‘Tales From the Wild: A Moral Masquerade’ @ New Voices
Photos by Charlotte Taylor
Carol M. Rice
A fable is a short fictional story that generally features animals, legendary creatures, and/or forces of nature that are given human characteristics—and that ends with a “moral” that may or may not be specifically stated. Growing up, I seem to remember fables being more prevalent than they are today—or maybe I’m just recalling the phrase “the moral of the story....”
At any rate, fables seem to have fallen out of favor as a way to get one’s point across. Aesop, of course, is the author one associates most with fables, but New Voices has uncovered some new, more modern fables—and brings them to the stage at The Core Theatre in a fun, energetic presentation for one weekend only. With eight stories by different authors adapted from the book The Lion and the Aardvark, New Voices has devised Tales From the Wild: A Moral Masquerade, making for a unique evening of theatre.
You know you’re not in for your grandma’s fables when the first one is called “The Cat and the Cellphone.” With New Voices co-founder Eric Levy acting as the Fable Caster (aka emcee), the audience is guided through the various cautionary tales by a talented ensemble. Standouts include Jennifer Grace as Trout in “The Beaver and the Trout,” Ian Grygotis as Coyote in “The Coyote and the High-Density Feedlot,” Jayden Matthews as Tiger in “The Tiger and the Dove,” and Kevin Vaught as Corpse in “The Loquacious Cadaver.”
Others in the cast include Luke Wallace, Jenny Wood, Maxine Frauenheim, Laila Jalil, Sara Parisa, and New Voices co-founder Kathleen Vaught, who along with Levy, Parisa, Martin Mussey, and Kevin Vaught are the directors.
The set design by Kevin Vaught and Kathleen Vaught is simple yet effective, with beautifully drawn black and white cartoon pictures on sheets that are changed for each scene. A mishmash of chairs serve as the seating area for the cast (who are almost always onstage), and are used as furniture in the vignettes. Each cast member has a box of props and basic costume pieces to use throughout the performance. (So many props!) I loved all the animal ears and tails, and Grace’s Trout costume was absolutely perfect.
The main quibble I had with the production was that it was hard to know when a scene was finished. The audience wasn’t sure when to applaud, as Levy would enter to conclude a fable with the moral and then move right into the next one. Perhaps having someone from the scene presenting the moral instead would have cleaned that up.
New Voices has as part of their mission their desire to do devised theatre, and they succeed nicely with Tales From the Wild: A Moral Masquerade. The show only runs through Sunday, March 2, so don’t delay.
WHEN: February 27-March 2, 2025
WHERE: The Core Theatre, 518 West Arapaho Rd., Richardson TX
WEB: newvoicesdfw.org
