CREEDE REPERTORY THEATRE - Delve Deeper Study Guide

CREEDE REPERTORY THEATRE
          Delve Deeper Study Guide
                     Red Riding Hood
                       by Allison Gregory
                   Directed by John DiAntonio

You’ve never seen Little Red Riding Hood quite like this. Two actors
with the stamina of marathon runners spin this classic fairytale with
humor, excitement, and a whole lot of heart. Originally commissioned
by the Seattle Children’s Theatre, Red Riding Hood is a delight for the
entire family! Starring Alexandria Bates and Matthew Tyler Horn.

                June 26 – Sept 4 in Seime Park
                  Dramaturg & Editor: Kate Berry
                   creederep.org / 719-658-2540

The Origins and Evolution of Red Riding Hood
We often don’t know the origin of many fairy tales since most of these stories were passed
down through the oral tradition of storytelling. As Delivery mentions in Allison
Gregory’s version of Red Riding Hood:

“How do you think this story came about in the first place? People made it up. People from
Africa, Asia, Europe, America. Did you know the earliest known printed version of Red Riding
Hood came from French folktales, more than four-hundred years ago? With every telling there’s
a new twist, a different ending.”

Realizing we’re all in charge of our own stories is quite powerful. So where did Red
Riding Hood come from? Here is a short history.

The origin of the story of Red Riding Hood
  and the Wolf is so difficult to pinpoint
 because the story resembles a multitude of
  other tales and has changed over time.
Greek and Roman: A variety of
different stories involve a woman
and a man with a name meaning
“wolf”. Roman poet Horace tells a                                                         Jonah and the fish
tale in which a child is rescued
unharmed from the belly of Lamia
(an ogress).

Norse legend: In these stories, a
giant has stolen Thor’s hammer and
asks for a bride in return. Instead,
the gods dress up Thor as a bride
instead to trick the giant and get his
hammer back. The giant notes                             Thor disguised as the bride
Thor’s eyes, eating, and drinking as
being suspect.

Russia: The theme of a ravenous
wolf and the victim being recovered
unharmed appears in both he tale of
Peter and the Wolf and the Grimm
Brother’s tale, The Wolf and the Seven
Young Goats. These stories also bear
resemblance to the biblical story of
Jonah and the Whale.                                                    The Wolf and the Seven Young Goats

Earliest Versions                                       Modern Adaptations
         th
Pre-17 Century European Tales: A red
riding hood type story was told by French
peasants in the 10th century. In Italy, a
version of the story was told (also by
peasants) in the 14th century, including La
finta nonna (The False Grandmother)
where an ogress is disguised as a little
girl’s grandmother. The girl is able to
escape and find her way back due to her
generosity to a river and a gate on the way
there.

Charles Perrault: The earliest known
version in print was called Le Petit
Chaperon Rouge and likely came from 17th
century French folk tales. In this version,
the wolf devours both grandma and Red.
Perrault said that the moral of his story
was to not listen to strangers.

                               An
                               illustration
                               from the
                               Perrault
                               version

The Brothers Grimm: The brothers are
perhaps the most well known authors of
modern fairy tales. The German duo took
Perrault’s version but added a woodsman,
or huntsman character who saves Red and
her grandmother from the belly of the
wolf. Red then loads the wolf’s belly with
stones. The wolf wakes up, tries to run
away, and falls down dead from the
weight of the stones.
                                                                                         (Up left) The character of
                                                                                         Ruby, played by Meghan Ory
        The Brothers                                                                     on the ABC series Once Upon a
    Grimm, in 1855,                                                                      Time.
 crafted many of the
  classic fairy tales as                      (Up right) Red and The Wolf in the musical Into the Woods with
we know them today.                           Danielle Ferland originating the role of Red Riding Hood; (Center)
                                              Amanda Seyfried as the title character from the 2011 film, Red Riding
                                              Hood; (Bottom right) L’il Red from the Shrek movie franchise;
                                              (Bottom left) Alexandria Bates, from 2019’s Peter and the Starcatcher,
                                              portrays Delivery/Red in CRT’s production, by Allison Gregory.

Post Show Questions
• What character did you most identify with and
  why?
• If you could rewrite the ending to Red Riding
  Hood, what would you change?
• What’s your favorite story?
• Who is the best storyteller you know?