'Reluctant Dragon' roaring its way onto the SCERA stage

OREM — The story of a kind, funny, mushroom-loving dragon, the young boy who becomes his friend, and the situation that develops when no one wants to follow the expected game plan, makes for a fun children's musical which the SCERA stages this month.

"The Reluctant Dragon" is a charming 1898 story based on the children's book by Kenneth Grahame.

In the story, the elderly knight dispatched to get rid of the dragon doesn't really want to kill the dragon and the dragon doesn't want to kill St. George.

As the characters grapple with this unexpected scenario, the story teaches lessons of tolerance, family and friendship and everybody comes to a happy, safe ending.

Kathryn Little is the director. She likes "The Reluctant Dragon" because it encourages children to read and visit libraries. "We hope the kids will come away having seen a really good, fun show and thinking books are cool," she said.

Mark Pulham is St. George and Shawn Mortensen is the dragon.

Pulham is a recently retired elementary school teacher, and veteran actor, storyteller and puppeteer.

Mortensen, well-known to SCERA audiences, has played many past roles in SCERA's Theatre for Young Audiences including the Big Friendly Giant in "The BFG," Frog in "A Year With Frog and Toad," and The Boy in "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie."

He becomes the gentle dragon by donning a scaly headpiece and tail designed by Nat Reed.

"The show is going to be darling," Little said. "We have a little girl, Victoria Rimington, playing the boy. She has a major role and is adorable."

The villagers are puppets, with up to a dozen puppets on stage at a time. The puppets, dressed in medieval clothing, will be given distinct personalities and voices by puppeteers Matt White, Celesta Rimington, Brodee Ripple, and Ashley and Jeff Harvey.

"The chorus is having a blast," Little says. "When Shawn and Mark are backstage, they even get into the act and are puppeteers too."

Mortensen also designed the set which includes a library, a cave and the village.

The one-hour play opens Monday to the general public and runs Monday and Friday evenings through Nov. 5 as part of SCERA's Theater for Young Audiences program. School groups are invited from throughout Utah County in the mornings.

Reserved-seat tickets for the Monday/Friday shows are $6 for adults and $4 for children (age 3-11), students (w/ID) and seniors (age 65 and older). Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m. at the SCERA Center for the Arts, 745 S. State St., Orem. Call 801) 225-ARTS or go online to: www.scera.org

The next SCERA Theatre for Young Audiences production will be the musical "No Dogs Allowed," based on the children's book by Sonia Manzano, who is best known as Sesame Street's "Maria," scheduled to play Feb. 28 through March 18.

e-mail: haddoc@desnews.com