Arden Theatre Co.’s stages children’s classic ‘Charlotte’s Web’
CENTER CITY >> Over the years, the Arden Theatre has produced some of the best children’s theater in the region with the likes “Peter Pan, A Year With Frog and Toad, and Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates.” This year is no exception with their wonderful presentation of “Charlotte’s Web,” the beautiful story of the touching friendship of a pig and a spider.
I never read the book by E.B. White, but I not only saw the animated movie, I took my then 3-year-old son to see it, back in the early 1970s. I think I loved it as much as he. In fact after that, I never killed another spider, but guided them to the outdoors.The Arden production doesn’t deck out the actors in a pink pig suit or spider costume. It doesn’t have to. Adam Howard and Ayana Strutz are so convincing, he crawling and snorting in the pig pen, she, sliding up and down black silks extended from above. When either of them move across or above the stage, the audience, filled with children of all ages, goes silent. Strutz, a contortionist, is reason enough to go.
There are many substories in the tale. From the beginning — when the farmer wants to put down the runt of a pig which is saved by the young girl Fern, to the struggle faced by Charlotte as she gets closer to hatching her own eggs. There are a goose and gander, producing their own goslings, there’s the sheep, there’s the infamous rat, Templeton, who lives to eat. He makes regular deals to get more of the slop from Wilbur’s trough. It’s as funny as it is profound.
The story also has its tense moments. Sometimes it seems only a matter of time before Wilbur will be fat enough to be served up as someone’s ham or bacon. But Charlotte is a loyal friend and searches to come up with messages in her web to amaze the farmer and keep her friend from the butcher block.
The supporting ensemble playing men, women, and animals is also a joy to watch, as they run across the stage and through the audience. They even bring kids onto the stage to help in the telling of the story.
There are so many outstanding designers on this show whose talents we take for granted — the lighting by Thom Weaver, the frame of the set by David Gordon, and the simple farm jeans for most, of costume designer Amanda Wolff, all add to the richness of the show. And I can’t begin to say enough about Whit MacLaughlin, the director, who put it all together.
“Charlotte’s Web” is a play for kids and adults of all ages. It’s a great treat for the holiday season and if you are too busy this month, I learned that the play has already been extended to the beginning of February.