theater

The Twits

Information

Play adapted by David Wood
Productions:
- 2001 UK tour by Belgrade Theater, Coventry
- Tour dates:
  - Milton Keynes Theatre 19/2 – 24/2
  - Churchill Theatre, Bromley 26/2 – 3/3
  - Hippodrome Theatre, Bristol 5/3 – 10/3
  - Kings Theatre, Edinburgh 12/3 – 17/3
  - Civic Theatre, Darlington 19/3 – 24/3
  - Charter Theatre, Preson 26/3 – 31/3
  - Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton 2/4 – 7/4
  - Theatre Royal, Brighton 9/4 – 14/4
  - Sadler’s Wells Theatre, London 16/4 – 28/4
  - Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield 30/4 – 12/5
  - Theatre Royal, Nottingham 14/5 – 19/5
  - Ashcroft Theatre, Croydon 21/5 – 26/5
  - Alhambra Theatre, Bradford 28/5 – 2/6
  - Oxford Playhouse 4/6 – 9/6
  - Richmond Theatre 11/6 – 16/6
  - Cork Opera House 18/6 – 23/6
  - Newcastle Theatre Royal 25/6 – 30/6
  - Regent Theatre, Stoke 2/7 – 7/7
  - New Victoria Theatre, Woking 9/7 – 14/7

Based on:
- The Twits

Cast/Crew

Cast:
- Richard J Fletcher as Mr. Twit
- Isabel Ford as Mrs. Twit
- Susan Swanton as Roly Poly Bird
- Sidney Sloane as Narrator
- Cheryl Blaize as Mrs. Mugglewump
- Christopher Llewellyn as Mr. Mugglewump
- Lauren Conlon, Rosy and Megan De Wolf, Maxine Ewenson, Emma Shearer Hackett, Kate Herring, Victoria Leung, Holly Pike and Lauren Stroud as Mugglewumps
Crew:
- Writer: David Wood
- Producer: Jane Hytch
- Director: Kathi Leahy
- Designer: Tom Conroy

Reviews

My Review from April 20, 2001

Promotional Flyer

Cover

The Belgrade Theater, Coventry presents
Roald Dahl’s The Twits

17 – 21 April 2001
adapted for stage by David Wood

directed by Kathi Leahy
designed by Tom Conroy
music by Dylan Vaughn

Inside pages

“A fabulous performance”
Producer BBC TV’s Blue Peter

“A literally spectacular show”
Birmingham Post

Mr. and Mrs. Twit were a very happy couple. But seldom happy at the same time. For what really made them happy was playing nasty tricks on one another. The best word to describe them was disgusting… This spectacular production combines circus and aerial skills, trickery and physical theatre to create a magical and mesmerising tale with an ingenious twist from the master of children’s story-telling. Roald Dahl’s book, still in the top ten best loved titles, has been adapted by David Wood, one of today’s most highly regarded children’s writers. Children aged five and over will be captivated by this outstanding production.

“A truly repulsive introduction to theatre for the over fives”
Coventry Evening Telegraph

“This tale of a grotesque couple who play schoolkiddish tricks on each other has an obvious appeal to children who delight in the rude naughtiness”
The Stage

“David Wood’s excellent stage adaptation of Roald Dahl’s irresistibly revolting tale”
Guardian

“Roald Dahl’s dark and funny tale … a hit”
Independent on Sunday

Program

The Soldier

Sections: Information | Description | Program

Information

One-act opera composed by Lehman Engel
Libretto by Lewis Allen
Productions:
- Concert performance on November 25, 1956, in Carnegie Hall, New York
- Conducted by Lehman Engle
- Cast:
  - Warren Galjour as Robert
  - Valerie Bettis as Edna
  - Leueen MacGrath
  - John Reardon
  - Brenda Lewis
  - James Hurst
“More than three decades ago, BMI and the late Lehman Engel, dean of American musical theatre, joined forces to create a setting where new writers for the musical theatre could learn their craft. An innovative program at its inception, the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop continues to flourish and is considered to be the foremost training ground for new writing voices.”

