Musical ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ Offers Defanged Tale for Tots

The bloodthirsty element in the audience was all for capital punishment, but in the tiny-tot musical “Little Red Riding Hood” at the Powerhouse Theatre, the Big Bad Wolf is let off with a good scare.

Presented by the Mother Goose Theatre of Santa Monica, Lloyd J. Schwartz’s version of the classic tale is an unexceptional, defanged trifle, but it does offer young audience members ample opportunity for participation.

They can eagerly shout warnings to Granny and Little Red Riding Hood when the wolf appears, remind the absent-minded Narrator of the color of that hood--he can’t seem to get it right--and bravely take the stage to become trees in the “deep, dark forest.”

Under the direction of Mary Cappelli Cruise, the adult, professional cast is fine. In the title role, however, Christina Giffen conveys an intensity at odds with the frothy goings-on.

As the forgetful Narrator and as Little Red’s mother, Gary Velasco strikes a properly light-hearted note. So does Marjorie Edmondson, a funky, hungry Granny who plays the “pianny” while waiting for tasty morsels to be delivered.

In a hat with big ears attached, a canine nose, whiskers and tattered clothes (“I’m a wolf in cheap clothing”), Anthony Finetti has an enjoyable time as the greedy Wolf. To defuse any sense of menace, he introduces himself to the audience before the show, assuring them that he’s not bad, just a bit naughty.

Such reassurances are a big part of this play; even so, one little boy at Saturday’s performance loudly let it be known that he had had enough, when the Wolf threw confetti into the crowd and a big ball of it fell on him. His understanding mother gave him a hug and carried him out.

The happy ending finds Granny alive and well (it’s not clear why she wasn’t eaten up) and Little Red Riding Hood safe, thanks to the fortuitous entrance of the Woodcutter (Caryn Ronis), who orders that everything stop so she can sing a solo.

Performances run indefinitely at 3116 2nd St. in Santa Monica, Saturdays at 3 p.m. Tickets: $3; (213) 392-6529.