Sure, all of us love Harry Potter, however actually, isn’t it a little bit a lot? Eight films, seven books, and three,407 pages? We’re not even going to attempt to calculate the variety of phrases.
What should you might do the entire thing in about 70 minutes?
Yep, “all seven books in 70 minutes,” guarantees British actor Amanda Gann, one in every of three actors taking turns in “Potted Potter: The Unauthorized Harry Expertise – A Parody by Dan and Jeff,” a two-actor, ticket-selling smash from London quickly to reach on the College of Pennsylvania’s Penn Dwell Arts.
“You may are available and never know something in any respect about Harry Potter, however undoubtedly the present is for individuals who love, love Harry Potter,” she mentioned.
The present, which runs Dec. 26 by way of Jan. 5, “takes the tales, spins them on their head, and perhaps portrays a few of the characters not so precisely.
“There’s undoubtedly a frantic factor,” she mentioned.
A part of that frantic factor – in any other case often known as kids – could also be within the viewers, as that is the season when households take their children to the theater.
The choices are wealthy. There’s the standard smattering of the Charles Dickens’ basic “A Christmas Carol,” a “Cinderella,” an “Elf,” a “Peter Pan” and a “Peter Panto” model, plus a blinding return of Cirque du Soleil in “Twas the Evening Earlier than.” We’ve listed lots of the reveals beneath.
Do puppets depend? Even when the plot is extra grownup, incredible, larger-than-life puppets in “Kea and the Ark” inform the story of Kea Tawana, an artist, engineer, and visionary who single-handedly constructed an 85-foot ark in Newark, N.J.
Curio Theatre Firm takes it a step past efficiency, asking children, ages 3 and up, to not solely watch theater, however to make it in “The Three Little Pigs,” working Dec. 12 to 29.
Earlier than every efficiency, they’ll work on producing sound results and serving to to embellish the stage. (They will use markers to attract in actual time on a wall on the set! Guess they’ll’t do that at residence.) Through the play, they’ll use these sound results – perhaps on cue, and perhaps not. We’re speaking kids right here.
“We’re hoping our massive dangerous wolf will likely be a baby volunteer,” mentioned director Mya Flood. “That takes the worry out of the villain whether it is one in every of your individual friends.
“The viewers will get to assist the pigs construct as effectively. You might have big bricks and sticks,” she mentioned. “It makes them really feel like they’re a part of the narrative.”
Play and belonging
Flood finds it thrilling that she and the Curio crew could be the ones introducing children to their first theater expertise – as viewers members and as actors, set designers, and sound engineers.
“I believe any time I’m engaged on a present that advantages younger audiences, I’m all the time introduced again to this concept of play and this concept of belonging within the theater group,” she mentioned. “I get to introduce small actors to their first present.
“It’s vital as a result of theater is the one place the place you’re utilizing your exterior voice indoors,” Flood mentioned. “It’s the proper time for teenagers to have that chance to have all eyes on them, for them to be heard and to be seen.
“It’s acceptable to get out the category clown vitality that you could be not be capable of get out at college and at residence,” she mentioned. “That’s the magic of stay theater.”
As a result of the “frantic factor,” aka the youngsters, will be unpredictable, it’s extra enjoyable for the grownups within the solid, Flood mentioned. Each present is totally different.
“Life in itself is like an improv present,” she mentioned, dispatching knowledge for no additional cost. “Typically plans change. It’s OK so long as you’re rolling with the punches.”
FYI
- “The Three Little Pigs,” Curio Theatre Co., Dec. 12-29, 4740 Baltimore Ave., Phila. 215-921-8243.
- “Potted Potter – The Unauthorized Harry Expertise,” Penn Dwell Arts, Dec. 26-Jan. 5, Zellerbach Theatre, Annenberg Heart, 3680 Walnut St., Phila. 215-898-3900.
Listed below are another family-friendly reveals for the vacations:
- “Twas the Evening Earlier than,” a magical vacation presentation from Cirque du Soleil’s acrobats and aerialists involving 25 pots of glitter, 60 cans of shade hair spray used in the course of the present’s run, Dec. 19-29, The Met, 858 N. Broad St., Phila., 800-653-8000.
- “Kea and the Ark,” cellos, puppets, dance, and storytelling, Dec. 20-23 at Theatre Exile, 1340 S. 13th St., Phila., 215-218-4022
- “Cinderella,” the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, Dec. 6-22, Ritz Theatre Co., 915 White Horse Pike, Haddon Township, N.J., 856-288-3500. Additionally on the Ritz, “Frosty The Snowman,” particularly for teenagers, Dec. 17-21.
- “You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown,” with the entire “Peanuts” gang,” Dec. 6-21, Masquerade Theatre, 301 West Washington Avenue #100, Riverside, N.J., 856-441-0126.
- “Elf: The Broadway Musical,” should save Christmas, by way of Dec. 29, Walnut Avenue Theatre, 825 Walnut St., Phila., 215-574-3550. Additionally on the Walnut, Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” the basic, Dec. 6-21.
- “A Christmas Carol,” with Joel McKinnon Miller of “Brooklyn 99” fame as Scrooge, Dec. 10-29, McCarter Theatre Heart, 91 College Place, Princeton, N.J., 609-258-2787.
- “The Owl and The Pussy Cat and Different Nonsense,” a mid-winter marriage ceremony underneath the (stage) mild of the moon, Dec. 14-28, Quintessence Theatre Group, 7137 Germantown Ave., Mt. Ethereal, Phila., 215-987-4450.
- “One-Man Nutcracker,” which in some way contains the “Rocky” theme tune (don’t ask), by Chris Davis, Dec. 10-29, on the Louis Bluver Theatre on the Drake, 302 S. Hicks St., Phila.
- “Anastasia: The Musical,” by way of Jan. 5, at Bucks County Playhouse, 70 S. Fundamental St., New Hope, 215-862-2121.
- “Peter Panto: A Musical Panto,” amusingly refined for grownups and nonetheless enjoyable for teenagers, by way of Jan. 5, at Folks’s Gentle, 39 Conestoga Rd., Malvern, 610-644-3500.“Peter Pan,” the basic story, by way of Jan. 19, on the Arden Theatre Co., 40 N. second St., Phila., 215-922-1122.
- “Snow White,” the vacation basic about an harmless princess chased from her residence by a jealous, useless queen, Dec. 17-29, Storybook Musical Theatre at Gratz School Theater, Melrose Ave. and Previous York Rd., Melrose Park, 215-659-8550.