CHARLOTTE’S WEB

Alberta Theatre Projects adds circus performers and local music to E.B. White’s classic animal story

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Spinning Web First published in 1952, E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web is a classic children’s story. The tale, which centres on the unlikely bond between Wilbur the pig and Charlotte the spider, has been adapted into everything from feature films to cartoons to videogames. Then there’s Joseph Robinette’s long-lived stage adaptation, which is being tweaked by Alberta Theatre Projects. “What we’ve done is actually added a few elements to really add some theatrical magic to the storytelling,” says director Laurel Green.

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See Ya Léda “I think everyone who tells the story of Charlotte’s Web needs to ask how they’re portraying Charlotte and certainly what the web will be,” says Green. For this production, they’ve solved that problem by hiring Léda Davies, a veteran aerial silk artist and actor. “Léda has actually incorporated the use of silk apparatus and that’s the beautiful fabric that you often see as she climbs the fabric and weaves her web,” Green says.

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Make It Sing To add further excitement to the story, Green hired local musician Ethan Cole to transform key scenes into singalong folk songs. “Ethan’s music accompanies all of the action of the play,” Green says. “The rest of the chorus will gather and actually sing with Ethan. And at one point they actually play instruments as well.”

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Staged Stampede Cole’s not the only Calgarian involved with Charlotte’s Web; “a lot of (the cast and crew) grew up in Calgary or have returned to Calgary to be part of this production,” Green says. The Cowtown influence has made its way onto the stage. “When we think about the high stakes of the county fair and the animals competing, it all sounds really familiar to what we’re used to living around here in Calgary and being so familiar with the Stampede,” she says, adding that the play features some nods to the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth.

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Modern Web The play will also feel familiar because Green has changed its era. “I’ve brought the action right up to the present and we’ve set our story in Calgary,” Green says. “When you see the humans in the world of the play… you get a flavour of modern cowboy and farm culture.” Rather than change the dialogue or give her characters the iPhone X, however, Green modernized the play by updating the characters’ wardrobes. “I think that just brings the relevance of the story into our current element.”