Quick, who wrote the lines "baa, baa, black sheep?" "A tisket, a tasket?" "Hickory, dickory, dock"?
Right. Mother Goose. Well, sort of. Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes published in 1913 and beloved ever since.
Surely everybody knows about Mother Goose. Except one lonely little 8-year-old girl. She's about to get a Goose-size education, thanks to Keith Smith of the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre. And those who are familiar with Smith's bold, surreal style know to expect the unexpected.
Mother Goose Christmas, which opened Friday at the Children's Theatre, is a romping one-hour lark through a fantastical world that starts out in a dusty, dark attic and bolts off into totally uncharted territory.
It concerns young Memory (Angelina Bearden) who, while spending the holidays with Bella Piper (Colette Crochet) and her Grandpa Andy (Mark Hansen), better known as Gandy, reveals that she has no acquaintance with Mother Goose. That's when Gandy resolves to educate Memory on the subject of the world's most famous nursery rhymer by the time Christmas Eve arrives.
Smith achieves this by trotting Memory, Bella and Gandy through a wacky array of songs, choreography and dialogue-based scenarios (cleverly lit by Mike Stacks against an amply accommodating set) in which they encounter practically every kids' rhyme ever written.
Some are musical, like a hilarious rendition of "Three Blind Mice" by a trio of rapping break dancers (Charles Ronald Bradford, Samantha Harrington, Anthony McBride). Others are flat-out physical, such as a battle between brothers Tweedledee and Tweedledum (Morgan Jones, Mina LaBeau) and a contentious discussion with a damaged but spirited Humpty Dumpty (Sharon Combs).
Then there's a jazzy version of "Hey Diddle Diddle" by Gandy, made adorable by the presence of a dog marionette -- who absolutely laughed to see such sport. He had plenty of company.
"You're never too old for Mother Goose," says Gandy, in between bites of thoroughly chewed scenery.
Mother Goose Christmas continues through Dec. 17 at the Arkansas Arts Center Children's Theatre, Ninth and Commerce streets, Little Rock. More information is available by calling (501) 372-4000.
Metro on 12/02/2017