‘Dragon’ breathes a fire of delight
Imagination fuels First Stage show
Wisconsin author Barbara Joosse wished for two things as a little girl: a best friend and something ferocious enough to scare away the monsters hiding under her bed. She made her wish come true through “Lovabye Dragon,” first of two (soon to be three) books featuring the love between a little girl and a big dragon.
As part of its First Steps series for children age 3 and up, First Stage has teamed with Joosse and kindie rockers The Happy Racers for a 50-minute musical adaptation showcasing a girl (Abby Hanna, in the Sea Cast of alternating young actors I saw) and a 14-foot, purple-hued dragon (puppet design by Brandon Kirkham).
It opened over the weekend, under Jeff Frank’s direction (music direction by Jeff Schaetzke). Frank also collaborated with Joosse to write the book of this show.
There’s no dragon on the horizon as our story begins under the auspices of Chase Stoeger’s troubadour, a narrator dressed in a fabulous outfit – part Renaissance courtier, part American explorer – covered in letters and a few inspiring lines of poesy, including the urgent reminder that “all our dreams have silver wings” (costume design by Daryl Harris).
Try telling that to Girl’s parents (J.T. Backes and Giana Blazquez), a delightful sendup of every helicoptering, overly protective parent. It may be Girl’s birthday, but she can’t eat her cake; it has too many calories. She can’t play outside; there’s too many dangers. And she most certainly can’t have the real dragon she’s asked for; it might make a snack of the family.
But there’s no denying a child’s imagination: Shortly after Girl retreats to a room she describes as lonely, boring and dark, her longing for the dragon of her dreams conjures a life-sized version of the stuffed purple dragon she’d received for her birthday.
The more epic of this duo’s ensuing adventures are presented through shadow puppets, appearing behind three upstage shadow screens.
Downstage, purple-clothed “Magicals” assist in maneuvering Kirkham’s marvelous dragon; inspired by Dragon, Girl comes out of her shell.
Girl and Dragon overcome their language barrier, learning to communicate. Listening hard to another’s voice, Girl experiences a corresponding growth in empathy, reflected in heightened consideration for Dragon’s feelings during a game of hide-and-seek. Soon, Girl and Dragon are embarking on voyages to distant lands. What’s foreign isn’t feared, here. It’s embraced.
The Happy Racers’ score reflects this heady optimism; while a tad bland, it channels the groovy, upbeat vibe of the late 1960s.
No wonder that the three bad hats – brought to life by the Magicals through hand puppets – are won over when Girl and Dragon offer to share their story. By show’s end, that sharing had similarly enthralled the initially restive young people watching alongside me.