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The TorToise reTurns
In Carbondale, a whismsical play with a serious message by Christopher Cornell
ADVAntAGe eDitor
The famed Aesop fable of the tortoise and the hare is familiar to just about everybody. In its original form, it was a tale of foolhardy hubris, with the hare so sure he would beat the slow-and-steady tortoise in a foot race that he falls asleep, and the tortoise wins. Kids who attend the Carbondale Area Drama Club’s children’s theater production of “The Tortoise and the Hare and Other Stories,” on Friday and Saturday, Jan. 20 and 21, at 7 p.m. at the Carbondale Area High School auditorium, will see a race that has a little twist to it. “In our adaptation,” explains director Bob Shlesinger, “both the hare and the tortoise are tempted by a drug dealer: the hare takes the drugs and the tortoise does not. As a consequence, the hare loses the race.” Although the issue of heroin and opi-
TS_CNG/ADVANTAGE/PAGES [A01] | 01/12/17
The performers include, seated: Ayssa Quinn and Miranda Rossetti. Standing, from left: Jason Malone, Chris Smith, Haley Mulea, Lennon Marsh, Jen Bach and Ryan Flemming. In back: Qwintin Krenitsky. Kyle Grecco is also in the cast.
PHOTO BY RUTHANNE JONES
oid use by young people is very current, this version of the play is not new. In fact if you went to school in this area in the 1990s, you might have seen it. “Scranton Public Theatre produced this play throughout the 1990s with great success,” Shlesinger said. “In this time, when the use of opioid drugs and heroin are at an all-time high in our region, we felt it was an appropriate time to bring it back. The play premiered at the Scranton Public Theatre in the summer of 1991. “We performed it at many elementary schools and other locations throughout the 1990s, finally closing in the summer of 1999. We estimate that more than 25,000 saw the play during the decade,
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from six counties in our region.” Shlesinger co-wrote the play with Michael Draper. “The anti drug idea was conceived by me,” he said. “I felt it was a good way to warn young people about the dangers of taking drugs.” There is one difference from the show as it was presented in the 1990s: the age of the performers. “This is the first time that we are using student actors, mostly seniors and juniors. If they do well — and I believe they will — we will explore the idea of using other student casts in the future.” In the production, the story of the tortoise and the hare is interwoven into two other stories, Aesop’s “The Country
Mouse and the City Mouse,” and “The Bremen Town Musicians” by the Brother’s Grimm. “They don’t have to be the same stories,” Schlesinger noted. “We used some other stories back in the ’90s.” The running time for the entire show is 40-45 minutes. “The show is best suited for kids ages 5 to 105,” he said. “The central theme of the show is to always do your best. The play is funny and serious all at the same time, which is why it was so popular back in the day. We have taken an entertaining approach to some serious issues that young people should be aware of during their formative years.” Tickets will be $5.