THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 1, 1995 TAG: 9510310100
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 15 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Theater Review
SOURCE: Montague Gammon III
LENGTH: Medium: 82 lines
``Sleeping Beauty'' is a charmingly light-hearted, light-weight musical entertainment that offers a little something for all ages.
The first curtain rises on a forest scene where a faun pipes in the dawn while mist swirls around gnarled tree trunks, and the audience is immediately wrapped in an air of enchantment. Seven good fairies lightly trip on through the foliage, singing a lilting tune about the delights of their ethereal existence. Sweetness and light dispel the slightly eerie feel of the silent woods.
Broad comedy gallops on, in the form of an eighth fairy played by a muscular young man, clad in a white dress like all his sister sprites, but wearing hiking boots. His enthusiastic, eager attempts to flit lightly from place to place look remarkably like someone driving for a lay-up on the basketball court.
Director Hugh Copeland has established most of the show's throughlines in those first five minutes. The atmosphere of lyrical, youthful innocence dominates, shaded with the aura of slightly mysterious enchantment and punctuated with touches of slapstick.
That first scene is very much an ensemble effort, as is most of the show. Throughout the play, the chorus of fairies sets the tone while a jester and his two helpers propel the action.
The story varies only a little from the traditional tale of the young princess cursed by a spiteful witch at her christening. One variation has to to with the faun, and, while it's never fair to give away plot lines, there are enough hints to let even very young viewers guess why he's in the picture from the outset.
Trollarina, evil sister of the good fairies who so gaily introduced the play, is variation No. 2. It is she who curses the young princess, and though her magic is powerful enough to do real harm, her character is more comic than fearsome.
The performance of the rubber-faced, multi-talented Victoria Blake in that role is as close to a star turn as the show provides. She can be everything from a figure of fun, that villain kids love to hate, to an old-fashioned vaudeville song and dance comedienne who will capture the adults' attention.
Rachel Ford and Chris Farabaugh are nicely teamed as the Princess Briar Rose/Sleeping Beauty and her mutely admiring Faun. Ford and Blake both sing quite well, while the voice of Sarah Dewey, playing the Queen, is really exceptional. Her ``Lullaby'' will make even a jaded viewer take notice.
The seven traditional fairies are played by Amber Wiley, Chelsie Darling, Cara McKinney, Viva Miller, Anna DeFelice, Christina Palmer and Kaitlin Bowles. While serving well as a choral group, each maintains clear touches of individual personality. Their dancing, under Copeland's choreography, is graceful and enjoyable.
Kenton Myers plays the ``odd man out'' among the fairy Troupe. While his performance is largely aimed at broad comedy, there is a hint of something else beneath. Does he perhaps represent the eager outsider, striving to be accepted into a group he admires?
After all, Trollarina is angered because she was not invited to the christening of the Baby Princess and she is, too, a sister of the fairies. Is there a subtle message about social cliques running through this script?
Chester the Jester is played by Court Watson and the King by veteran Mac McKinney.
The Baby Princess is played by the infant Taylor Davis Trent, who scores about an 11 on the one to 10 cuteness scale. Most performing troupes would have been content to use a doll for this part. It is indicative of the Hurrah Players' professionalism that it took the effort to work with a real child until that baby could be calm and even attentive in the face of fireworks, applause, song and dance.
In addition to the strong performances, this is an impressive looking production, especially when the setting is the woodland. Tina Wellington's lighting adds the right touch of magic to the finely designed and well executed settings by Frankie Sneed and Mark Hawkins and to Lonna Trent's costumes. ILLUSTRATION: WHEN AND WHERE
``Sleeping Beauty'' by the Hurrah Players continues this weekend at
Pavilion at 7 p.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For
tickets and information, call 627-5437.
by CNB