‘Hundred Dresses:’ Bullying Is Not Pretty

WATERBURY — The very successful Turn Up The Volume play reading series at Seven Angels Theatre continues on Tuesday, March 1, at 7 pm, with The Hundred Dresses by Mary Hall Surface, based on the book by Eleanor Estes. The new script discusses the very topical problem of bullying.

The play is set in 1944 and 12-year-old Wanda Petronski doesn’t have any friends. She lives way up in shabby Boggins Heights; and every day she wears the same faded blue dress to school, which wouldn’t a problem if she didn’t tell her classmates that she has a hundred dresses at home — all silk, all colors, and velvet, too.

But the other kids don’t buy it, and they tease her relentlessly. All the while Madeline, the one girl who is trying to do the right thing and stick by Wanda, is feeling peer pressure from her circle of friends.

Based on the Newbury Honor Book The Hundred Dresses by Connecticut children’s author Eleanor Estes, the new stage adaptation by Mary Hall Surface sheds light on the tricky task of navigating elementary school social circles. Recommended for ages 8 and older, the story and characters convincingly capture the deeply felt moral dilemmas of childhood, equally poignant for the teased or the tormentor.

A dynamic reading by a cast of talented local actors will be immediately followed by a discussion about the play including the topic of bullying and young people. 

Tickets are $5. Seven Angels Theatre is on Plank Road in Waterbury, with plenty of free parking. Call 203-757-4676 for details.