Silly rabbit, tricks aren’t for friends; Brer Rabbit teaches respect at Neveln Tuesday afternoon
Published 10:42 am Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Brer Rabbit (Cassidy McCartan) sits on Brer Fox’s back (Sal Frattallone) as the characters in “Rabbit Tales” starts on a three-day journey to a cave during the 45-minute play on Tuesday afternoon at Neveln Elementary School. The entire school came to watch the performance, which showcased Brer Rabbit finding out how to respect his friends. Photos by Jenae Hackensmith/jenae.hackensmith@austindailyherald.com
Third-grader Tony Garcia, 9, was excited to watch as Brer Rabbit learned about respecting his friends Tuesday afternoon.
College students from the Minnesota State University, Mankato came to Neveln Elementary School Tuesday to perform in a traveling children’s musical, the show “Rabbit Tales,” a 45-minute production with a message about treating friends right and not playing tricks on them.
Students at Neveln Elementary School laugh during “Rabbit Tales” on Tuesday afternoon in the Neveln gymnasium.
“Don’t be mean to your friends and always respect them,” Tony said, which is one of the things he learned from the play.
He, along with the rest of the school — about 350 first- through fourth-graders and staff — spent the afternoon watching the show and asking questions at the end. His favorite part was toward the end of the show when Brer Rabbit was learning his big lesson about friendship.
The cast for “Rabbit Tales” performs a song during the 45-minute play on Tuesday afternoon at Neveln. The entire school came to watch the performance which showcased Brer Rabbit finding out how to respect his friends.
“I liked when the rabbit was stuck to the honey bear,” Tony said. “I honestly thought it was really funny.”
While the play was funny, it showcased a rabbit that played many tricks on his friends — a turtle, fox, alligator, cow and bear — and was narrated by Brer Rabbit’s aunt. The show was written by an upperclassman at the Mankato college, and the actors spent last semester rehearsing and will spend this semester performing.
Fourth-grade teacher Brittni Gross said it was good for the students to watch and hoped it would blossom more than just the good message.
“Just to start an appreciation for the arts and theater at a young age,” she said.
Actress Cassidy McCartan, 18, was happy to perform for the students. All seven actors were theater majors and auditioned for the show in September. McCartan said performing a show for children is a lot different than a show for adults, but it’s very enjoyable.
“They haven’t been to a lot of theater because they’re a lot younger, so everything the [actors] do is so exciting and new. … The [students] give these responses full of energy and they laugh all the time, and they even will say things right in the middle of the show because they’re so excited about it,” McCartan said. “The energy’s amazing. And watching them really understand the show is really awesome as well.”
The touring theater group will perform for about 30 schools over the course of the tour.
