Vespa program
May 30, June 1, 2025 Old Stone House, Park Slope
Music and Libretto by Don DiNicola
Music Director - Robert Frankenberry
Conductor - Roger Zahab
With Puppets by The Puppeteers Cooperative and Banners Created by Theresa Linnihan
A young girl and her pet wasp lead some friends on a journey into the mysterious world of insects.
Their alarming and hilarious encounters cause the humans to re-evaluate their place in the natural world.
The World:
A vacant lot in which children play. Behind the lot is a rundown factory building upon which a sign reads, “DBP INDUSTRIES”.
A road, a woods. Beyond the woods, a house, a bog, a pond, a meadow, an overgrown swampland and, finally, The Queen’s Island.
Act I Lonely Vespa befriends a fellow outcast and introduces him to a world of insects. She begins her transition.
Act II Threatened by her sister and sinister forces, Vespa and Joey fly to the Queen’s Island.
Act III Through the bog, the stench, and destruction, Rae dreams and begins to see Vespa’s way as a solution.
Act IV Something wicked forces the Queen’s Plea - she dies and a New Queen is born.
The Cast
Sara Lucille Law - Vespa/The New Queen
Dana Kinney - Rae (Vespa’s sister)
Emily Solo - The Wasp Queen
Matt Mueller - Oppylon/The Tree
Daniel Rosenberg - Joey/Boo the Purple Mantis
Michael Celentano - Rickie, Bee Warrior, Katydid
Joelle LaChance - Chickadee, Dickie, Baby Spider
Melaina Mills - Baby Spider, Firefly, Mantes
Anne Elise Teeling - Understudy
Ilvi Dulack - Narrator
When not in their characters, singers assume various roles in the CHORUS:
BEES, WASPS, MOSQUITOS, DRAGONFLIES, BEETLES, LADYBUGS AND MANTISEES
Dramaturge
Ilvi Dulack
Engraver and Composer’s Assistant
Technical Director
Assistant Technical Directors
Michael Celentano
Ian Reilly
Vespa Logo
Matt Mueller
Social Media
Melaina Mills
Produced by
Petina Cole and Maggie Webber
Red Horse Productions
Special Thanks
Madeline Wall, Emily Grimes, Maggie Weber
Emily Solo
Tom Falvy
David Garden
Lisa Kim