Book, Music, and Lyrics by Kirsten Childs
Directed by Robert O’Hara
All aboard for a Western musical adventure the likes of which you’ve never experienced. As a wanted woman of mythic proportions looks to begin life anew out west, Bella takes us on the trip of a lifetime to escape her scandalous past and bounce into the arms of her awaiting Buffalo Soldier. Rowdy, wild, and hilarious, Kirsten Childs (Bubbly Black Girl…) infuses this tall tale with soulful tunes and madcap antics aplenty. Giddy-up to our get-down!

“History is just a tall tale,” sings the chorus in Bella: An American Tall Tale – a new musical from Kirsten Childs (directed by Robert O’Hara at Playwrights Horizons). It’s a point that’s been made before: the version of history we learn in school is manufactured, and there are a lot of stories that get left out of it. Bella imagines one of those stories: the story of a young black woman heading out West in the 1870s. On her journey, she encounters many characters who don’t get their own features in the history books: buffalo soldiers, Chinese cowboys, mail order brides, and caballeros (to name a few). But the main story belongs to Bella: a girl with an imagination almost as big as her booty. Lest you think I’m being insensitive here, allow me to point out that the main plot hinges on the size of Bella’s derriere, and the script includes countless jokes on that subject (often very cleverly arranged). In this tall tale, Bella is a larger than life figure (in more ways than one) akin to American legends like Paul Bunyan and John Henry. In the spirit of those classic American tall tales, Bella succeeds as a delightfully imaginative, spirited story that fuses reality and fiction to su …Read more