A Silly Musical about a Serious Subject: Crayons
Capital Fringe has a surprise visitor during the 2013 Festival and he has more crayons than anyone age 4 (or 5) to 93! The Crayon King, or Learning to Share opens at The Mountain-at Mount Vernon United Methodist Church on July 12th and runs on select dates through July 26th.
This world premiere follows the lives of four Kindergarten students (played by adults!) whose reputations and class-standing are based upon one very important fact: the size of their crayon boxes. But don’t mistake, this isn’t just theater for young audiences…it’s theater for ALL audiences! Adults and children alike will enjoy the humor and heart found in this tale of friendship, betrayal and forgiveness.
The Crayon King features a book and lyrics by local actor/writer Jeffrey Higgins, with music by Sir Arthur Sullivan. THE Sir Arthur Sullivan? Why, yes! The music was lovingly swiped from the public domain, but don’t worry, nineteenth century lyrics have been replaced for the Kindergarten set. Instead of Pirates and Three Little Maids, the music now tells the story of “Three Little Boys at School” and “Poor Crayonless Ones.”
The cast, all members of Actors’ Equity, has been seen locally at “grown up” theaters (The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Signature Theatre, to name a few) but are plenty comfortable performing for the young folk with credits at Imagination Stage and Adventure Theater. And, don’t forget some Gilbert and Sullivan experience with the Washington Savoyards!
Daniel Vito Siefring brings the role of Ricky to life. A boy, with 24 Crayons, who feels stuck and wants more crayons. He dreams of becoming The Crayon King. Robert Mintz plays the role of Frankie, another 24 Crayoner, who is content with his place in life, but carries a big secret. Sarah Beth Pfeifer portrays Kristen, the self-proclaimed Princess of class, who wields her box of 48 over her classmates. Jeffrey Higgins plays Jimmy who wants nothing more than to be himself, but can’t escape the difficulties forced upon him from having only 8 Crayons.
Friendships are tested. Crayons are broken. But, in the end, everyone learns that “your crayons don’t define who you are.”
The show is directed and choreographed by Robert Mintz, with Music Direction by Amy Martin Massey.
Performances
The Mountain – at Mount Vernon United Methodist Church-
900 Massachusetts Avenue NW, in Washington, DC 20001
Friday, July 12 at 6:00 PM
Saturday, July 13 at 5:00 PM
Friday, July 19 at 6:15 PM
Sunday, July 21 at 4:30 PM
Friday, July 26 at 6:30 PM
facebook.com/thecrayonking
twitter.com/crayonrex #thecrayonking
This production is presented as a part of the 2013 Capital Fringe Festival, a program of the Washington, D.C. non-profit Capital Fringe.
