a new musical
by Bruce Dow
(after the Fairy Tales by Oscar Wilde)
WILDE TALES had it's World Premiere Production
at the Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre Company, May of 2008.
Andrew Paul, Artistic Director.
Read Reviews of this production.
WILDE TALES has been workshopped (in part or in full) at:
Carousel Theatre, Vancouver; The Shaw Festival,
The Stratford Shakespeare Festival,
and independantly in Toronto.
The Stories
Part One:
THE HAPPY PRINCE
The Happy Prince is Oscar Wilde's moving story of the relationship between a magnificent statue and a little swallow is brought to life through spoken word, song and dance. In truth, the Happy Prince is not as happy as he seems. Perched high on a pedestal, the prince's statue can see all the misery of the city he used to rule, and so he begs the swallow to stay with him and help his people – despite the coming winter. The only thing they can do is to strip the statue of it’s jewels and gold leaf and distribute it amongst the poor – but will it be enough?
Part Two:
THE SELFISH GIANT
An almost identical dramatic and musical structure is used to tell Wilde’s touching story of a giant who prohibits children from playing in his garden, with the result that it is always winter inside the wall he builds to keep them out -- until one very special little boy softens his heart.
