SEATTLE – Playwright Chad Henry faced some formidable challenges when he began writing the script for Seattle Children’s Theatre’s stage adaptation of the children’s picture book “Goodnight Moon.”
How can a 32-page picture book, with a phrase on each page, be expanded into a full-length play? And how can a play be written that will engage even the youngest theatergoer – say, a child of 4?
So Henry put on his thinking cap, listened to his inner child, and started writing. Besides the words, he wrote beautiful songs, some warm and thoughtful, others snappy and fun.
He added scenes that spoke to children’s themes – the tooth fairy, the three bears, the cow jumping over the moon. With each addition, he turned it upside down, thanks to humor and irony.
Last weekend, the world premiere of Henry’s lively musical played to a packed house. Along with parents and grandparents, children as young as 2 sat engaged for 90 minutes including intermission. “Goodnight Moon” is one of Seattle Children’s Theatre’s best-ever productions for the youngest set.
Henry had considerable help in making the production a roaring success. Those who have read Margaret Wise Brown’s book with pictures by Clement Hurd will see the picture book recreated exactly in the set, thanks to Jennifer Lupton’s design. There’s the green room, and the red balloon, the toy house and the little mouse, etc.
Puppet designer Douglas Paasch had his work cut out for him, creating a puppet or interactive out of every item, animate and inanimate, in the nursery. The fire laughs, the dollhouse rumbles and the telephone talks.
The production boasts fine direction by Linda Hartzell and strong performances by the four-person ensemble, whose members sing and act with equal measures of talent.
The play begins with Bunny, like any child, reluctant to go to sleep. Once Old Lady leaves his room, the wheels of his mind begin turning. His bedcovers fall to the floor. And then Old Lady returns and asks who is responsible for the disarray. He responds, “Nobody.” The two launch into a lively duet about Mr. Nobody, who creates havoc in everyone’s house.
A touching scene near the beginning of the play features Bunny and Old Lady admiring the picture on the wall of a fishing bunny. It sparks a soothing duet whose words are taken from another of Margaret Wise Brown’s picture books, “The Runaway Bunny.”
In the song, Bunny threatens to turn into a fish and swim away. Old Lady says she will be a fisherman and come and fish for him. He threatens to turn into a rock. She says she will be a mountaineer and climb to where he is. Finally he decides he might as well stay where he is and be her bunny.
Once Old Lady leaves, however, Bunny’s imagination soars. Singing a jazzy song, the cat and the dog and the dish and the spoon arrive in an attempt to persuade a reluctant cow to jump over the moon. Later, the three bears jump out of a picture and land in the room, dressed like Liza Minelli in her famous dance number in “Cabaret.” They sport derby hats, canes and tap shoes. Their vaudeville act eventually includes Bunny, wowing the audience.
After all this excitement, including an appearance of a tooth fairy who transforms teeth into stars, the Old Woman enters and persuades Bunny that it really is time to say goodnight to all. Bunny closes the play with the words from the picture book, “Goodnight Moon.”
Kudos on an engaging play.
Chris Bennion photo
Matt Wolfe is Bunny in Seattle Children’s Theatre’s world premiere of “Goodnight Moon.”
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