Published: October 06, 2009 06:32 pm      

Peter and the Wolf to be presented Thursday

Childsplay’s theatrical production of “Peter and the Wolf” will be presented during two special performances Thursday at the Palestine Civic Center.

The event is sponsored by the Palestine Junior Service League.

“I love how this production incorporates a different instrument for each character. It’s an entertaining production that will be fun as well as giving the kids a better appreciation for classical music,” PJSL Arts Co-Chair Hollie Nowlin said.

Students in grades kindergarten through sixth from surrounding schools have been invited to the performances at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.

Students from Northside Early Childhood Center, Southside Elementary School and Christian Heritage Academy will be attending the first performance. Students from Westwood, Cayuga, Elkhart and Neches will be attending the second performance, as well as students from the Anderson County home school organization.

“This is the biggest turnout we’ve had from the schools so we are pretty excited,” Nowlin said.

The 11 a.m. Thursday performance also is open to the public.

“We invited kindergarten through sixth grade but I think this production has a broader base because of the classical music incorporated into it — it’s something all ages would enjoy,” Nowlin said.

“Peter and the Wolf” springs from Sergei Prokofiev’s popular classic orchestra interpretation. Prokofiev was a Russian composer who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century. Commissioned by the Moscow Central Children’s Theater not long after Prokofiev returned to Russia after years of living and composing in America and Europe, “Peter and the Wolf” was written over four days in 1936 shortly after Stalin established a repressive “Composers Union” that determined what kind of music was acceptable for the masses.

The intent in writing “Peter and the Wolf” was to cultivate musical tastes in children from the first years of school and to introduce children to various instruments in an orchestra.

“Peter and the Wolf” is scored for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, three horns, trumpet, trombone, timpani, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, castanets, snare drum, bass drum and strings.

Each character in the story has a particular instrument and a musical theme, or leitmotif: Bird, flute; duck, oboe; cat, clarinet; grandfather, bassoon; wolf, French horns; hunters (gunshots), timpani and bass drum; Peter, strings. The hunter’s theme is actually introduced by the woodwinds.

The story of “Peter and the Wolf” explores the age-old struggle between man and animal, the value of friends, and finding bravery to overcome obstacles.

It is the story of a boy named Peter, his grandfather, a cat, a duck, a bird, hunters and a wolf. The story takes place at Grandfather’s house, behind which is a meadow, pond and a dense forest. Grandfather warns Peter not to go into the meadow because it is dangerous. There is a wolf that prowls through the meadow and forest. But Peter being curious goes into the meadow anyway which starts the characters on their journey.

The tale is told with puppets and with actors who portray the animals.

The PJSL event is co-chaired by Nowlin and Priscilla Raine. The PJSL generally brings one to two productions a year to Palestine geared at introducing the arts to young children.

Special seating will be reserved for walk-ins for the 11 a.m. Thursday performance. To reserve seats for groups of 10 or more, call Nowlin at 903-724-3020.