This is a series of plays centered on the theme of hermeneutics, which is the study of interpretation methodology. The hermeneutical slant here is that as that time passes, interpretations of works of art evolves alongside individual or societal perspective. In the case of Struwwelpeter, a bitter narrator tells stories, both familiar and unknown, and cannot disguise his contempt for their supposed morality.

The Struwwelpeter and Cruel Frederick characters are loosely based on characters from the Heinrich Hoffmann children’s poems. Here the two have aged considerably and do not seem to have learned the lessons of their titular rhymes. Struwwlepeter (widely interpreted as Shockheaded Peter) still has poor grooming habits, and Frederick is as Cruel as ever, albeit with a heavy metal twist.

Cruel Frederick’s Bag
This story provides the framework for the narratives that follow. Struwwwlpeter works on his novel, play, poem, and finally a postcard—failing to complete any. Before he can commit suicide, Cruel Frederick appears with a bag of kidnapped children. They decide against conventional torture with knives and thumbscrews; instead, they decide to warp their little minds with the following stories:

Don’t Beat Your Children Before They’re Born
Based on a children’s story from Iran, a man decides to have children, and realizes he must take a wife. Understanding that courtship costs money, he raises sheep for their wool. But his ranching skills are poor, and the endeavor impoverishes him. In a fit of starvation-induced hallucinations, he imagines the sheep as his insolent sons and beats them to death. The man then of course dies, and his decomposition is described in graphic detail.

The Stuck-Up Kitty
Based on a children’s book, printed in 1960 in and by The People’s Republic of China, little Nui-nui creates a painting of a very pretty kitty. The kitty is so impressed with herself, she escapes the painting to embark upon the world and display her beauty to all. No one is impressed, and finally a group of workers coerce her to realize that she is merely a product of the hard work of the people. The kitty is then relegated back to the painting, which she aquiesces to with zombie-like clarity.

Why People’s Noses Run When They Catch Cold
Based on a Korean folktale young children tell each other, a prince is born with two penises. His horrible luck with women eventually explains why people’s noses run when they catch cold.

Just a Dog with a Bone
Three variations are of the Aesop’s fable are presented, each perspective more cruel. A full description would only weaken the live experience, so Bobbindoctrin is sure to do this one any time they tour The Garage Years.

R.I.P. Van Winkle
This is based on the Washington Irving tale, one of the first nonscripted Bobbindoctrin improvisations where Doug Spearman and Reverend Joel Parker got to strut their stuff. The premise is the same up to the point of the awakening, where Rip has learned to accept the changes but wants more. He sits at a bar and asks a series of questions about inevitable progress in technologies, annoying a random barfly. Typical improv:

RIP: Back before I went to sleep, they had these carriages and you had to have this horse to move ‘em and what a pain in the ass with the feedin’ and the ‘Yah mule! Yah!’ I always thought they might make a carriage that drove itself, without the horse. A horseless carriage. You got those yet?

BARFLY: Nope.

Et cetera.

The Epilogue of the Princes and the Pea
Another Doug & Joel improv, it takes place after the main princess and the pea story. Now the prince and princess are now married, now king and queen, but the former princess is in shambles. She believes the mattress-and-pea-type testing is not over, and drives herself crazy trying to be perfect. Typical improv:

KING: What’s for breakfast?

QUEEN: Breakfast! What’s for breakfast? I have eggs, omelette form, bacon, pancakes, a leg of lamb, the rest of the lamb, there’s fruit, lotsa fruit, from berries to melons. Is that enough? Huh? Did your mother cook a better breakfast? Am I doing it right? Am I passing the test? Huh? Huh?

KING: No, no, it’s fine. Relax, you’re queen now. Really.

Et cetera.

The Wishing Tree
BPT will probably never do this one again, but if you want to read the source, pick up Goose and Tomtom by David Rabe. Read the little excerpted piece of the same name at the intro of the book.