Menotti Short Comedies

The Summer 2026 Young Artist Training Program will perform 4 short comedies created by 20th Century Italian-American composer Gian Carlo Menotti: The Telephone, The Old Maid and the Thief, Amelia Goes to the Ball, and The Boy Who Grew Too Fast.

In The Telephone, Ben tries to propose to Lucy before he leaves on a trip, but she’s preoccupied with numerous telephone conversations. He has to leave to get on his train before it departs but calls Lucy by telephone to propose. She consents and they sing a romantic long-distance duet.

Bob stays at Miss Todd’s house with Miss Todd and Laetitia, her housemaid, because they offer free food and accommodations in The Old Maid and the Thief. Laetitia falls in love with Bob and Miss Todd learns of an escaped convict that matches Bob’s description. She tries to entrap him with money but soon needs more so resorts to stealing from her neighbors. When Bob wants to leave, Miss Todd threatens to blame all the theft on him. Bob and Letitia steal all of Miss Todd’s valuables before fleeing and Miss Todd returns to find her house ransacked.

Amelia is a young and wealthy socialite in Amelia Goes to the Ball. Jealous when he finds out that she’s been cheating on him, her husband begins a melee with her lover: the upstairs neighbor. She breaks a vase over her husband's head and when the chief of police arrives, she blames the violence on the neighbor (saying he was attempting burglary.) Her husband is taken to the hospital, her lover is taken to jail, and Amelia leaves for the ball with the chief of police.

In The Boy Who Grew Too Fast, Poponel Skosvodmonit is a 9-year-old mocked by his classmates due to his large size and name. But Dr. Shrink has invented a machine to transform Poponel to a normal size so long as he conforms to everyone else’s actions. Mad Dog the terrorist arrives at his school and demands a hostage. No one volunteers - except for Poponel. This unique behavior means that Poponel grows until he’s large enough to overpower Mad Dog. Afterward, the kids admire Poponel for his unique size and strength.