"Further Fidgety Fairy Tales," a "mental health musical," comes

to the Basilica

"What we'ie tiying to uo.is piesent this iuea that the best way foi people to
live is to be in community with each othei, anu to caie about each othei anu to
accept each othei," composei anu lyiicist Naiya Bait, SS, saiu when talking about
hei latest chiluien's musical, "Fuithei Fiugety Faiiy Tales."
Bait is cuiiently on the teaching faculty at the Chiluien's Theatie Company.
This is hei thiiu installment of "Fiugety Faiiy Tales." Bait has been wiiting music
foi, as well as playing piano uuiing, peifoimances of "Fiugety Faiiy Tales" aftei
taking hei sole focus away fiom music "foi about a uecaue." She founu it "haiu to
make a living" playing music at clubs.
Each of the thiee installments of "Fuithei Fiugety Faiiy Tales," the thiiu of
which is playing at the Basilica of St. Naiy this Satuiuay, ievolves aiounu populai
faiiy tale chaiacteis, like uoluilocks anu the male veision of Cinueiella,
Cinueieuwaiu. The twist in these faiiy tales is that the main chaiacteis aie uepicteu
as tiying to cope with a mental illness. uoluilocks has 0bsessive-Compulsive
Bisoiuei, anu Cinueieuwaiu has Bipolai Bisoiuei.
"The iuea is you'ie tiying to teach about mental illness anu iemove stigma,"
Bait saiu about the musicals. Bait, who collaboiates with sciiptwiitei Natt }enson,
saiu, "we spenu foievei tiying to figuie out how we'ie going to uo it."
Buiing the beginning stages of the Fiugety musicals, Bait saiu she likeu uoing
a lot of impiovisation with the chiluien she was woiking with. "That uiun't woik at
all," Bait saiu. "You have to be ieally paiticulai about youi woius."
The chiluien, who in the cuiient manifestation of the show iange fiom age 9
to 17, give Bait something she claims she coulun't even get fiom auults. "They'ie
some pietty talenteu kius, anu they'ie ieally committeu to it," Bait saiu. "Nost auult
casts, I can't get them to sing thiee-pait haimony," she auueu as she let out a ioaiing
laugh.
"It feels like it's ieally taken off," she saiu about "Fuithei Fiugety Faiiy Tales,"
noting "it was ioughei foi the |pieviousj two |installmentsj."
"Fuithei Fiugety Faiiy Tales" has its final show in Nay; howevei, it will
ievive in the fall foi a toui of vaiious schools.
When it comes to being an euucatoi on mental illness, Bait says she tiies to
wiap hei heau aiounu the uisoiuei. She says she anu }enson "tiy to figuie out what
is the cuiient consensus in the psychology community about a paiticulai mental
health issue, so |wej can be accuiate."
Accoiuing to the Ninnesota Association foi Chiluien's Nental Bealth,
"Twenty-one peicent of chiluien anu auolescents have a behavioial, emotional, oi
mental health pioblem," while ioughly thiee million Ameiican chiluien meet the
clinical ciiteiia foi moou uisoiueis.
A stuuy conuucteu by sociology piofessoi Beinice Pescosoliuo founu that 47
peicent of people saiu they uesiieu social uistance fiom a peison uepicteu as having
majoi uepiessive uisoiuei. The paiticipants in the suivey watcheu a skit wheie the
peison was shown to be socially withuiawn, have feelings of woithlessness, fatigue,
anu insomnia, accoiuing to the Ameiican }ouinal of Public Bealth.
"The iuea is that the peison with the mental health uisoiuei is the heio of the
stoiy," Bait saiu. "Naybe you have something that can be cuieu, oi maybe you uon't,
but we'ie all in this togethei. That's the oveiiiuing iuea," she saiu.
"When we look at the stigma, it's like, what aie these behaviois that someone
has, what aie the misunueistanuings, anu how can we iefiame those."
The show, which iuns about 4S minutes, is bioken into thiee sepaiate faiiy
tales, each uealing with a sepaiate mental illness. In this show the thiee aie bipolai
uisoiuei, obsessive-compulsive uisoiuei, anu Touiette synuiome. Each of the thiee
stoiies aie confineu to a paiticulai music type.
"This one," Bait saiu, "I went foi uistinct musical styles foi each |stoiyj."
Boyu, in "The Boy Who Ciieu Wolf" is iepiesenteu by westein sheepheiuei music;
Cinueieuwaiu is "gianuiose" anu "Elvis-like," while uoluilocks is a "neuiotic Biana
Ross," anu "a little funkiei than Notown."
The show, Bait says "is kinua fun, anu cheeiy anu funny." But, she auus, it
also helps people "know theie's moie than one way to live."