[NEohioPAL] REVIEW: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, at Canton Players Guild Theatre

[Tom Wachunas]

Their Kingdom Come

By Tom Wachunas

 

“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”

― C.S. Lewis, from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe 

   "The Narnian books are not as muchallegory as supposal. Suppose there were a Narnian world and it, like ours,needed redemption. What kind of incarnation and Passion might Christ besupposed to undergo there?” – C.S. Lewis

 

   As of this writing,The Players Guild Theatre (PGT) production of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is sold out. Still, I’m movedto gratitude, and to my continuing celebration of how blessed we are to havethe PGT in our midst.

   The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe isa fantasy novel written by C. S. Lewis in 1950, and generally regarded as thebest known of seven novels comprising TheChronicles of Narnia (1950–1956). The story opens in World War II-eraEngland and follows the adventures of the four Pevensie siblings after theystumble through the backside of a wardrobe closet and into a most unexpectedplace – the magical world of Narnia, populated by all manner of mythicaltalking animals. There, the children meet and aid the great lion named Aslan,who has returned to reclaim his kingdom from the evil White Witch and her cruelminions. After his victory, he departs for other realms and rewards thechildren for their trust and bravery by making them - whom he has called hisSons of Adam and Daughters of Eve – heirs to his kingdom, the new Kings and Queensof Narnia.   

    Writing a really invigorating story, andthen making really invigorating theatre from it, are both very much aboutsurrendering, or stepping through a portal deeply embedded in the human soul.Call it what you will – imagination, intuition, or faith – it’s the portal ofdesire to see beyond the merely apparent and the willingness to go there. Trueartists, as well as children, are especially adept at reporting what happensupon crossing the threshold of that portal.

    Right from thestart of this dramatization by Joseph Robinette, directed here by JonathanTisevich, it was eminently clear that the storytellers are indeed the children.As they flee from wartime air raids on a train ride to their rural refuge, theywalk in a circle around the stage of the Guild’s arena theater, holding theirsuitcases above their heads, gently rocking them up and down to magicallybecome rail cars rolling along country hillsides. 

   So there’snothing here of the glitzy special effects or breathtaking landscapes thatdazzled us in the 2005 Disney film version. Instead, everything feels like it’shappening in, say, a dusty attic. Still, throughout this pared-down iterationof the story, the visual austerity of the set designed by Joshua Erichsen,together with the clever simplicity of the costumes by Stephen Ostertag,effectively conjure just enough alluring otherworldliness.

   Among the mostthrilling aspects of this production is the riveting  authenticity which Sarah Dubinsky, MeshalAlsunaid, Tehilah Caviness, and Logan Peters bring to their respective roles ofLucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter. These performers are youthful adults, to besure. Yet for the lion’s share of the proceedings, so to speak, they’re soemotionally invested in their characters’ distinctive personalities that I thoughtat times I was observing actual children. They’re that credible and endearing. And in navigating the play’s deeperthemes of fear, betrayal, forgiveness, and sacrifice, they seem to grow upbefore our very eyes. 

  Equally endearing intheir effusive and giddy energy are Michael Burke and Morgan Brown as Mr. andMrs. Beaver. Additionally, Jeremy A. Clarke brings enchanting tenderness to hisrole of the friendly faun, Tumnus. On the other end of the behavioral spectrum,Charli Habingreither is deliciously vicious in her role of Ulf, thewolf-captain of the White Witch’s police force. She’s all too eager to carryout her boss’s every murderous command.

    As the WhiteWitch, Shley Snider is charming and seductive in the darkest, most deceptivesense of the words. With a voice sometimes searing enough to peel paint, she’salso literally chilling, considering how her character’s cold-heartedmaleficence has wreaked permanent winter on Narnia.

   Interestingly, themost understated presence here is Aslan, played by Eric Dubinsky. But in thegrand scheme of things, it’s a very sensible understatement. Call it royalserenity. Or loving surrender. Dubinsky convincingly gives us Aslan’sunswerving compassion and confidence. Such qualities become all the morepalpable and bittersweet as we witness his moment of real anguish when he’sabout to die by the Witch’s hand. 

   In the end,consistent with so many past occasions, I simply marveled at the exquisitelyappointed portal to compelling art that The Players Guild Theatre keeps openfor us.    

   The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe – atthe Players Guild Theatre, THROUGHJANUARY 27, 2019 /1001 Market Avenue N., Canton, Ohio 

https://www.playersguildtheatre.com/

   For othercommentaries by Tom Wachunas on the visual and performing art in the greaterCanton area, please visit his blog, ARTWACH, at www.artwach.blogspot.com 
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