Sing Down the Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales

“Sing Down the Moon: Appalachian Wonder Tales was created after reading over 200 folk tales, legends, ghost stories and “wonder tales” from the Appalachian region. Finally, we chose to adapt for the stage five wonder tales- so called because they include a supernatural character- and a classic animal tale. None of the stories are direct transcriptions of authentic tales, but rather, in the folk tradition, are our retelling of those tales. Just as the Appalachian settlers grafted together stories from their native England, Scotland, Ireland and Germany, we took elements from a number of different tellings of the tales in order to tap their deep resonances, as well as to have a rollicking good time... Like the folk tales themselves, the traditional music of the Appalachians is evolved from the music of the settlers’ original homes in Europe, particularly the British Isles. Appalachian dance music, called “Old-Time,” Sounds vaguely like Irish or Scottish music.” Mary Hall Surface and David Maddox Director’s Notes The music in our production bubbles and cascades forward with piano, “fiddles”, guitars, and bass, but oddly for its Celtic roots, no flutes. Examples of Appalachian music’s roots in the British Isles are found in ballads such as “Barbara Allen” and ”Little Musgrove” which are common in America and often little changed from versions found in Great Britain and Ireland. See Louisvilletickets.com for tickets.