We're going to produce this in September, so I've done a bit of work on it. I'm hoping to perform it with a cast of 12 -- four men, four women and four kids (junior high). The music is great -- a lot of variety, but it's not necessarily easy. It's rather intricate in places. We're going to make a big duck pond, huge eggs that will hatch onstage, and various other set pieces, all of which will be oversized. I'll let you know how it goes. We're excited about producing it!

We did it in Cameron, Texas last summer and had a great time. The music is difficult (which means fun for people who like it). We had great crowds and most enjoyed it very much. The only negatives we've heard were that some people didn't think it was funny. Our response was that though it has funny parts, it wasn't intended to be funny. Not everything is a comedy.

It also gave us a chance to do some lovely and cheap things with costumes. Keeping in mind the theme that underneath we are all the same, most of our costumes began with industrial disposable jumpsuits used by an area air conditioning company. Though they were hot (!!), we spray painted and accessorized each differently, it made for a great picture.

The cast is very flexible. The play calls for doubling of parts but we didn't do much of that. You can do it with about 10 or with as many people as you want.

The sets and props are also flexible. Since we were asking for a "suspension of disbelief," we took it all the way with using cloth stretched across the stage (held by people who could be seen) for water and snow, we built a cardboard TV and most of our set was cardboard stand-ups of reeds and bushes. Even our hatchings were low tech, they held umbrellas to hide their bodies until they hatched.

Hope that helps.