 |
| The girls from Mrs. Minchin's school. Lauren Nance as Sara and Allyson Jacobs-Lake as Becky in center. Photo by Kat Dollarhide. |
 |
| James Walters as Cpt. Crewe and Lauren Nance as Sara. Photo by Kat Dollarhide. |
Set mostly at a girls’ school in Victorian London, the story
is Dickensian with hints of The Secret Garden, also by Burnett. Sara Crewe
(Lauren Nance) is the son of Captain Crewe (James Walters), a British adventurer
in Africa. Captain Crewe leaves for a trip to the forbidden city of Timbuktu after
sending Sara boarding school for girls in London run by the evil Miss Minchin
(Dana Johnson), where she is alternately treated like a despised servant and
the little princess she imagines herself to be. She escapes the drudgery of her
life in the school by imagining herself back in Africa with the help of the spirit doll she has carried with her to London through which she conjures and
dreams of the people she has left behind.
The British in Africa at the time were colonialists whose
treatment of the indigenous people was, at best, paternalistic, and it bothered
me that this was barely acknowledged in the play. The relationship between Captain
Crewe and the native people seemed to be that of master and servant, and with
the single exception of his servant, Pasko (Eric Clausell), the Africans in the
cast serve little purpose other than as colorful musical props. Their singing
and dancing is outstanding, but as human characters they have little soul or
depth because their stories are not part of this show. Pasko speaks of Captain
Crewe as the father he never had, putting an exclamation point on the captain’s
paternalistic relationship with the Africans, something we might forgive
Burnett in her turn-of-the-century novel, but is a big flaw in Crawley and
Lippa’s 2004 retelling of the tale.
Nance is believable as the girl with the undying spirit who
never gives up hope. Her singing is strong, and she has a way of making the
audience pull for her. It would have been nice if they could have found a
younger girl to play the part (Sara turns 13 while at the school), but I would
be hard pressed to think of anyone who could have played the part more
convincingly or with more heart.
Walters as Sara’s father comes across as a Howard Keel kind
of character – strong and reserved until he opens his mouth to sing. It is hard
to imagine this is the same actor who played the monster in TMP’s Young
Frankenstein.
The most enjoyable character on stage might well be Pasko as
delightfully played by Clausell, whose loose-limbed dance moves are a joy to
watch.
Also outstanding are Johnson as Miss Minchin and 17-year-old
Rachel Roewer as the nasty school girl, Lavinia.
For audiences saturated with a seemingly endless season of A Christmas Carol, It’s a Wonderful Life and The Best Christmas Pageant
Ever, this is a refreshingly different kind of holiday show. And those who
want their Christmas shows to have feel-good endings … well, this one is right
up there with the schmaltziest of all.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
through Dec. 21
WHERE: Tacoma Musical Playhouse at The Narrows Theatre, 7116
Sixth Ave., Tacoma
TICKETS: $20-$29
INFORMATION: 253-565-6867, http://www.tmp.org
No comments:
Post a Comment