'Curious George' comes to Moses Lake Friday

MOSES LAKE — The most famous curious monkey in the world will take the Wallenstien Theater stage at 7 p.m. Friday. The presentation of “Curious George” is sponsored by the Columbia Basin Allied Arts Association.

The play is the last production of the 2015-16 “Green Turtle” series. The Green Turtle series is designed for children, with stage productions and sometimes visits to local schools along with the play. The association also sponsors the annual visit of the Missoula Children’s Theater.

Curious George celebrates his 75th birthday in 2016; the first Curious George book was published in 1941. George, of course, is the little monkey brought to the Big City by his buddy, the Man in the Yellow Hat.

In the stage play George is waiting for “All You Can Eat Meatball Day,” which is – as far as one curious little monkey is concerned – one of the best, most important days of the year. Every year George helps Chef Pisghetti cook meatballs and serve them to the crowd of hungry meatball lovers. Oh, but this year there is no crowd of hungry meatball lovers – in fact, there’s no crowd at all. It’s up to George to find out what happened, and find all those hungry people.

Curious George is one of the most famous monkeys in children’s literature, the brainchild of a couple who arrived in the U.S. as European Jewish refugees. H.A. Rey and his wife Margret were born in Germany, met as teens, met again in Brazil and married in 1935.

H.A. Rey sold bathtubs in Brazil, but both H.A. and Margret Rey were also artists. They moved to Paris in the mid-1930s, and H.A. Rey’s drawings of monkeys caught the eye of a Paris publisher. The book that resulted included a curious little monkey named George.

George was the star of the next book, but the manuscript was completed just in time for the start of World War II. Margaret and H.A. Rey got out a few hours ahead of the German entry into Paris in May 1940, escaping on bicycles. They left Paris with a few possessions, among them five manuscripts, including the original Curious George.

The Reys escaped to Portugal, Brazil and eventually the United States. The manuscript they brought with them was published to instant success, and eight more books followed, along with movies and an animated television show.