The Children in the Wood

About the show

The Children in the Wood is a 1793 two-act musical play with a libretto by English playwright Thomas Morton and music by Samuel Arnold. It was derived from the children's story Babes in the Wood, and was very popular into the early 19th century. The play debuted at the Theatre Royal Haymarket on October 1, 1793. The Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure called it "one of the most interesting trifles that has been lately exhibited." "The subject is the old legendary tale of the Babes of the Wood; and though the author has necessarily departed from the anecdote in the ballad, by saving the infants, he has imparted much tenderness and simplicity to the fable, and in the gayer scenes thrown much cheerfulness into his characters." The review also praised the performance of actor John Bannister.