This must be the first time a play ever opened in Roanoke, then went on to Crete.

"Bull: A Puppet Musical," with text by Alex Lucas and puppets by Philip Hatter, premiered at the Roanoke Arts Festival on Nov. 8.

In July, the two Roanokers journeyed to the Greek isles as advisers to only the second-ever production of "Bull" -- this time at a five-star resort in the Mediterranean Sea. Their play about a bull who longs for big city life will be performed at Crete's Sensatori Resort through October.

The new production is by TED UK, a British company that sells entertainment. Even TED Creative Director Max Barraclough called the musical's improbable journey "quite a bizarre story."

And it isn't over yet. "Bull" could be performed at as many as 15 additional locales in Europe and Mexico next year, according to Barraclough.

He is also talking to Hatter and Lucas about a sequel.

A rejected comic strip

The star of the musical is "a big , heavy, forlorn character," said Hatter -- a bull, in fact. Bull once escaped from the farm and got a taste of city life. Hauled back to the farm after running amok (in a china shop -- where else?), he reminisces constantly about his adventure and the meaning of life.

The philosophical bovine is a joint creation of Lucas and Hatter, who met several years ago. As they described it recently in Hatter's basement workshop, Lucas, a Hidden Valley middle school English teacher, was visiting Hatter one day and saw one of his earliest sketches for a puppet, which happened to be a bull.

"He said, 'I could write a story about this,'" Hatter recalled.

The duo first tried Bull as a comic strip. They prepared seven weeks' worth of comics, then sent them off to the syndicates. None of them wanted it.

Hatter soon had another idea: "I said, 'I wonder if I can turn it into a puppet show?'"

When both script and puppets were complete, Hatter and Lucas approached the "Emerging Artists" series at the Roanoke Library about debuting "Bull" there. When it wasn't accepted, then-Roanoke Arts Festival Manager Rick Salzberg snapped it up.

"I said, 'This is just too good,'" recalled Salzberg, who had been looking for a festival event that would appeal to kids.

"Bull" debuted at the Dumas Center on Nov. 8, and was a modest hit. Hatter estimates it drew about 400 people to the little theater over its two-day run.

Salzberg had billed the brief run as "a world premiere."

"I didn't realize how prophetic that was," Hatter said.

Roanoke to Crete

Across the ocean in Great Britain, Barraclough of TED UK was thinking about puppets. The company is constantly looking for ways to vary the entertainment it offers at resorts, Barraclough said. Also, "Avenue Q," the hit Broadway musical co-starring puppets, had recently been a hit in England.

So Barraclough Googled "puppet makers" -- and up popped "Thistledown Puppets."

"The puppets are beautiful. I searched the site, read the blog. I thought, 'OK, this looks really interesting,'" Barraclough said.

He shot Hatter an e-mail. Hatter showed him a video of "Bull." Barraclough liked it, and flew to America in January to meet with Hatter and Lucas. They met in Richmond and signed a deal.

Then TED UK went to work on "Bull."

The result is a different production from the one Roanokers saw at the Dumas. For one thing, the "Bull" cast is now composed of professional British actors. Lucas' humble songs, meanwhile, have been transformed by Chris Egan, a musical arranger who has worked in London's West End. The script was also shortened and has a tighter focus. "We've enhanced the production, I hope," Barraclough said.

The Americans weren't about to complain. On their all-expenses paid trip to Crete, they got to see their play performed by pros. When they weren't working with the actors, there was free food. They spent much of their time lounging by the pool or on the beach, Hatter said.

"I was completely humbled by the experience," Lucas said. "I kept telling them all, 'This is the best week of my life.'"

So what's next?

"We'd love to continue to put 'Bull' out there," Barraclough said. "Crete next year, and there are other potential sites. ... It's gone extremely well."

Hatter and Lucas, meanwhile, are working on three new puppet musicals, including a sequel to "Bull" and a Christmas play that could be performed at the Dumas this December.

"Who knows what could happen from this point on?" Lucas said.