Never a company to shy away from challenging themes and plot lines, Seattle Children’s Theatre proved their mettle yet again with two recent productions—British playwright, Charles Way’s Sleeping Beauty with new music by Chad Henry and a new production, the world premiere of The Devil and Daniel Webster by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Robert Schenkkan. Both plays tackled themes that some might consider dark but both were striking in their approach and both held their audience’s attention throughout.
In SCT’s production of Sleeping Beauty, directed by Artistic Associate Rita Giomi, Charles Way has written an adaptation that is Spartan in its cast size focusing on the characters and relationships in the small fairytale kingdom. In his version of this classic tale, the young Briar Rose is head strong with a free spirit that, at first glass, doesn’t seem to need saving. The Prince, on the other hand, seems a bit feckless and in need of saving himself. But this adaptation focuses on the blooming relationship of these two characters. The plot line is similar to many others with the antagonist role filled by the snubbed and jealous evil sorceress Modron who decides to cast a spell on the unsuspecting King and Queen’s new child. The good sorceress counters this magical curse with her spell sending all in the kingdom to sleep once Briar Rose pricks her finger on that fateful birthday on the needle of a spinning wheel.
With only seven actors in the ensemble, Charles Way’s adaptation is swift and to the point. Only a handful of the characters do any doubling with the most entertaining being the two actors who double as the wood sprites in Act II when Prince Owain sets out to solve a series of tasks to reach the palace and save Briar Rose. The King of the Spiders—a large spider puppet combined with a speaking actor, was terribly impressive and garnered many gasps of awe from the full house of children and families. The rest of the design was, as always incredibly inspiring and imaginative. The design by long-time collaborator Carey Wong who teaches at The University of Washington evoked a large woven medieval tapestry with walls of leaves and vines hinting at the rose briars that will figure into the story later on. Three vertical panels of the same design served as trees that would reveal the infant who would become Briar Rose and through the use of miniature scaled palace shadow images would evoke the progress of the growing rose briars invoked by the evil Mordron.
One of the most stunning surprises of the design was an inner “stage-within-a-stage,” that created the christening chamber, and the room where Briar Rose would be laid as she falls into the deep enchanted sleep. This interior stone chamber was framed by a beautiful gilt frame. The whole unit could track upstage and downstage and was designed with forced perspective. There were several beautiful images created through the staging that bore a striking resemblance to the beautiful jewel toned paintings from the medieval period.
I was curious though to see how the new music and songs written by Chad Henry would work within the pre-existing script. Charles Way, I’m assuming, signed off on the music and lyrics, but I was less than impressed on their impact to the script which I was familiar with in the original version. Most of the songs did not propel the story or action and only served to slow down the momentum. There was a song about “having and wanting,” appropriate themes as they are, I felt the song to be a bit childish and, at times a trifle pedantic. The “dance off” with the woodland faeries was very entertaining and made me wonder how it would have played elsewhere. At first the music seemed to have a very strong Celtic feel, but as the play progressed, the music became more reminiscent of Rogers & Hammerstein.
The dialect work was weak and seems to be a challenge for most actors in this city. Many plays this season at other theatres involved plays with dialects (mostly British) and most, if not all, were weak efforts.
The end battle between Mordron and Prince Owain was, however, very dramatic and made up for any lack of tension or slow plot movement. With only fifteen seconds left for the spell to be broken, the sword fight kept many of the children seated around me on the edge of their seats. The victory of Prince Owain elicited a very enthusiastic applause from the audience.
On a side note, Seattle Children’s Theatre, like many of the major theatres geared for young people, provides a cry room for families that bring children who get restless or have difficulty keeping quiet. At the top of each performance, the House Manager makes an announcement regarding the usual—cell phones, pagers, running times, exits, and the availability of the cry room. However, at intermission, the House Manager made another announcement resulting from a crying child who didn’t get shuffled off to the cry room during Act I. I had to wonder if it was the Stage Manager or the actors that called for the additional announcement. It was welcomed nonetheless.
Seattle Children’s Theatre’s next production really plumbed the depths of dark themes in Robert Schenkkan’s serious adaptation of The Devil and Daniel Webster penned in the 1930’s by Stephen Vincent Benet. As the audience entered the theatre, the stage picture was dark and atmospheric with bold shadows of twisted tree branches that fell over a cluster of gravestones that anchored the far downstage left and right areas of the playing space. The main playing area was a large sweeping raked trapezoidal platform that diminished as it moved upstage to a dark and brooding sky. The whole design was inspired by the old hand tinted wood block prints from the
A desperate farmer, in an effort to marry his sweetheart and appease her skinflint father, makes a pact with the Devil. When his deal comes due at the end of six years, the farmer pleads with the Devil to release him from his bargain claiming that he has indeed fulfilled his end of the bargain. The Devil, old Scratch himself, feels otherwise. He denies Jabez Stone, the young man, any sort of reprieve. The young man approaches Daniel Webster, a noted lawyer to help him figure out a way to free his soul from the pact he has made with the Devil. Daniel Webster manipulates old Scratch into agreeing to have a trial whereby Webster will defend Jabez Stone.
The Second Act begins with Jabez Stone, his young wife Abigail, and Daniel Webster sitting in their home waiting for the clock to strike midnight. Again, a dramatic setting utilizing the previous Act’s raked floor with the addition of a door and towering upstage interior wall with fireplace, large mantel and ominous mantle clock. As the hour strikes, the door knocks and Scratch appears. He conjures a jury of his peers, which in this trial means one comprised of infamous villains from the past and the future including such luminaries as Lizzie Borden, Benedict Arnold, Al Capone, John Wilkes Booth, a member of the Klu Klux Klan and Blackbeard the Pirate. The playwright, Schenckkan has taken some liberties with this episode in the story, but it plays relatively well. The jury appears through a scrim above the fireplace painted to look like the interior wall of the house until there is a dramatic lighting change revealing the combination of actors and puppets. The use of puppets was predicated, I’m sure about cast size, but it works relatively well and carries through with the earlier use of puppets in several moments from Act I. The Second Act transpires as Webster and Scratch bandy lengthy arguments regarding themes of slavery, the value of a soul, the virtue in forgiveness and the strength and value in love and compassion. Ultimately Daniel Webster wins the trial with old Scratch leaving nursing his own pride, and the young couple living a long and prosperous life.
I think this production was effective and suitable for the target audience of junior high school children and some younger during the performance I witnessed. The shorter but much wordier Second Act lacked the energy and dynamic rapid staging of the Second Act so attentions began to waiver. But at the moment of Webster’s triumph, there was actually a collective breath of release from the audience which signaled the audience’s connection despite the shifting and shuffling.
The performance featured the ubiquitous Question & Answer session that follows all the SCT productions for middle elementary aged children and older. The actors lead the Q&A with questions posed to the audience which is really the best way to handle these sessions. I was struck by the answers to the question, “What is this play to us? Why do it?” The answers offered were varied but two children answered with, “Responsibility,” and “Civil Liberties.” The story has a power and resonance that can not be denied. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece and hope that it has a life beyond the premiere here at SCT.
