Adventure Theatre - ARCHIVE
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July 14 - September 2, 2007
Winnie-the-Pooh
Reviewed by
Brad Hathaway |
Running time 1:10 - no
intermission
A charming, if slightly too convoluted, live
show for kids up to about 5 |
Adventure Theatre has had to relocate across the square at Glen Echo Park
while its theater is renovated. The space they occupy temporarily is carved
out of the back-stage area of the Spanish Ballroom. It is large and
commodious. In fact, it is too large and too commodious for the shows they
stage for small children. The children still have a great time, but their
attention tends to wonder when they can't quite hear the words the
characters speak and can't always see the movements that should catch their
eyes. Yet the opportunity to introduce children to live theater is to be
treasured. And the chance to bring them back again and again, which permanent
children's theaters like Adventure,
Puppet Company,
Imagination Stage and
Classika provide, is to be applauded.
Storyline: Combining a number of stories from A.A. Milne's books, the
musical play details the day that Piglet tried to avoid a bath, Eeyore lost
his tail and the denizens of the forest tried to trap a heffalump.
A.A. Milne's stories of Kanga, Piglet, Owl, Eeyore,
Rabbit and, of course, Winnie-the-Pooh create great memories for kids and
parents (or grandparents) alike. If anything, in this effort Adventure tries to create too many
memories and to tell too many stories. One fewer tale lifted from Milne's
Pooh books might have kept the show from dragging on beyond the attention
span of the average tot in the house.
The cast is pert, energetic, very
kid-friendly and good at creating separate characters which is important
since three of them have to double (or tripple) to get all the stories
going. Heather Whitpan is a delight as Eeyore and almost as much fun as
Kanga. Carolyn Agan is a sharp Piglet and Roo but goes a bit overboard
trying to establish yet a third persona for Owl. Kristen Golden is fine as
both Rabbit and the animals' friend, Christopher Robin. Only Jessie Dulaney
plays a single character, she's Pooh with a sweetness that isn't reliant
solely on honey.
The songs by Allan Friedman and Kristin
Sergel are short pieces designed to add spark and they are placed within the
plot at the right times - just when a shot of energy is needed. The costumes
and set design are suitably colorful and fanciful in an A.A. Milne sort of
way.
From the stories of A.A. Milne. Dramatized by
La Clanché Du Rand. Music by Allan J. Friedman. Lyrics by A.A. Milne and
Kristin Sergel. Additional lyrics by La Clanché Du Rand. Directed by
Alex Scopeletis. Musical direction by Jim Scopelitis. Choreographed by
Stefan Sittig. Design: Daniel Pinha (set) Katie Touart (costumes) Chris
Hardy (lights) Megan Heithaus (stage manager). Cast: Carolyn Agan, Jessie
Dulaney, Kristen Golden, Heather Whitpan. |
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July 24 - August 29,
2004
The Adventures of
Paddington Bear |
Click here to buy the book
Reviewed August 14
Running time 1:00 - no intermission |
This up-beat, happy musical show is in the grand tradition of kids' shows
making merry out of the mischief an innocent hero gets into with an absolute
lack of mean spirit or evil intent. The hero in this case is a stuffed doll
of a bear from Peru stranded in London. That bear is played with wide-eyed
innocence and spirited friendliness by Andy Tonken. One of the conceits of
the show is that, since stuffed bears don't actually talk (let alone sing), a
narrator interprets the bear's attempts to communicate so everyone,
including the youngest members of the audience, completely understands his
predicament and his actions. With half a dozen songs, a bit of dancing,
colorful costumes and some silly slapstick from a cast of nine, this hour
passes quickly for kids over the age of four. A few younger than that
were entertained for about two thirds of the hour but got fidgety by the
end.Storyline: A stuffed bear from Peru has gotten lost in London's Paddington
Station, for many years the terminus of England's Great Western Railway. The
Brown family (Mr. and Mrs. Brown and their children Jonathon and Judy) take
the cute little fellow in. He's inquisitive and friendly but doesn't
understand many of the local customs and this leads to a series of
adventures as he works his way into their hearts. When he believes he's in
too much trouble, he runs away back to Paddington Station but the family
pursues him to bring him home.
The
script by Alfred Bradley, author of such other children's shows as The
Scatterbrained Scarecrow of Oz and The Tale of the Red Dragon, is based on
the well known series of children's books by Michael Bond. Kids who have
read some of these books will find their expectations met while those who
haven't yet made the acquaintance of the bear from Peru will not have any
difficulty following events just because they don't already know the stories
or characters. Everything is clear in the staging by director Melissa
Richardson.
Neither the program nor the publisher and
licenser of the show, Samuel French of London, make clear whether the songs
are also the work of Mr. Bradley, but they are light, happy and tuneful.
Musical director Lynnie Weinstein and musician Wayne Chadwick keep things
moving right along, and director Richardson's choreography is simple but
effective at keeping the energy level up at key points in the show.
Helena Farhi is chipper as the narrator who
fills in for the voice of the bear, while Charles Upton and
Lynn Marie
Stout
do a nice job as the parents of the family who take in the bear and decide
to name him after the station where they found him. As their two children,
Brian Riemer and Anna Zimmerman are even brighter and more chipper, while
Michael Abendshein is a non-threatening mean next door neighbor. He really
sells the kids on the song "I Don't Like Bears, Do You?" while the kids are
the ones who set up the song "Marmalade" which extols the pleasures of
Paddington Bear's favorite food.
Written by Alfred Bradley. Directed and
choreographed by Melissa Richardson. Musical direction by Lynnie Weinstein.
Design: Tyler Whitmore (set) Heidi Volf (costumes) Michael Daniels
(lights) David Steigerwald (sound) Bruce Douglas (photography) Jennifer
Larscheid (stage manager). Cast: Michael Abendshein, Helena Farhi, Genevieve
James, Brian Riemer, Lynn Marie Stout, Shelby Sours, Andy Tonken, Charles
Upton, Anna Zimmerman. |
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