Spread the Love: …and a Groundhog in a Pear Tree by Lindsay Price and Kristin Gauthier

This week on Spread the Love, Lindsay and Craig talk about …and a Groundhog in a Pear Tree, a Christmas play by Lindsay Price and Kristin Gauthier.

Transcript

Welcome to Spread the Love. We continue Christmas month this week with ….And a Groundhog in a Pear Tree. This play with the peculiar name takes place at Calendar Castle where all the days of the year hang out: New Years Day, Groundhog’s Day, April Fool, St Patrick’s Day…. Of course something is up. The Twelve Days of Christmas want in on the calendar, they each want their own official day. They’ve got agents and if they don’t get what they want, not only will they NOT sing their signature song…..they’re going on strike. It’s up to the other days of the year to come to the rescue. Craig, what do you love about….And a Groundhog in a Pear Tree?

Well, Groundhog I wouldn’t call a full-blown musical, but it is a play with lots and lots of music.

“Father’s Day is the best day of the rest days of the year….” and…. “The Twelve Days of Christmas are on strike. Better tell your Uncle Mike.”

I’d join in but I have a cold.

He has a cold.

Cough.

The lyrics in Groundhog were written by here, Lindsay Price. And the music was written and arranged by Kristin Gauthier. And if that pairing of names rings a bell for you, that’s also the team that put together our musical Shout! Now Groundhog was the very first musical these two collaborated on.

Like Shout!, all the music is a cappella – so you don’t need any instruments, you don’t need a backing track. The music is a great, great blend of traditional and original songs. It’s really easy to teach, really easy to learn, and a great deal of fun to perform. Lindsay, what do you love about …and a Groundhog in a Pear Tree?

What I love about it, is it’s really goofy. You’ve got June and the Junettes running around trying to convince people that Father’s Day is the best day of the year. You’ve got the April Fool re-writing the Twelve Days of Christmas into the Twelve Drecks of Christmas. “Eight maids a burping, seven socks a stinking, six greasy ladles, five mold rings!” The play is also very flexible. It does have Christmas elements, but it’s not specifically tied to Christmas, it doesn’t even have to be done at Christmas time. So, a flexible play with a little bit of goofy and a lot of singing – all rank quite high on my enjoyment meter. That’s it for Spread the Love!