'A Peter Rabbit Tale' is a Five-Carrot Production

Last year, at the Looking Glass Theatre (Little Lake's children's theater), two dumb dogs, Ferdo and Floof ran away from home and learned a valuable lesson, that things at home aren’t so bad comparatively.

They should have taught it to Peter Rabbit in "A Peter Rabbit Tale." The bunny goes on a similar field trip with equally similar results.

Little Lake Theatre's production opened Wednesday and continues through July 30.

Peter (Justin Cook) is tired of all the chores his mother (Hanna Vogel) and two sisters, Mopsy (Brianna Hudock) and Flopsy (Joci Hyrb) heap upon him. He yearns for a different sort of life outside of his little hutch. So, it’s run, rabbit run.

The rabbit meets up with some nutty squirrels (Hudock and Vogel again), a bad bunny Benjamin (Shannon Dolence), mice (Vogel, Hudock and Katie Shultz) and other various woodland creatures (played by Vogel, Hudock, Hyrb, Shultz and John McGovern). 

The farmer (McGovern) almost makes Hasenpfeffer out of the young bunny, an owl (McGovern again) almost swallows him whole. He's also attacked by a cat (Hyrb). The outside world is fraught with man and beasts who want Peter for supper, as a main course and not as a guest.

Out in the wild, Peter tries on several different proverbial hats, adapting to life as a squirrel, a mouse and a hedgehog. Finally, he realizes that it ain’t bad being a bunny.

The rabbit caused a lot of commotion with his mother and sisters, but when he finally returns he brings his warren peace (pun sharply intended).

There are a few cute little moments in this fable, comprising of several Beatrix Potter tales. This crazy quilt version of Potter’s world is woven from “A Tale of Peter Rabbit,” and adds in other popular Potter characters, like Squirrel Nutkin (a squirrel), Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (a hedgehog) and Jeremy Fisher (a frog).

"A Peter Rabbit Tale" was rewritten by Sarah Brandt with the music and lyrics of Neal Richardson. Richardson’s score isn’t exactly hummable, but it serves to move the plot forward. The first song is an overly moral diatribe about the joys of housework (there are joys to housework?), but the cast sings it well.

Helga Terre directs this production with the help of Charles Grant Carey who provides the music.

The costumes, by Gretchen Wagner, are adorable. The cast is superb—far superior to their source material. Terre opted to leave in the English accents; a bold move for a director with young adult actors. Though, it totally works. Her young thespians deliver the dialogue with panache. Hudock, Hyrb and Vogel were particularly sharp.

There’s not a lot for adults here, but kids will love this show. One 7-year-old critic commented, “It was funny.”

In "Two Dumb Dogs" and "A Peter Rabbit Tale", the characters are running away. If only they knew the joys of the Looking Glass Theatre, they’d never ever leave.

The production runs through July 30.