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New Work in Progress: Puddin' and the Grumble
This month, we checked in with Alisa Belflower from the Lied Center for the Performing Arts about their upcoming premiere of Puddin’ and the Grumble, written by Becky Boesen and David Von Kampen.
Puddin’ has big dreams and a big problem. She has to move in with her grandmother, a quirky former lounge singer who isn’t expecting a roommate. Puddin’ misses her mom, struggles with math, and is starting to feel as empty as her own tummy, when she realizes a Grumble is living inside her! Join Puddin’ and her trusty purple llama Wuzzlebutt on their heartbreaking and hilarious journey. Told through the eyes of a plucky fifth-grader, Puddin’ and the Grumble is an uplifting new family musical that takes an unconventional approach in addressing childhood hunger.
How did Puddin’ and the Grumble find its way to the Lied Center?
[Lyricist and Librettist] Becky Boesen and [the Lied Center’s Education & Community Engagement Director] Petra Wahlqvist were incensed by a news story about a school in Utah, where school lunches had been taken away from elementary school students with delinquent lunch accounts. They immediately agreed their next big project at the Lied Center would revolve around the hunger epidemic, and its effect on families and children. A Lied Center commission for a new musical addressing childhood hunger opened the door.