'True Story' is a delightful entertainment pig-out for all ages

Whoever coined the phrase, "There are two sides to every story" couldn't have anticipated "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs."

But it's a perfect example of the adage.

It's also a perfect example of what children's theater should be: fun, lively, and NOT insulting to the intelligence.

Playing at the Sugden Community Theatre's Tobye Studio through June 20, "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" tells the other side of the fairy tale — the wolf's side.

This clever musical, which runs approximately an hour (to accommodate little ones' attention spans), takes place in a courtroom, where the wolf is on trial for destroying two of the pigs' homes and for, well… then eating the pigs themselves.

But the trial takes place in Piggsylvania, and guess what? The judge, prosecutor and witnesses are all pigs. And the audience gets roped into being the jury (you just might get to wear a pig snout of your own).

Despite all the pork involved, it's definitely — forgive the expression — a kangaroo court.

Though the wolf gets railroaded for most of the show, ultimately, the attendees get to decide whether he's innocent or guilty.

COURTESY PHOTO Michael Troop as the stumbling eyewitness and James Jackson as the defendant, Alexander T. Wolf. Judith Gangi, as a journalist, acts as the musical's sunny narrator, explaining things to the crowd and slipping in asides to the audience.

Nancy Menaldi-Scanlan is the prosecutor, a woman in love with herself who'll stoop to new lows to get her conviction.

Patti Caroli plays the judge, and looks very similar to our favorite local judge, Judge Judy. (In fact, when I initially saw her portrait behind the bench, I thought: That looks like Judge Judy with a pig snout and ears!)

The judge and prosecutor are in cahoots; the two are close friends with a golf date set for the next day. And the eccentric judge is a sucker for musicals.

Alexander T. Wolf is played with a booming voice by James Jackson, at one point breaking into a James Brown impersonation, complete with large blue cape and swiveling feet (which can't be easy with the big furry paws he has); the three women, wielding royal blue feather boas, act as his back-up singers for the number.

Like episodes of "Rocky and Bullwinkle," "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" makes kids laugh but is also filled with jokes that work on another level, causing adults to chuckle.

With several roles throughout the short musical, it's Michael Troop who steals the show and made me laugh the loudest. He's a courtroom bailiff; a slimy, self-impressed doctor who testifies for the prosecution; an elderly, almost-blind woman who also testifies for the prosecution; and Pig #3, who built his house with bricks. Thanks to Dot Auchmoody's creative costuming and Mr. Troop's acting abilities, he comes across in a completely different way for each of his characters.

As a doctor, he wears a double-breasted suit and ascot and drips with selfimportance, and as the elderly eyewitness, he's a genteel, gray-haired Southern woman who inadvertently walks into things. His Pig #3 is a construction nerd sporting buckteeth and a beanie with a propeller. He also stutters like Porky Pig.

With book by Robert Kauzlaric and music and lyrics by Paul Gilvary and William Rush, the play is based upon Jon Scieszka's marvelous and crazy book, "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs." Sets by Christina Miller and Mike Santos make Lane Smith's illustrations come to life. Staying true to the spirit of the book, the include a backdrop of

oversized newspaper fronts: The New

Pork Times, The Lil Piggy Gazette and

The Slopington Post. In one corner of the studio theater there's even a gold statue of a pig. The creative set, at times, calls to mind Pee-Wee's playhouse as it might have been designed by pigs.

Director Megan McCombs did a superb job with this show; her fingerprints are all over it, constantly tickling your funny bone with plenty of snorting and oinking, Silly String, snot jokes, spit takes and a totally wacked-out puppet theater.

There's loving care in this totally delightful show: Those giving testimony in court have to swear on "the sacred text," which is a copy of "Animal Farm." The audience is addressed as "good sows and gentle swine." Even the comedy and tragedy masks painted on the puppet theater stage are pigs' faces.

It's evident that the cast and crew are having great fun with this musical, and it shows.

As for me, well, watching "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" made me as happy as a pig in slop.

.. If you go

>>What: "The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs" >>Where: The Tobye Studio at the Sugden Community Theatre >>When: through June 20 >>Cost: $10 for ages 18 and younger; $20 for adults >>Info: Call (239) 263-7990