Children’s play to pay tribute to Ossawald Crumb. 

Children’s play to pay tribute to Ossawald Crumb. 

LUDINGTON — Famed legendary folk hero from Ludington—Ossawald Crumb—takes the stage at Sandcastles Children’s Museum in a new short play for children entitled “The Amazing and Almost True Tall Tale of Ossawald Crumb and the Michigan White Pine.” The play will perform Friday, August 6 at 7 p.m., and at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 7. Admission is free.

The play features several animal characters made famous in the Anishinaabe language of the Ottawa peoples— Waawaashkeshi, the white-tailed deer, Makwa, the black bear, and the large trickster rabbit, Gitchii-Waabooz. Also seen in the play are wise, old Grandmother Pine, Zhingwaak- Ookomis, and an Ottawa elder named Leading Thunder. 

The 30-minute play, written by local playwright, Rick Plummer, tells the story of how the forest creatures, led by the sacred pine tree and a wise Native American, teach the legendary lumberjack about the evils of clear-cutting and deforestation. Plummer also directs the production.

The play carries an important lesson for children, according to Plummer, but it’s also just pure fun, for kids of all ages, he adds. He claims there is plenty of children’s theater magic in the show, and he is sure children and parents will love it.

Kali Gilbert will play the white-tailed deer. Her husband, Sean Gilbert, is cast as the trickster rabbit. Wise, old Grandmother Pine is played by Christine Plummer. Paul Garland plays the black bear, Cathi Bates, who is proud of her Cherokee heritage, plays the Ottawa elder, Leading Thunder. The fabled lumberjack, Ossawald Crumb, will be played by Elliot Plummer. Providing music before the play begins is local musician, Kaedin Plummer.

Kristin Korendyke, executive director of Sandcastles said on behalf of the museum, she is pleased to offer the play free of charge for area children. She suggested parents and their children should arrive early to ensure a seat for the evening performance on Friday night, as seating is limited. Children at the museum during the Saturday performances will likewise be restricted to space available at the museum’s upstairs stage area.

Ossawald Crumb was a fictional character created by Robert Stearns, son of local lumber baron Justice Stearns. The character was similar to Paul Bunyan. 

For further information about this free children’s theater performance or about the museum, call 231-233-9326, or email Korendyke at sandcastleschildrensmuseum@gmail.com.