The review for Charlotte’s Web is in, and you may read it below. There is one more weekend left for the show. Tickets are still readily available for every remaining performance.
Review of Charlotte’s Web:
By Adrienne McCormick, Chair, Dept of English
The SUNY Fredonia Department of Theatre and Dance has staged a delightful performance of E.B. White’s classic children’s story, Charlotte’s Web, adapted for the stage by Joseph Robinette. While the department has supported children’s programming with summer offerings, such as the Playground theatre camp for local children, this is the first time that the Walter Gloor Mainstage series has included a family friendly offering. Our community is fortunate indeed to have such talent in its midst, and to see that talent directed toward the interests of local children is wonderful.
Three narrators cast to reflect the Arable and Zuckerman clans frame the story as it unfolds for us, beginning with the fate of the runt piglet up in the air. Fern Arable—played by Julie Schillaci— manages to save his life, names him Wilbur, and the story unfolds from there. The play really takes off with the entrance of the key actors in the piece; the supporting animals. Realized with great energy by Matthew Nersinger, Wilbur the pig is just the first taste of a delightful ensemble of actors who make the animals from this familiar tale come to life. Costume designer Dixon Reynolds has done wonderful work turning SUNY Fredonia students into farm animals. The Goose and Gander Gander Gander—played by Michael Mascari and Rachel Mulcahy respectively—take the stage with their gorgeous orange legs and fabulous beaks, followed by the mother /daughter pairing of Shannon Mann and Megan Mason as Sheep and Lamb, who walk on all fours with a little help from some terrific prosthetic fore-legs. Kim Abrams as Templeton the Rat rounds out the ensemble, with a perfectly persnickety jacket and tail. Charlotte the Spider is left more to the imagination than to embodiment, to accommodate younger viewers. The voice of Rachel Kodweis lends Charlotte a melodious presence that evokes the beauty of her character. I could’ve watched the animals all night. The costumes and make-up are just delightful, and children will be thrilled to see animals talking and scampering about on stage.
The actors playing humans are no slouches either. Schillaci and Dan Gerrish as Fern and brother Avery provide lots of antics—at the fair, especially—that will be familiar territory to siblings and parents in the audience (“Can I have money for this?” “Can I have money for that?”), and the Arables and Zuckermans are well played by Joshua Radford, Aubrey Flick, Mandela Avril and Lisa Alberty respectively. The cross-gender, cross-species, and multi-racial casting enliven the play in many ways, and provide opportunities for children to learn about the many faces of love, kin, and friendship between and among humans and animals. These relationships play out against enchanting backdrops that include a ferris wheel, fireworks, beautiful lighting, and of course, one stunning spider and her web.
The message of the play is about friendship. Charlotte sacrifices comfort, safety, and eventually her life to help her friend Wilbur stay alive. “A good life,” she informs us, “is much more important than living a long life.” Her selfless acts inspire the other animals to help one another as well. Indeed, as the play reminds us, “a friendship is one of the most satisfying things in the world.” Wilbur repays Charlotte for her help by protecting her egg sack and assuring the safety of her 514 baby spiders, three of whom we meet at the play’s end, after their hundreds of siblings disperse in a shower of silken, twinkling light. None of these actions are conditional, however. Charlotte doesn’t help Wilbur so that he’ll help her. She helps him because he’s her friend. “You have been my friend,” she says. “That in itself is a tremendous thing.”
For young readers, my son Kai—who is 8—wanted to share his review of the play as well:
“I thought the play was very good! Templeton’s costume was the best, but all of the animals are cool. My favorite part of the play was the little break in the middle because I got to do three things:
1) Meet and play Charlotte;
2) Then I got to meet the pig!
3) Next I got to meet the rat!My advice to kids is to sit on the right side of the theatre as close to the aisle as you can, because you might get to pet Wilbur the pig, or see Templeton the Rat up close, like I did.”
We saw the dress rehearsal, so not everyone can go backstage during the intermission and “play Charlotte.” But all children—young and old—will enjoy this classic tale, and the good spirit and talent that have gone into its production.
