Ferdinand the Bull will give families a chance to stop and smell the roses as they settle into the hustle and bustle of the school year. This children's musical about a gentle bull who would rather smell flowers than fight in a Madrid ring will make one if its last appearances nationwide September 9 through 25 on The Rose main stage, before the rights to Munro Leaf's endearing story go to Fox Animation Studios.
In this Flamenco-flavored musical, young Duquito Danilo dreams of being a dancer, but his father wishes for him to be a great Spanish bullfighter instead. When Duquito's father sets out to find the fiercest toro for his son's bullfight in Madrid, he mistakenly picks Ferdinand, who would rather smell the flowers than fight.
"The show has a strong message about bullying and staying true to yourself, but it's also very funny," said Director James Larson. "We have two of our best comedic actors, Ryle Smith and Walter Shatley, playing the Duke and his son, and with larger than life characters like Cochina the pig strutting around quoting Shakespeare, we're going to get a lot of laughs."The play emphasizes humor, jokes, and traditional comic invective, and it features common Spanish words and phrases in context, giving it a Latino, multicultural flavor. Children will delight at parts where they can contribute "oh-lays" during the bullfight and other call-outs as prompted by the cast.
"It's fun to see the big reactions you get from the kids when the characters involve the audience," said Larson. "We've got a few surprises in store that should really get the crowd going."
Choreographer Sue Gillespie Booton has adapted traditional Spanish dances inspired by the Mexican hat dance and Flamenco to fit the exuberant mood of the play. The show opens to a three-minute Flamenco dance performed by a 10-foot, brightly-dressed puppet, which is manipulated from behind as actors control the movements of its arms and legs. "The puppet adds an element of exaggeration to the show and complements the character's outsized personalities," said Scenic Designer Ronnie L. Wells, Jr.
All the scenes take place outside, and with features borrowed from traditional Spanish architecture like wrought iron and intricately patterned design elements, Wells gives the sets a warm natural feel representative of the Spanish countryside.
If Ferdinand features refined cultural references, it also rollicks in comic farce. The portrayals of a bull and a pig with recognizable human quirks give off a sense of light-hearted absurdity, and grown-ups will particularly enjoy the play's wry humor and wordplay, inspired from the book by Munro Leaf.
Ferdinand the Bull is based on Munro's 1936 book, which has been translated into more than 60 languages and has sold millions of copies worldwide. Writer Karen Zacarias and composer Debbie Wicks La Puma, who added characters like Cochina the pig and the Duke and his son, received the 2001 National Children's Theater Award with their adaptation. It has since been produced at theaters across the nation and around the world in places such as Australia and Singapore.
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