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Nov. 20--The 12-year-old in my row had an opinion about the Chicago Children's Theatre's new version of Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine." She liked it, but she didn't understand it.
She's better than me at being succinct. And I suspect there were more things I didn't understand about a strangely untethered show that, for a piece purportedly aimed at children, seemed to me bizarrely and inappropriately obsessed with the adult. But I shared her view.
There's a lot to admire in Eric Rosen's visually beautiful rendition of what's regarded as Bradbury's most overtly biographical piece of writing, a piece in which his adult self returns to visit his own boyhood in a small Illinois town. The Children's Theatre -- a new, first-class operation aimed at being a kind of Goodman Theatre for young people -- has to distinguish itself from many smaller such theaters in town by offering major events featuring superior production values and top Equity professionals.
Indeed, "Dandelion Wine" is a beautiful show, replete with fresh and gorgeous design work from Chris Binder and Geoffrey M. Curley, a top-tier cast including the capable likes of Lesley Bevan and Jacqueline Williams, multifarious powerful pictures from the visually gifted Rosen, and lovely folkic music from Andre Pluess and Ben Sussman.
But the storytelling --which is the most important thing -- doesn't work at all.
The show is half over before there is any kind of cogent, clear statement as to why the narratorlike figure is back in this town and what he wants to achieve. If you're working on a classic text and can assume everyone has read it already, that might be a reasonable way to go. But not with a story that most of today's youngsters won't have encountered before. No way.
In some ways, this is a strange choice of material for a children's theater, especially one just building an audience. It appears to be a piece about an important summer in the life of a boy -- but it's a work told through the eyes of an adult, misted (as our eyes tend to be) with both nostalgia and regret. Those, surely, are adult emotions.
The best children's theater never runs away from serious themes such as death and loss. But still, most parents would prefer their 8- or 10-year-olds to see clearer works in which the concerns of young people are empowered, foregrounded, celebrated and dignified. Where pain is contextualized. Where the inevitable sadness of life is leavened by affirmation.
I think "Dandelion Wine" (which has some of those themes) could have done much of that -- a fine young actor called Bubba Weiler, who plays a little brother, offers glimpses of a way to go. But they're only glimpses. The show runs away from him.
The major problem is that Sean Cooper plays the overly dominant, adult character as a kind of barroom cynic almost at the end of his rope. It's an emotionally rich piece of acting, but his character's quest for absolution is not one you particularly want your kids to join.
"Dandelion Wine"
When: Through Dec. 31
Where: Steppenwolf Upstairs Theatre, 1650 N. Halsted St.
Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Tickets: $15-$30 at 312-335-1650
cjones5@tribune.com
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Copyright (c) 2006, Chicago Tribune
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.
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