by Brenda Bell and Michael Sgouros
The Selfish Giant, an original musical by Michael Sgouros and Brenda Bell, first opened Off-Broadway on September 06, 2008 as part of the First Irish Festival, at the Players Theatre located at 115 MacDougal Street in the West Village of NYC. Revivals of The Selfish Giant also appeared at the Players Theatre in 2009, 2013 and 2018.
Can the laughter of a child melt the cold heart of a selfish giant? Yes it can! This adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s beautiful fairytale will warm the hearts of young and old alike.
Join us for a very special journey inside the mind of Oscar Wilde – follow him as he leads us into the tale of The Selfish Giant. Watch as we transform the stage from literally nothing into the magical land of Wilde’s imagination. At once you will see the show come to life before your eyes while getting a rare glimpse of the show behind the show.
The show opens with Oscar Wilde greeting the audience and inviting us to remember our “Wilde Imagination” and our childhood; a time when we were free. Suddenly, before our eyes, an empty stage becomes the world of the Selfish Giant as the talented cast enacts this wonderful tale through the use of dance, puppetry, music and storytelling.
The Selfish Giant lived all alone in his big, cold castle – seeing no one day in and day out except his faithful servant, Martha. All around the castle lay the most beautiful garden you have ever seen, but the Giant never used his garden, he barely knew that it was there.
One day the Giant decides to go visit his Cornish cousin and sets off on a seven-year trip. While he is gone, Martha decides to let the children from the village play in the Giant’s beautiful garden. When the Giant returns he is furious to see these “urchins” in his garden and chases them away. He then instructs Martha to “Build a Wall as High as the Sky and Keep the Urchins Out!”
This plan backfires on the Selfish Giant as now that there are no children in his garden, spring refuses to return and it is winter in the Giants garden for many, many years. However, the children eventually break through the wall and crawl back into the garden and the spring returns at last. Slowly, the Giant begins to see how his selfish actions only made his life lonelier and he begins to make amends by breaking down the wall and inviting the children back in. In the process, he befriends a tiny boy who reminds him of himself when he was a “little giant”. But, the little boy never returns and the Giant misses him dearly until one day he comes to a special realization and asks “Is He Me?”
All matinee performances include the Interactive Family Workshop!