When Bullfrogs Sing Opera
Here is a sweet comedy featuring a social-climbing sister who tries to keep her visiting country sister from embarrassing her among her new society friends. Meet Millicent and Coreen – two girls who grew up in Bullfrog Waller. Millicent is now a big-city snob. Her sister, Coreen, on the other hand, chose to stay in the country…until now! How can Millicent keep her embarrassing past a secret when Coreen, as country as cornbread and grits, shows up spouting her backwoods sentiments to everyone at Millicent's party? Frantic, Millicent decides to pass Coreen off as an actress, Rebecca Manderley, who never leaves her latest role in a play. But why would Coreen leave Bullfrog Waller after all these years? Deceit and conceit ultimately reveal not just secrets, but what matters most in life. Audiences can’t help but catch Coreen’s positive outlook on life.
Winner of the 2001 McLaren Memorial Comedy Playwriting Competition.
Productions
Behind The Scenes
PLAYWRIGHT CARL L. WILLIAMS TALKS ABOUT
"WHEN BULLFROGS SING OPERA"
Q: WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS PLAY?
A: I can rarely say where a particular inspiration comes from. Generally, a funny situation occurs to me, and I develop the characters and plot twists from there. Coreen's down-home honesty in juxtaposition with Millicent's snobbish deceit is what drives the primary conflict in this play.
Q: WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE PART OR LINE IN THE PLAY? WHY?
A: My favorite part of the play is the section in the first act when Coreen is making her outlandish country witticisms after being introduced to Millicent's guests. We get to see the characters' various reactions, especially Millicent's mortification.
Q: WHERE DO THE CHARACTERS COME FROM? ARE THEY BASED ON PEOPLE YOU KNOW?
A: My characters are totally invented, though I may use bits and pieces of traits I've observed in people I know.
Q: WHAT DID YOU TRY TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS PLAY?
A: I wanted to write a laugh-out-loud comedy, but one with heart and with a pretty good little message wrapped up inside the frivolity.
Q: ANYTHING ELSE YOU'D LIKE TO SAY ABOUT IT?
A: I believe "When Bullfrogs Sing Opera" is perfect for community theatre, or really for any general audience theatre where people want to be entertained.
NEWSPAPER REVIEWS FROM PRIOR PRODUCTIONS:
".captivated the audience and the long standing ovation was richly deserved."
Midland Reporter
".can not beat this production for pure light-hearted entertainment." Pasadena Citizen