Dessert theater pits Red Riding Hood vs. the Big Not-so-bad Wolf

The much-maligned Big Bad Wolf of “Little Red Riding Hood” fame might not be such a bad guy. If he got to tell his side of the story, would he remain the criminal or would he be the victim?
Audiences will hear two tellings of the same fairy tale in “Red vs. The Wolf,” a comedic look at the story and first dessert theater show of the year at Second Street Players’ Riverfront Theatre. The play, dessert and autograph session with cast members will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 16, and Sunday, Jan. 17.

Chris Randolph, 19, plays the wolf. Willard Wolf, to be precise, a young gentleman interested in the finer things in life.

“He’s a really nice guy who’s put in this really bad situation,” Randolph said.

Randolph thinks people will sympathize with the wolf when they see Red rolling her eyes, complaining about grandma pinching her cheeks and littering in the woods.

Red is played by Josie McGoldrick, who admits her character can be a pest.

“It’s really fun being something that I’m really not. Bratty lines come naturally to me even though I’m not really bratty,” she said.

Maynard Gregory, director, added a few narrators to the show to involve more kids and introduce some humor. That’s where sensationalist journalist Fernando Riveria and Red’s cunning lawyer come in.

“It puts some humor in there for the adults that kind of flies over the kids’ heads,” Randolph said.

That’s what persuaded him to take the role. He was just taking his siblings to auditions, but when he read the script he was hooked on the comedic aspect. He already has two fans — his sister and brother Emma and Ethan Dehel, both of whom are in the show.

Gregory thinks audiences young and old will get the humor. He just had to reinforce it for the younger audience.

“We double-take to make sure we get the point across,” he said.