Story Telling Will Save Us!

Now playing at Canal Park Playhouse, in a joint production with a new company called The TRUF, are two short productions meant to connect adult to child.

The adult-friendly children's story, "Sarazad and the Monster-King," playing through July 14th, pits Sarazad (Penny Middleton) against some schoolyard bullies (AJ Converse and Kelly Higgins.)

The imaginative nine-year old Sarazad finds a unique way to regain dominion over the swings. Her fantasies take her into a dream kingdom where the Monster-King (Dean Linnard) threatens to eat her. Just like the Scheherazade of the 1001 Nights, Sarazad weaves tales that are so diverting thatshe uses her skill at storytelling to save herself.

Written by EJC Calvert, "Sarazad and the Monster-King" will amuse both your children and their grandparents. "Sarazad and the Monster-King" is an update on the source material which is both funny and poignant.

To show how stories can save our lives, Frank McGuiness's Tony-nominated play "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me," running through July 15, explores the same theme. In it three men who are political prisoners in Beirut find storytelling as a way to survive.

The TRUF and CPP invite a multi-generational dialogue to come out of its paired offerings. "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" is not recommended for anyone younger than teenagers, however. "Sarazad and the Monster-King," will please children as young as five or six.

To find out more about the performance schedule and Canal Park Playhouse, visit www.canalparkplayhouse.com