Based on:
- “The Soldier”

Description

Coming back from war, Robert is beset by disturbing memories, including mistreatment by the doctor and nurse, and he withdraws to his own world, thinking himself a child again. He then remembers his happiness with his wife, Edna, but his sense of loss drives him into madness, and he threatens his spouse with a knife. She calls for the doctor and asks for her husband to be taken away.

Program

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Sections: Information | Description | CD Cover

Information

Musical theatre work commissioned by Roald Dahl Foundation in 1997
Composed by Viennese composer Kurt Schwertsik
Libretto by Donald Sturrock
Productions:
- World premiere in Glasgow, Scotland in December 1997
- Conducted by HK Gruber
- Performed by Scottish Chamber Orchestra
- Stage debut of Dahl’s granddaughter, Sophie Dahl!

Based on:
- “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”

For more information, see Music Link International. To hire, contact Boosey & Hawkes.

Description

At the Forest Assizes Baby Bear stands accused of assaulting Miss Goldie Locks. Evidence is presented in musical form, often as short, descriptive dances. The Trial begins with a Fanfare. The officials and most of the protagonists enter to the strains of a Jaunty Prelude, while Baby Bear, Judge and Jury enter to a mock-solemn Processional. After some short pleasantries, the Prosecution Hyena evokes the spririt of the idealised storybook Goldilocks, a spirit that, needless to say, is a long way from the truth. A witty, ironic Allegro Grazioso introduces Goldilocks’ Sweet Dance. The Prosecution Hyena then wickedly slanders the Three Bears, portraying them as vicious cut-throat thugs in a Criminal Bears’ Dance, before the Defence Hyena interrupts and begins to paint the true picture of his clients and their terrible trauma at the hands of that “brazen little crook”, Goldilocks. Goldie’s true nature is revealed in the fast-moving Foul Dance that follows. Then the story is retold.

CD Cover

A Question of Taste

Information

One-act opera composed by William Schuman
Productions:
- Glimmerglass Opera, June 24, 1989 (with “The Mighty Casey”)

Based on:
- “Taste”

Buy this CD:

Cast/Crew

Cast:
- Dan Sullivan as Phillisto Pratt
- Brian Steele as Mr. Schofield
- Risa Renae Harman as Louise Schofield
- Gwendolyn Bowers-Lentz as Mrs. Hudson
- Michael Rees Davis as Tom
Crew:
- Composer: William Schuman
- Librettist: J.D. McClatchy
- Director: B. Rodney Marriott
- Set & Lighting Designer: Peter Dean Beck
- Conductor: Stewart Robertson
- Costume Designer: Richard St. Clair
- Makeup & Hair Designer: Elsen Associates

Reviews

Schenectady Gazette Review by Bill Rice, June 26, 1989
New York Times Review by Bernard Holland, June 26, 1989

Fun Stuff

Entire libretto (lyrics)
“Questions and Answers” by librettist J.D. McClatchy
- Includes history of piece and character descriptions
Listen to Track 01 from the CD

CD Information

Published by Merion Music, a division of Theodore Presser
Performed at the Juilliard Opera Center, by the Juilliard Orchestra
Conducted by Gerard Schwarz
Double-CD also includes “The Mighty Casey” (based on “Casey at the Bat”)

CD Cover

The Honeys

Information

Three-act play written by Roald Dahl
Productions:
- Broadway’s Longacre Theater, April 28, 1955
  - Only ran for 36 performances
  - Closed on May 28, 1955
  - Toured before the Broadway premiere:
    - Boston’s Plymouth Theater, March 14, 1955
    - Also played in New Haven and Philadelphia
- UK production as “Your Loving Wife” in Autumn 1956
  - Dahl rewrote some of the script
  - Toured before London premiere:
    - Oxford’s New Theatre, September 24, 1956
    - Nottingham’s Theatre Royal, October 1, 1956
    - Also played in Bournemouth
  - Cancelled before London opening
Recent news:
- The Honeys updates - September 3, 2017
- “The Honeys” – Media Mentions from The New York Times - June 26, 2016
- More news…

Based on:
- “The Way Up to Heaven”
- “Lamb to the Slaughter”

Description

“Early in 1955 he [Roald Dahl] wrote a play called The Honeys. Based on some of the stories from Someone Like You, the play revolves around two sisters who decide to murder their husbands. The Honeys opened on Broadway on 28 April 1955 and starred Hume Cronyn, Jessica Tandy, and Dorothy Strickney. Although it received some good notices, it ran for only 36 performances. Its short run, combined with the difficulties that Dahl had with the play’s director, convinced Dahl to stick to short-story writing.”

