'Beauty' gets serious
By Lisa Bornstein, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published March 19, 2008 at 5:27 p.m.
Patrick Hackett
As Prince Owain, Josh Hartwell starts as a lost little soul.
A world of mystery and magic awaits young children in Sleeping Beauty, the interpretation of the classic fairy tale at Denver Children's Theatre.
With a top-notch team of performers and designers, director Billie McBride uses the full depth of the already-large Shwayder Theatre stage to draw children into the depths and possibilities of a Grimm-like forest.
The language, adapted from a play by Charles Way, demands full attention. Two sorceresses, one good and one evil, open the play with interlaced poetics, dense and musical. As Branwen, a bespectacled Mare Trevathan is kindly and befuddled, always warm and only somewhat effective in her conjuring. She is aided by Elgin Kelley as an Irish-tinged griffin. Branwen's sister, Modron, is played by Karen Slack with a glamorous evil, the eyes glinting even when she transforms herself into a haggard spinster to fulfill her plan.
The play spends a lot of time establishing the setup, as the loving king and queen (Brian Landis Folkins and Missy Moore) express their longing for a baby, then meander through the woods searching for a foundling they can't quite find. A bit too much anticipation sets in waiting to meet Briar Rose, the princess unaware she's cursed.
As Briar Rose - the future Sleeping Beauty - Jamie Ann Romero makes a playful little girl equally adorable in pink and ferocious at swordfighting (directed with clanging pleasure by Geoff Kent). In a theme that many children will understand, she feels both overprotected by her parents and frightened of the world she longs to enter.
In an attempt at balance, Briar Rose is saved from the damsel- in-distress stereotype (although she is still rescued at the end) by making her a bit of a heroine earlier on. Prince Owain joins her early in childhood as a playmate, and he's a lost little soul played by Josh Hartwell with a blond pageboy and nice tack of scuffing the floor and looking down when adults are speaking. It takes Briar Rose to teach him things and raise his confidence.
McBride directs without seeming to worry about whether children can keep up, and without the usual children's theater technique of playing with, rather than for, the audience. Both choices work, as kids can work at understanding and have that sense of accomplishment when they climb the hill.
The visuals of the production contribute to a satisfying experience. Tina Anderson's set is laced with intriguing, dangerous vines and thorns, and her castle is nearly life-size. Nikki Hoof's sumptuous costumes transport us to medieval fantasy. Ian Helm and Christine Campbell contribute with masks and effects such as slightly malevolent fairies and a spider king who is terrifying, if a little distracting.
Glimmers of humor, such as a pillow game, elicit giggles. But this is, at its heart, a serious story. It's a testament to the work that last Sunday, except for giggles at lighter moments, the full theater was notably silent.
bornsteinl@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5101
Sleeping Beauty
* Grade: A-
* When and where: 1 p.m. Sundays through May 4 (except March 23, April 20 and 27), Shwayder Theater, 350 S. Dahlia St.
* Cost: $7 to $8
* Information: 303-316-6360
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