The Velveteen Rabbit – Dec. 6, 2008
Tarradiddle Players of the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte
Dramatized by Scott Davidson from the story by Margery Williams

The Velveteen Rabbit is an ordinary stuffed bunny filled with sawdust. All the other toys in the nursery snub him for being boring and “out-of-date.” But once the Boy discovers the forlorn little rabbit they become instant friends. As their friendship grows, the Velveteen Rabbit learns what it means to be truly loved – and what it means to be real.

The crass, egotistic junkman Harry Brock has come to a swanky hotel in Washington to make crooked deals with government big-wigs. He has brought with him the charming but dumb ex-chorus girl Billie, whose lack of social graces embarrasses even Harry. Billie must be taught some of the amenities, and a few basic bits of information. The young, idealistic magazine reporter Paul Verrall, who has been investigating political skullduggery and is interested in Brock's activities, agrees for a salary, to educate Billie. He finds Billie has a natural honesty and a frank streak in her, and she begins to learn about history, politics, and what Harry really is and what he wants. At a dramatic moment she rebels against being merely a tool in Harry's crooked schemes and refuses to sign the documents which she has come to learn are part of an ambitious effort to defraud the public. This precipitates a crisis, as Billie readies to leave Harry for a new life of her own.