many shows share the same space, so they have to rigidly adhere to start and stop times.

All performances are at the Palmerston Library Theatre 560 Palmerston Avenue (Near Bathurst and Bloor).

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