– From Roald Dahl, by Mark I. West

“So more than a year after its New York debacle, under the new title Your Loving Wife, Roald had to go through the humiliation of failure all over again. The year 1956 was an inauspicious time to be premiering a tightly constructed, essentially artificial piece of drama. … Gritty realism was all the rage, and even in the provinces, Dahl’s clever escapist satire failed to synchronize with the popular critical pulse. … [Dahl] was tired of the play, but desperate not to squander the time he had already invested in it. Emile Littler eventually settled the issue when he cancelled the London run… Apart from one or two amateur revivals, it has never been professionally produced again.”

– From Storyteller: The Authorized Biography of Roald Dahl, by Donald Sturrock

Cast/Crew

Broadway Cast:
- Jessica Tandy as Mary (Mrs. Bennett Honey)
- Dorothy Stickney as Maggie (Mrs. Curtis Honey)
- Hume Cronyn as Bennett Honey
- Christopher Labatt as Curtis Honey (Bennett’s twin brother)
- Mary Finney as Nellie Fleischman
- Hale Broun as Maloney Heywood
- Len Doyle as O’Dwyer
- Paul Lipson as Inspector White
Broadway Crew:
- Director: Reginald Denham
- Playwright: Roald Dahl
- Producer: Cheryl Crawford
- Set designer: Ben Edwards
- Costumes: Motley
- Stage Manager: Paul A. Foley

Trivia: “Christopher Labatt”, the actor who played Curtis Bennett, didn’t actually exist. It was a pseudonym for Hume Cronyn, who played both Curtis and Bennett.

UK Cast:
- Hermione Baddeley as Maggie (Mrs. Curtis Honey)
- Agnes Lauchlan as Mary (Mrs. Boris Honey)
- Meredith Edwards as Boris Honey
- Joyce Barbour as Nellie Fleishmann
- Meredith Edwards as Curtis Honey
- Dermot Palmer as Sergeant Potts
- Henry Scarsdale as Patrolman O’Shaunessy
- John Marquand as Patrolman Leibowitz
- Peter Bailey as Patrolman Smith
- John Mytton as Travel Agent
UK Crew:
- Director: Gerald Savory
- Playwright: Roald Dahl
- Producers: Emile Littler and Tom Arnold
- Decor: Paul Mayo

Reviews

Review by Elinor Hughes (The Boston Herald)
“Theatre: Demise of Two Blackguards” by Lewis Funke (The New York Times)

Fun Stuff

Programs

This program was from the initial try-out run in Boston. By the time the show premiered on Broadway a month later, the director Reginald Denham had resigned and the roles of Paul Lipson and Heywood Hale Broun were cut.

Program text

This program was from the Broadway production at the Longacre Theater in 1955. For more info, see Playbill’s Vault.

This program was from the rewritten version called “Your Loving Wife” in 1956. This production was from the try-out run in Nottingham.

The Witches

Sections: Information | Description | Covers | French Covers

Information

Adapted by David Wood
Published by:
- Samuel French
- Penguin, USA

Based on:
- The Witches

Buy this book:

Description

Roald Dahl fans will rejoice at the opportunity to bring their favorite books and characters to life. Five of Dahl’s hugely popular, beloved books have been adapted into winning plays for children. With useful tips on staging, props, and costumes, these plays can be produced with a minimum amount of resources and experience. Teachers, parents, and children everywhere will recognize Quentin Blake’s appealing classic cover art and will find these easy-to-perform plays to be a great source of entertainment!