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Reviews The Spell of Sleeping Beauty
Directed by Debra Rice Endris Reviewed by Cristina Martin Entire contents are copyright © 2009 Cristina Martin. All rights reserved.
Each summer, something magical occurs at Clarksville Little Theatre. It goes beyond the enchantment of the regular theatre season and is pure delight, as it confirms just what a group of hard-working young people and the dedicated adults who train and support them can do in theatre. This year's The Spell of Sleeping Beauty is the sixteenth annual children's show produced by CLT. Director Debra Rice Endris has been working wonders for the past thirteen of them. Under her guidance, actors between the ages of six and twelve, together with a group of teens who serve as the indispensable crew, mount a full production in the course of an intense theatre camp lasting only three weeks. Impressive, even for the most seasoned of theatre professionals! And the result is consistently entertaining and of remarkable quality. Vera Morris's play is a clever adaptation of the familiar Sleeping Beauty tale. In the kingdom of Never Nod (humorous already), lives Princess Briar Rose (Sydney Sims), the young lady destined to prick her finger, fall asleep and remain that way until she is awakened by her one true love. But in this story she is joined by a host of other colorful characters, some of whom aren't included or developed in the Brothers Grimm version. By way of a fresh plot twist, the vengeful fairy Evilina (Reilly Northam), who is responsible for Briar Rose's spindle-induced slumber, also casts a spell on Prince Alexander (Patrick Koshewa), intending to turn him into a frog so as to thwart his plans of marrying the Princess. Because Evilina's spell-casting skills are not quite up to snuff, however, the Prince is only made to think he is a frog, a situation which brings its own set of complications. In true fairy tale fashion, Prince Alexander's mettle is tested by a Dark Knight (Henry Miller), a Wall of Thorns (Jordan Brown) and a trial in which he must distinguish the False Princess (Eleri Steele) from the real one, but have no fear: how else could things turn out in the end but happily ever after? As an original prelude to the story, members of the crew appear before the curtain, seemingly in a tizzy because they know they need something called a "briar rose" in order to put on a show about Sleeping Beauty. The problem is, they're not even quite sure what one is let alone where to find such a thing. They put their heads together and eventually figure out that it's Briar Rose, a.k.a. Sleeping Beauty, whom they need, and that the show may go on because everything necessary is waiting right behind the curtain. What a great way to have the audience meet some of those all too often unseen and unsung heroes who are just as responsible for a production's success as the people on stage! Jordan Brown, who also appeared as the Wall of Thorns, served as Stage Manager for this production, assisted by Brina Barbeau. Jordan and Brina, along with Chelsea Endris, Casey Winnecke, and Assistant Director and Company Manager Jacob Endris were responsible for the set decoration. Jacob helped construct the set as well, while Chelsea served as Sound Technician and Casey as Light Technician. Finally, Casey's artwork on the set made the kingdom of Never Nod complete. It's always amazing to see a whole world evoked on stage with relatively few artfully chosen elements, and this talented group did just that. Columns and a bench painted to look like marble, garden chairs entwined with vines, and topiary trees on the palace grounds contrasted with Evilina's dark lair replete with cobwebs and witchy odds and ends… I was transported from the moment the curtain opened. The characters in the play were particularly well cast. Each part seemed to present just the right amount of challenge for these fine young actors of varying ages and years of stage experience. The cast was composed and well rehearsed, and they all looked to be enjoying themselves. Their focus was extraordinary. Despite a ringing cell phone and a crying baby in the audience the night I attended, they soldiered on with the highest degree of professionalism. Reilly Northam's talent was obvious in her key role as Evilina. She interacted especially well with her minions, the Cat (six-year-old Clairissa Barbeau, who did a wonderful job in her first children's show) and the Spider (RJ Ohlemacher, who delivered some of the funniest lines in the play). I may be wrong, but I thought I only counted six legs on the Spider — though who's going to be a stickler for realism in the fairy tale world? Evilina's sparkly eyelids and green face (she was trying to perfect the formula for a beetle-and-cornstarch face powder!) made her look fantastically wicked. As Queen Eleanor — Princess Briar Rose's mother — Lillie Weber was very convincing. With admirable concentration, she acted just as expressively when she was reacting as when she spoke. King Rudolph (Seth Dewey), the Prime Minister (Ethan Brown) and all the royal entourage made for a lively and engaging court. Every character, from the secretary, Quill (Payton Sims), to the servants (Chef Elise Heitz, Nursemaid Zoe Dodson and Seamstress Natalie Bernardi) was portrayed with good energy and timing. The same is true for the other nobles, played by Eleri Steele, Jocelyn Nichols, Katie Reilly and Henry Miller. The six colorful good fairies (Emma Steele, Casey Mullaney, Ryley Biggs, Avery Thomas, Elizabeth McCullough and Kayla Combs) were a particular hit with my five-year-old companion. They formed a winsome cohort, especially when lined up in order of height in their solid-colored costumes created by Lori Dodson — blue, green, red, orange, pink and white, respectively. The other costumes in the show were fun to look at, too, evoking exactly what was called for without being overly elaborate. In general, the theatre's acoustics were good and the actors projected well, though from where I sat it was a bit of a strain to hear when they turned their heads to the side. They were competing with a rather noisy fan (of the air-conditioning sort) that kicked on about halfway through the performance, too. I feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience Clarksville Little Theatre's annual children's show for the second year in a row. I look forward to next summer's production, and I urge you to go see what it's all about, too. If The Spell of Sleeping Beauty is any indication, you'll be enchanted.
The Spell of Sleeping Beauty
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