Library opera shows let kids take control of the action

Virtually everyone would choose a treat over a mouldy sandwich.

But the youngsters attending Rufus and Rita in Winnipeg libraries often choose the latter.

The 25-minute opera, produced by Manitoba Underground Opera and showing in Winnipeg libraries until the end of August before touring rural Manitoba, has a lively choose-your-own-adventure quality.

“Let’s find out what happens when we let the kids take control, and they can tell us what story they want to know,” says Brendan McKeen, MUO’s executive director.

“It’s tremendously fun.”

The audience members aren’t picking the mouldy sandwich or treat for themselves. Instead, they’re making a choice on behalf of Rufus, the play’s heroic dog (played by Christopher Dunn).

This choice, in turn, sets in motion a unique story arc as Rufus and his human friend Rita (Jacqueline Arthur) navigate an adventure involving a trip to the vet or to Grandma’s (both played by Janice Marple). Oh, and there’s a zany sloth (Stephanie Schmid) too, whose introductory line of “I am a sloth” is sung so slothfully the joke takes more than 30 seconds to complete.

“It’s a lot of seasoned professionals who’ve toured and done other opera roles,” McKeen says. “And it has Max Fingerote as the stage director — it’s his first directing opportunity with this tour — and Michael Oike as the pianist. He has a long history of collaborative piano-playing.”

While Oike keeps the music flowing from the piano, the actors alternate between speaking and singing, making the show more akin to a musical or operetta.

Rufus and Rita is written by celebrated American composer Lauren Bernofsky, whose mischevious, lilting score is reminiscent of classic cartoons, such as Looney Tunes and Fleischer Studios.

Her decision-tree-like instructions on how to perform her work can seem oddly technical, with lines such as: “If the audience votes for Rufus to have found a dog biscuit, then 2a. The Dog Treat is used (and 2b. Fido’s Lament is omitted.)”

But this is all in the interest of promoting both performer improv and audience participation, two key ingredients for much successful children’s theatre, promoting active play over passive engagement.

“It’s really wonderful at these library locations. You’re so close to the action and you’re finding little summer ways to keep your kid entertained with music, (but) my favourite is actually the response from the adults,” says McKeen.

While Rufus and Rita is mostly aimed at children in a G-rated spirit, McKeen says that, as with movies such as Shrek, there’s usually some layered humour in the show, depending on who’s in the audience.

“It’s humour that really is reaching, you know, the three-year-old to the 90-year-old,” he says. “And because of the improv nature, the comedy and the types of jokes can actually be tailored to who’s there to make sure that the adults are really enjoying it.”

The September tour — with 18 stops from Kenora, Ont., to Thompson — will also be a chance to perform Rufus and Rita in care homes, playing up the show’s more sophisticated humour.

With opera having more metropolitan, sometimes elitist, associations, McKeen says the tour is also a chance to perform a strong, but accessible, work for Manitobans from all over the province.

“We always say no matter where you are, no matter where you live or what you can afford, you deserve access to opera. This is our way of doing it,” he says.

conrad.sweatman@winnipegfreepress.com