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THE THREE BILLY GOATS GRUFF
 
Book and Lyrics by Jean Pierce
Music and Additional Lyrics by Kelly Collins-Lintz Sponsored by
 Join Grigsby, Gloria and Grace Gruff as they romp through the spring seeking fame, adventure and grass that’s sweet to eat! Outwit the sneaky troll trick and build a bridge to your dreams! Weekend Performances for Children and Adults- Saturdays at 2:00 and 4:30 (running time 50 minutes)
- Sundays at 4:30
February 22,23, March 1,2, 8,9, 15,16, 22,23, 29,30 Contact our Box office at 407-447-1700 x 1 for tickets.
All Audience Tickets for children and adults: $8 Weekday Performances for School GroupsSchool Matinees at 10:00am & 11:30am (running time 50 minutes)
February 20, 21, 25, 27, 28 March 4, 6, 7, 11, 13, 14, 25, 27, 28
School Matinees at 10:00am only on Feb. 26 & March 5, 12, 26 Click for More Information about School Groups and Theatre for Young Audiences
REVIEW EXCERPTS 'Billy Goats' Tale Earns an Update in Musical Version Excerpts from The Orlando Sentinel
By Rebecca Swain Vadnie
Posted February 28, 2003 Grooving goats, trippy trolls -- this definitely isn't your parents' Three Billy Goats Gruff.
The Orlando-UCF Shakespeare Festival's Theatre for Young Audiences jazzes up the classic fairy tale for modern audiences with hummable songs and hilarious characters. Written by Jean Pierce, this Three Billy Goats Gruff is a nice updating of the old story about three goats who outsmart a nasty troll....
In this world, Grace, Gloria and Grigsby Gruff are goats living in the countryside. They hope to travel to a big city over the hill to pursue their dreams. Youngest goat Grace (Kristen Michelle Walker) wants to learn to read while sassy sister Gloria (Kristi Clippard) dreams of stage stardom. Brother Grigsby (David Cross) just wants to travel the globe and see the places he has only dreamed about.
They've finished building the perfect bridge to make it over the stream standing in their way, but there's one little problem: A troll has taken up residence underneath it. Unfortunately for the Gruffs, this is one troll who's good at being bad. Tim Williams revels in the part, slinking around the set decked out in maroon and blue fur with oversized hands and feet -- a hipper, way-funkier version of the Grinch.... As the Gruffs, Walker, Clippard and Cross... interact with the audience with ease, rallying the pint-sized patrons behind their cause and drawing them into the action.... Director Patrick Flick has brought out the best in his cast and crew, pairing solid acting and music with clever sets by David Kahler and fun costumes by Rebecca Turk. They all make it easy to let the imagination slip into a world where goats can tap dance or go to school and trolls wear green glitter nail polish.
The 3 Billy Goats GruffINK 19 Magazine
Archikulural Digest
by Carl F. Gauze. These are the most self-actualized goats I've ever met. Not only are they beyond mere animal desires for food and drink, they have clear career paths and goals mapped out. Take Grigsby (Davis Cross). Not only is he handy with a hammer and saw, he has some elementary civil engineering skills, and wants to see the world. His two sisters are heading out as well - Grace (Kristen Michelle Walker) wants to read and write, aspiring to be an unpaid online theater critic. And Gloria (Kristi Clippard)? Why, she's got taps installed on her little cloven tootsies, dreaming of Broadway. I think she's a got a chance to be a pretty decent hoofer. Presiding over these ambitious ungulates is the sprit of Grandpa Gruff, who looks a bit like the giant skull Spinal Tap used to schlep around. With grass a bit thin on their end of the pasture, they whip out a respectable bridge, only to have it hijacked by the fuzzy blue Troll (Tim Williams). Why do trolls do that? It's a deep-seated psychological issue, sort of a span fetish. Nonetheless, it's time for these goats to organize and reclaim their structural rights, a task accomplished with enough cunning and trickery to make you believe that the goats will ALWAYS beat out the sheep. While the goats tend towards a relentless positivism that children's theater requires to pass muster, the costumes are clever and the whole concept of a tap dancing goat is enormously appealing. The best bits go to the heavy, as is so often the case. Williams make the job of inbred evilness look effortless, and even casually threatens to eat one of the 4 year old heckles without bringing her to tears. He's a troll, to be sure, but a suave and debonair troll. The show is a good length for the intro class aimed at, and there are several nice bouncy songs to make the show fly. My favorite was "Dear God, give me something other than tin!" While well done and entertaining, it DOES reinforce the stereotype of can eating goats, an unfortunate hold over from less enlightened days. All in all, it's good clean fun on a jewel bright, and a show that can draw in both adults and kids on multiple levels. Naaauugghhhhtttt bbbaaaadddd. |
