Audiences at a high school musical will find themselves torn between whether the Big Bad Wolf is mean-spirited or just a product of society’s influence.
The Grimm brother’s fictional bad guy will be put on trial, facing those he’s wronged during an on-stage lawsuit in the Oilfield high school’s production of Big Bad Musical on from May 31 to June 2.
“The Big Bad Wolf is finally being put on trial for all of these crimes,” said drama student John McDowell. “He believes society is the reason he has done all this stuff and society is the reason he’s bad and it’s not his fault and everyone is against him.”
McDowell plays the wolf, a character he portrayed in the school’s recent production of Shrek Junior the Musical.
“I wanted to do it again this year,” he said. “It’s been a really fun part to play.”
Unlike his last role, McDowell said the wolf claims he’s innocent of all crimes he’s been charged with.
He tells the jury he was just checking the building codes when he blew down the three little pigs’ homes and is a vegan so he had no intention of eating Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother.
“It’s pretty funny to see how people react to me when I’m rebutting against them and how they try to attack me,” said the Grade 12 student of his character. “I always thought of him as a bad guy - that’s what I was taught as a kid. I do believe that he has been made out to be badder than he is.”
Representing the Big Bad Wolf is Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother, played by Grade 12 drama student Jasmine Sousa.
“I’m kind of a jerk to everybody,” she said of her character. “I show up late, I don’t take anything seriously and I fight with the Fairy Godmother (the prosecuting attorney).”
Playing the role is a stretch for Sousa, who is used to being the nice characters in the school productions.
“I always get the same role because I’m a nice person,” she said. “I’m like, ‘For my last one I just want to be a jerk. I want to be mean for once, just to change things up a bit.’”
Sousa said it wasn’t easy stepping into the role of a wicked stepmother once it was time to develop her character.
“It was a little bit weird at first being mean to people,” she said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m really sorry.’ I try to always be happy and nice. I can’t be mean to people. I just cant do it.”
Sousa elicited the help of friends, pretending to be angry with them and listening to their own stories of bad experiences they had with stepmothers to further develop her character.
“Being able to take my anger out on people without them taking it personally is the best part,” she said.
With the play almost stage ready, Sousa said the biggest challenge was getting it off the ground.
“It was really hard to pull together because we had just done Peter Pan and a lot of people weren’t taking (Big Bad Musical) seriously,” she said. “We didn’t really like it at first. We were scared the kids weren’t going to understand it (being a courtroom setting), but we grew to love it so it should work fine.”
Drama teacher Sherry Schalm expects youngsters and adults alike will enjoy the performance, which is set up as a courtroom in the woods with numerous characters testifying against the Big Bad Wolf.
“It appeals to the kids in the sense of the fairy tale level and the adults will definitely get the jokes and the plead of innocence - they heard it from most of their kids,” she said laughing.
“The original Grimm’s fairy tales were to teach lessons to kids. They were these horrifying morals, the oral version of a scary story or a horror film. Now they’re becoming a little bit softer. The fractured fairy tale tends to bring it together a little bit more.”
Schalm said the cast of 17 students have taken on their roles smoothly and they enjoy rehearsing the bluesy-style tunes they’ll be singing throughout the performance.
“They sign up for drama not expecting a musical, but they are great troupers,” she said. “We try and do a musical just to shake it up.”
The finishing touches are being added just days before the big production, Schalm said.
“We are pretty excited,” she said. “I’ve had quite a few new drama students join with new ideas and approaches to things and I have a big group of graduates that are leaving this year.”
Matinees for the Big Bad Musical take place at 10 a.m. from May 31 to June 2 at a cost of $2 and evening performances take place June 1 and 2 at 7 p.m. at a cost of $5 at Oilfields High School.
Tickets are available at the door each day and evening of the performances.
