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Children's theater for grownups
"Eggs' at People's Light
Parents in and around Philadelphia are fortunate to have some really solid professional children's theater. The Walnut and other local companies often offer family-oriented shows that adults can sit through without suffering. The Arden's tremendously imaginative dramatization of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach last December was one of the season's highlights for any age.
Eggs, the current production at People's Light & Theatre Company's Steinbright Stage, lacks the theatrical razzle-dazzle of the Arden's James, but in its own quiet way, it's just as accomplished. It's an adaptation of a 2007 novel by the Newberry Medal-winning children's author Jerry Spinelli, and, like many of Spinelli's works, it focuses on misfit children.
David is a lonely nine-year-old who recently lost his mother. His father works on the road, so David must live with his grandmother. She tries to get close to him, but the boy has been traumatized by his mother's death and is emotionally shut down.
The fortuneteller's daughter
David develops a quirky friendship with Primrose, a sassy 13-year-old whose mother is a flaky fortuneteller. Like David, she too has lost a parent. Primrose has never met her father, and she treasures what she thinks is a photograph of him, though David realizes it's just an image of a famous actor, long dead. On top of it all, Primrose must function as a parent to her childish mother.
The two misfits enjoy midnight trash-picking and hanging out with Refrigerator John, a local refrigerator repairman. Gradually, the relationship alters both children, and they come to accept the hand that life has dealt them.
Though Y York's adaptation changes much of the book's dialogue, its essence remains. The themes of growth and life affirmation are presented clearly and subtly, not with the annoying obviousness that sometimes mars works for children.
Melancholia and curiosity
Under Mark Lutwak's direction, the cast is uniformly fine. As David, Nathaniel Brastow at once conveys a sense of melancholia and a nine-year-old's energetic curiosity. Claire Inie-Richards evokes every moody 13-year-old girl I've ever met.
Kittson O'Neill is appropriately dithering as Primrose's mother; Brian Anthony Wilson makes an amiable Refrigerator John; and Alda Cortese, one of the staples of People's Light's resident company, offers another fine character turn as David's long-suffering grandmother.
Some elements of Spinelli's story may be a bit dark and sophisticated for tots, but for older children and their parents, Eggs offers children's theater with substance. ïµ
Eggs, the current production at People's Light & Theatre Company's Steinbright Stage, lacks the theatrical razzle-dazzle of the Arden's James, but in its own quiet way, it's just as accomplished. It's an adaptation of a 2007 novel by the Newberry Medal-winning children's author Jerry Spinelli, and, like many of Spinelli's works, it focuses on misfit children.
David is a lonely nine-year-old who recently lost his mother. His father works on the road, so David must live with his grandmother. She tries to get close to him, but the boy has been traumatized by his mother's death and is emotionally shut down.
The fortuneteller's daughter
David develops a quirky friendship with Primrose, a sassy 13-year-old whose mother is a flaky fortuneteller. Like David, she too has lost a parent. Primrose has never met her father, and she treasures what she thinks is a photograph of him, though David realizes it's just an image of a famous actor, long dead. On top of it all, Primrose must function as a parent to her childish mother.
The two misfits enjoy midnight trash-picking and hanging out with Refrigerator John, a local refrigerator repairman. Gradually, the relationship alters both children, and they come to accept the hand that life has dealt them.
Though Y York's adaptation changes much of the book's dialogue, its essence remains. The themes of growth and life affirmation are presented clearly and subtly, not with the annoying obviousness that sometimes mars works for children.
Melancholia and curiosity
Under Mark Lutwak's direction, the cast is uniformly fine. As David, Nathaniel Brastow at once conveys a sense of melancholia and a nine-year-old's energetic curiosity. Claire Inie-Richards evokes every moody 13-year-old girl I've ever met.
Kittson O'Neill is appropriately dithering as Primrose's mother; Brian Anthony Wilson makes an amiable Refrigerator John; and Alda Cortese, one of the staples of People's Light's resident company, offers another fine character turn as David's long-suffering grandmother.
Some elements of Spinelli's story may be a bit dark and sophisticated for tots, but for older children and their parents, Eggs offers children's theater with substance. ïµ
What, When, Where
Eggs. By Y York, from the novel by Jerry Spinelli; directed by Mark Lutwak. Through May 24, 2009 at People’s Light & Theatre Company, Steinbright Stage, 39 Conestoga Road, Malvern. (610) 644-3500 or www.peopleslight.org.
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