Our family loves The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. My mother read me her first edition copy when I was six, and I was enchanted. It even inspired me to tell my first-grade friends that I had a boyfriend named Edmund who lived in Seattle. My kids, now four and nine-years-old, have read the book, listened to the audio book, seen both the funky 70s animated movie and the fancy new “real people” version. So it’s no wonder why we were chomping at the bit to see how the Oregon Children’s Theater (OCT) would interpret the production. My kids had a lot of questions and they wanted answers. Would Mr. Tumnus have faun legs, and would he be red and green like in the cartoon? Would the White Witch have dreadlocks, and would there be snow for her sled? How would they break the stone table? Where would they find beavers, centaurs and mice to play the parts? I was a little apprehensive, too. My questions, less fanciful and more practical, would my four-year-old be able to sit through his first play and would he be scared?
We needn’t have worried. OCT crafted a completely engaging, exciting and abbreviated version that was entertaining for all of us. One of the best parts of going to the theater, of course, is going to the theater. It’s a very special experience in itself to dress up all fancy and mill around the lobby before a performance. OCT knows just how to amplify that feeling. They had several craft tables manned by Art ala Carte for the littles to forge their own Aslan and crowns. The craft tables were genius and gave them a way to engage in the story, create a memorable souvenir while getting them pumped for the performance. In fact, as soon as Aslan took the stage, my four-year-old was trying to flag him down to show him the mask he had made (sorry people behind us).
A stage performance of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is an ambitious endeavor, to put it lightly. The story has a massive cast of characters in a ton of intricate settings and a hefty dose of “magical happenings”. It took 200 million dollars to make the Disney version. OCT did a bang-up job of delivering the magic of the story in under 75 minutes. Many characters were omitted (no real-life beavers took the stage), and a several parts of the original story (no escape from the Blitz, no professor) to make a production appropriately timed for a young audience. Our favorite scene was when Lucy is hypnotized by Mr. Tumnus’ flute while visiting his house. The heart of the story was captured by the fabulous sets, excellent costumes and talented young cast. If you love The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and you have kids, you should definitely put this on your list of things to get your family through the long Portland Winter!
