and three orphans, though well portrayed by Andrew Blake Zutty, Maggie Watts and Alexa Ehrlich. The adventures around Paris never match the excitement of Scrooge learning his lesson through ghostly intervention. The trouble is that there's not even a moment's doubt that Armand (Ed Dixon) is more hero than villain. While not without charm, the story of three half-orphaned, homeless redheads (a brother and two sisters, whose father died suddenly and left them and their mother destitute) comes across as too derivative of other stories with adorable orphans, noble parents and a kind-hearted curmudgeon. It's too much of a young kids' show to appeal to adults and older kids, and it's not quite exciting enough to keep the kids energized. Gifford has been faithful to the source material, Under the Bridge suffers from a confused identity. Unfortunately what works on the page doesn't always translate easily to the stage- especially in the form of a musical. Though written some thirty years ago and set in 1952, homelessness is hardly a dead social issue so it's easy to see why Kathie Lee Gifford thought this book had the makings of a timely book musical which would appeal to its core audience (middle graders) as well as their older siblings and parents. The Parisian setting, and the gentle lesson about the meaning of family and the rewards of giving and accepting help made this one of those books treasured for being entertaining as well as a tool for family discussions.

Nabbing Newbery Book Honor and American Library Association citations helped to make Natalie Savage Carlson's The Family Under the Bridge a best seller with the 7 to 11 crowd as well as their parents and grandparents. Left to Right: Andrew Blake Zutty, Jacquelyn Piro, Ed Dixon, Maggie Watts and Alexa Ehrlich.

Book the family under the bridge