"Max and Ruby," Theatreworks/USA musical at Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts

"Max and Ruby," Theatreworks/USA musical at Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts

Image: Max and Ruby Max and Ruby, those loveable bunnies from the popular books and subsequent Nick Jr. cartoon are now dancing and singing in the Theatreworks/USA musical of the same name and they're coming to the Quick Center for the Arts at Fairfield University, Sunday, May 4 at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and Monday, May 5 at 10 a.m. in the ArtsBound Outreach performance. Children in grades pre-K-3 will delight in this 45-minute music fest. The ArtsBound Outreach Program is sponsored in part by the Herman Goldman Foundation and the Greater Bridgeport Area Foundation. Admission to the Young Audience Sunday Series is $15 adults and $12 children. The ArtsBound Monday performance is $7 and study guides are available.

Seven-year-old Ruby decides to write and produce a play for her grandmother and she enlists her three-year-old brother Max's help. The whole town has heard of her plan and is very excited about it. With the town's encouragement spurring her on, Ruby begins work on her show but finds that Max's vivid imagination and lack of attention to her instructions is making her job difficult, indeed.

The book is written by Glen Berger and in a Variety review, Mark Blankenship wrote, "Berger's script shows great respect for the kindergarten crowd. The characters are mostly under 8, but they live in a world where their ideas are taken seriously... Reveries about glow-in-the dark eels and giant tarantulas evolve into musical numbers, proving that fantasy makes playtime more fun."

The catchy music and lyrics are by award-winning Broadway composer Carol Hall. The songs feature lovely harmonies, homage to prairie music and even a cool jazz beat for Max's nightmare about a funny giant blue tarantula with icky spider legs that emerge slowly and slide around his bedroom doorframe.

The colorful and ingenious costumes and sets are strikingly creative.

Tickets are available online at fairfield.edu/quick or by calling the Box Office at (203) 254-4010. The toll free number is 1-877-ARTS-396. For more information and study guides, please visit the website at fairfield.edu/quick.

Posted On: 04-16-2008 10:04 AM

Volume: 40 Number: 247