Enticed by a new adaptation of an Oscar Wilde children’s tale, I ventured to the Players Theatre at MacDougal Street on Sunday, September 14th for an adventurous theatrical experience. As part of the Origin Theatre Company’s 1st Irish 2008, Literally Alive Children’s Theatre is presenting the Musical Oscar Wilde’s The Selfish Giant, adapted by Artistic Director & Playwright, Brenda Bell, with original live music by Michael Sgouros (open September 13th – October 26th ). This is New York’s first Irish Theatre Festival, supported by The Irish Consulate, The Northern Ireland Bureau, Tourism Ireland and Culture Ireland, and brings nine theatre companies together to present 13 of Ireland’s most respected playwrights in 7 locations. Literally Alive’s The Selfish Giant reels the audience into “Wilde Imagination,” the first song in the show, by erecting the world of the play before our eyes. From an empty stage to the layering of costumes, a shadow puppetry screen, and props - created by the pre-show workshop of children artists, the actors illustrate Wilde’s fairytale come to life.
With a presentational prologue and epilogue addressing the audience as Oscar Wilde, director, Ian Bjorklund, and playwright, Brenda Bell, clearly root the theatricalities of the play within the context of storytelling. This enables the ensemble to recreate the tale with materials “found” onstage. Wilde, played by Todd Eric Hawkins, articulately sings about imagination and delivers us into the literary plot and his caricature of the Selfish Giant. While the Giant displays his pride for his garden, the puppeteer/designer, Julia Darden, magically reveals the children’s floral designs as shadows behind a blank canvas screen. This formula is used frequently throughout the presentation to create the adventures within the Giant’s garden; including children playing, birds flying, and the wall construction. The Selfish Giant leaves his home for an extended time and the garden flourishes with children, birds, and happiness. Upon his return, he prohibits children to enter his garden and his world is affected by his selfish actions. The Selfish Giant utilizes choreography by Stefanie Smith and music by Michael Sgouros to change scenes, to personify the seasons, and to connect the portrayal of The Giant with the mirror as Oscar Wilde.
Directed by Ian Bjorklund, The Selfish Giant reflects the pedagogical element of “play.” The ensemble, Todd Eric Hawkins (Wilde, Selfish Giant), Sal Delmonte (Patrick, Sparky), Eric Fletcher (Gladys, Hector), and Stefanie Smith (Myrtle, Halley), shape a safe space to evoke play and invite the audience to share in the magic they ignite onstage. Eric Fletcher and Stefanie Smith’s physical embodiment with their torsos, as the gossiping birds in the garden, instill laughter amongst children and adults watching. Masterfully, the two plume and twitter in harmony with just their upper bodies to give the illusion of birds sitting on a tree limb. Todd Eric Hawkins fashions a relatable Giant with a childlike stubbornness and boisterously large movements. Sal Delmonte serves up a humorous Patrick, the attendant of the Giant, with a hint of wit and light dancing. Each of the actors naturally commit to the simple theatricalities, thereby provoking the audience’s imagination to develop the fairytale further in their minds.
Offered with the free Pre-show arts workshop, the production of The Selfish Giant is educationally crafted with theatrical professionalism. Literally Alive thematically stimulates the audience to know how to create theatre, to understand how to develop a work from fairytale to performance, and to motivate everyone to incite their “Wilde Imagination” in outward expression in their own lives. This is a wonderful reconnection to childhood that everyone should experience, as part of the 1st Irish 2008 Festival.
For a full list of other festival performances: www.1stIrish.org
