|
Regional Reviews: Phoenix The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
Also see Gil's review of Respect - A Musical Celebration of Women
Lewis' tale begins when four children are sent to an English countryside mansion to avoid the Nazi bombing of London during World War II. The youngest of the children, Lucy, finds a wardrobe in the house that is a secret passageway into a magical world called Narnia. There she encounters many talking creatures and animals as well as the evil White Witch who is determined to put an end to Aslan, the lion, who is the reigning King of Narnia. Lucy convinces her siblings to journey to Narnia with her, and together they help Aslan in his battle against the evil Witch. GCU's production of Robinette's adaptation faithfully recreates the magical and mysterious land of Narnia, though eliminates anything that happens in the story before Lucy first finds her way through the wardrobe to Narnia as well as any of the earlier scenes set in the mansion when Lucy tries to convince her siblings of the reality of this mysterious land. While this does make it slightly confusing for those who haven't read the books or have been exposed to any of the film or previous dramatizations of the story, it does provide for a swift production. And while the major moments from the book are present in the adaptation, I did miss the idea that time virtually stands still in England while the children are in Narnia and days or even years go by. Director Michael Kary does a fine job of balancing the dramatic action and scarier parts of the show with the many comical moments. He has assembled a terrific cast as well as an inventive set design by William H. Symington, imaginative and colorful costumes from Nola Yergen, and inventive hair and make-up designs from Kay Gray and Allison Bauer. The creative elements come together perfectly to make the world of Narnia imaginatively come to life in front of us. The cast is just about perfect, with appropriate childlike behaviors of awe and discovery from the young siblings upon the things they encounter in the magical land of Narnia as well as a heightened sense of evil and misery from the White Witch and her henchmen and the image of majesty and strength from Aslan. While there isn't a weak performance among the large ensemble, and even the actors with some of the smaller parts shine, I especially like Dylan Kim as Edmund, Lucy's slightly older brother and the first sibling to follow her to Narnia. When Edmund is looking for Lucy and is found by the White Witch, Kim does a lovely job in portraying this young boy who is seduced by the Witch's gift of the sweet and infectious candy Turkish Delight and the promise of power and the title of Prince if he brings his siblings to her. Kim easily conveys how Edmund is mesmerized by the Witch in a somewhat comical fashion by his love of the sweet confection, but later also shows how both his betrayal of his siblings and later his redemption affect him and change him into a courageous young man. Holly Nordquist is deliciously evil as the White Witch and manages to portray a heightened sense of royalty, strength, and a huge amount of wickedness beneath her beautiful and charming exterior. Joshua Vanderpoel's portrayal of Aslan is graceful, gentle, strong and complex, exactly the qualities that a Lion would seem to embody. Anabel Olguin is Lucy and she lovingly portrays the young girl who is fascinated by the creatures she discovers in Narnia. Cole Brackney is sweet and touching as Tumnus, the faun, who is the first creature to befriend Lucy. William Wyss and Bridgette Phipps are funny and charming as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and their two boys, played by director Kary's sons Izaak and Johnathan, are delightful. Aaron Potter is effortlessly foul and powerful as Fenris Ulf, the chief of the Witch's army, while Bradley Beamon and Rebekah Dipple as Lucy's other siblings Peter and Susan easily show their characters' transitions as they are forced to grow into more powerful individuals when confronted by the situations of protecting Narnia from the White Witch and helping Aslan. With WWII radio broadcasts beginning the show, we are immediately taken back to a time and place many years ago. But it is Symington's set design that creatively whisks us away to Narnia with a set all in white to portray the spell of an eternal winter that the White Witch has cast. And while the set pieces are all in white they also include words and sentences from the book printed on them, as if each set piece has been cut out from a page of an oversized copy of Lewis' novel. The use of nine actors clad in white body stockings, that also have words and phrases from the book written on them, as "Wood Nymphs," is a creative way to easily move the many set pieces around the stage to form the various locations in the play. The most effective of these moments is when the Nymphs form the dam house of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver by holding up long set pieces of various sizes to form the stick like walls of the house and also how large block-shaped pieces, also with writing on them, are moved into a line by the nymphs to form a runway-like walkway for the White Witch to enter on, as if she is a royal model and can only stand on something that is raised higher than anyone around her. The nymphs are also used at the set transitions and dance us from one location to the next. Director Kary has decided to use the back doors of the theatre, which the audience uses to enter the theatre from the lobby, as the doors of the wardrobe and the entire set in front of us is of Narnia, so in essence the audience is the path between the two worlds. It is an ingenious idea that makes us feel like we are embedded in this land and also provides for several moments in the show to happen in the aisles that go from the theatre doors to the stage. Dan Cocca's sound design is most effective through the use of amplified voices for the Witch, Aslan and Fenris Ulf, which provide an appropriate heightened sense of power for those three characters. Rose Malone's lighting effectively sets us in the snowy landscape of Narnia as well as provides some scary moments in the battle scenes. Yergen's costumes and Gray and Bauer's hair and make-up designs perfectly combine to make the imaginary characters come to life. Some of my favorite designs are the fawn hoofs that Tumnus wears, Mr. Beaver and his two sons' hats that have beaver tails hanging off their backs, and the transition of the four children to older adults through the simple use of updated hair designs, adult costumes and with Edmund no longer wearing glasses. Director Kary has assembled a talented and capable cast that, when combined with somewhat simple, yet very creative sets and costumes, whisks us away to this imaginary world. A lot has been written about the Christ-like imagery of Aslan in the novels so I should also add that, even though GCU is a Christian University, the imagery hasn't been played up or enhanced, but simply allowed to be the way it plays out in Lewis' original novel. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a wonderful, inspiring and imaginative tale with a slew of colorful characters, and GCU's production, though simple and short, is moving and also just as imaginative as the original novel. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at Grand Canyon University's Ethington Theatre runs through February 16th. The theatre is located at 3300 W. Cambelback Road in Phoenix and ticket and performance information can be found at http://www.gcu.edu/Upcoming-Events/The-Arts.php or by calling (602) 639-8880 Director: Michael Kary Cast:
|
