Posted on Wed, Apr. 2, 2008
Someone at Malvern's People's Light & Theatre Company must have serious mommy and daddy issues. Its Adaptation Project, which brings award-winning novels for young people to the stage, has thus far chosen two dark-edged stories, the current
Getting Near to Baby and
Crispin: The Cross of Lead. The company also has recently mounted adaptations of
The Giver,
Anne of Green Gables and
Huckleberry Finn (renamed S
plittin' the Raft) for its Family Discovery Series. All are stories of orphans or near-orphans, and each child is blown adrift by the irrational winds of adult authority.
Some of those winds are chilly, others originate in warmer climes, and at each tale's heart is a right-minded kid trying to find sunny skies and a little understanding amidst a sea of turmoil.
Baby's difference is its ratio of child actors (five) to grownups (three), a setup that starkly illustrates the divide between childhood intentions and adult interpretations.
The central waifs in Y York's adaptation of Audrey Couloumbis' novel are Willa Jo (Claire Inie-Richards) and Little Sister (Maggie Fitzgerald), siblings sent to live with their tightly wound Aunt Patty (Mary Elizabeth Scallen) and mild Uncle Hob (Christopher Patrick Mullen) after a catastrophic series of events makes it impossible for them to remain at home.
As the girls meet other neighborhood kids, a parallel culture emerges in which Aunt Patty's shouted reminder, "Rules for children don't apply to adults!" becomes just as true when reversed.
Director Abigail Adams clearly feels protective of these characters, making Scallen's Patty as empathic and endearing, in her way, as the kids. The obvious warmth between the cast, Jim Kronzer's suburban split-level set, Dennis Parichy's summery lighting and Marla Jurglanis' ticky-tacky costumes all combine to create an intimate portrait of families striving to do their best in trying circumstances.
York's dialogue uses a deceptively light, natural touch suited to the story and to its young principals. Inie-Richards' Willa Jo is steadfast, engaging and utterly believable, while Fitzgerald finesses the unenviable task (particularly for a sixth grader) of remaining silent throughout the production while still conveying an emotional weight.
People's Light's annual pantos coddle smaller kiddies, and thank goodness for that. But once mommy and daddy sprout flaws and the world grows teeth, someone at People's Light will know just the right book-turned-play to help launch a searching child's own journey and make it just a little less lonely.
Getting Near to Baby
Through April 20 at People's Light & Theatre Company, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern. Tickets $20-$28. Information:
215-644-3500 or
www.peopleslight.org.
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