The famous tale of “The Three Pigs” will get a story twist Feb. 3-21 when SCERA Center for the Arts offers a world premiere original adaptation for their popular Theatre for Young Audiences program.

In this version of the story, the pigs aren’t so little anymore. The triplets—two girls and a boy—are high school graduates on the verge of adulthood. It’s time for the porkly trio to move out on their own, and while Mrs. Pig cannot wait to have the house to herself, she needs to ensure that her children know the rules to keep them safe from the big, bad wolf.  Two are leaning toward the “world owes me a living” and “life is a party” model, while their sister is class valedictorian and wants to become a contributing member of society. The threat of the big bad wolf looms threateningly around them, but he might not be what he seems.

“I don’t want to give away too much about the show” says David Paul Smith, who has created the music and lyrics while his long-time colleague Chase Ramsey authored the script. “But I can tell you that it takes a group of people to make dreams happen. Mix that with the ideal of working hard for your dreams and a wolf that might be scaring people into doing what they need to be safe, and you’ve got a musical that is full of meaning as well as lots of fun.”

Although the daytime school matinees are sold out, there are six public showings for families with children on Mondays and Fridays at 7:00 p.m – February 3, 7, 10, 14, 17 and 21, 2020. Reserved-seat tickets are $6 for adults and $4 for children 3-11 and seniors 65 and older. Tickets are available at www.scera.org, by 801-225-ARTS, in person at the main office, 745 South State, Orem, open 10am-6pm weekdays, or at the door 30 minutes prior to each performance.

“The Three Little Pigs: The Musical” is the fifth Theatre for Young Audiences production presented at SCERA by Smith and Ramsey. SCERA is helping them build a library of musicals they hope will be used by children’s theaters nationwide.

The duo likes to take stories that are pretty familiar and vary them to teach valuable messages, as well as using audience interaction with the characters.

“I always go to my children for inspiration,” Smith says. “I am very influenced by their interests, and my music and ideas reflect that.” This show will use country music juxtaposed with hip hop, rock and some rap.

“Pigs” also uses adults for all the roles, in part because children tend to be delighted to see adults pretending to be children. The three pigs are Brandi Washburn as Chelsea, Kevin Bigler as Max, and Caitlin Schillemat as Carli. Other players include Tanner Perkins as the Narrator/Wolf, Bethany Cole Saldaña as Mrs. Pig, and Pete Widtfeldt as Uncle Poofy. DeLayne Bluth Dayton is directing.

“We hope that by introducing children to theater at a young age, they will develop a lifelong interest in the theatrical arts,” says Adam J. Robertson, SCERA President and CEO. The ‘c’ in SCERA represents cultural and the ‘e’ stands for educational. These Theatre for Young Audiences productions are at the core of our mission. Not only that, they are just plain fun for all ages.”

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APRIL BERLIN

Operations Manager/Marketing & Development

SCERA Center for the Arts

745 South State, Orem, UT 84058