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'Wrinkle in Time' shines on CTC stage

REVIEW: The classic novel's magical feel and lively characters come to life in this presentation.

For the Minnesota Star Tribune
October 3, 2011 at 2:29PM
Photo by Dan Norman
"A Wrinkle in Time" at the Children's Theatre Co.
Noah Crandell, Brandon Brooks, Ann Michels and Helena Scholz-Carlson bring the magic to life in Children’s Theatre Company’s production of “A Wrinkle in Time.” (Dan Norman Photography 2011/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Six actors and one stage seem hardly enough to conjure the multiple worlds and fantastical creatures of Madeleine L'Engle's Newbery Award-winning 1962 novel "A Wrinkle in Time." Children's Theatre Company's new production, however, is more than up to the task, conjuring both the magical, almost mystical, fantasy elements of this story as well as the appealing, close-knit characters at its heart.

John Glore's stage adaptation pares away some of the detail of L'Engle's novel but retains the main thrust of this story about the Murry family and their travels through the time-space continuum. The show opens, as the book does, on a "dark and stormy night" as Meg Murry (played with verve and gawky charm by Helena Scholz-Carlson) tosses and turns, worried about her father, a scientist working on a top-secret government project, who vanished two years ago. As Meg huddles in the kitchen with her mother and little brother, Charles Wallace, they receive a visit from Mrs. Whatsit, an odd and endearing stranger who ultimately launches them on a mission to "tesseract" through the universe on a mission to save Mr. Murry.

This production, directed by Greg Banks, conjures some eye-catching and inventive effects as it transports its audience from Earth to a series of planets, including the sinister Camazotz, where Mr. Murry is held prisoner by a powerful entity simply titled "It." Much of the magic is created through Rebecca Fuller Jensen's light design, which uses strobes to suggest the jarring effects of "tessering" and columns of light to sketch in elevator shafts, aided by Victor Zupanc's sound design. The illusions are aided as well by the actors, who use body language to simulate travel through time and space.

Which, Who and Whatsit

Autumn Ness and Ann Michels provide much of the fun of this production as Mrs. Whatsit and Mrs. Who, mysterious ladies who, along with Pearce Bunting's Mrs. Which, shepherd the Murry children and their friend Calvin. Ness perfectly captures the dizzy whimsicality of her character, enlivening the stage with an energy that's counterpointed by Michels' humor. Brandon Brooks is another standout as Charles Wallace, equally believable as Meg's precocious little brother and as the frighteningly authoritative automaton he becomes under the chilling influence of "It." Noah Crandell rounds out the cast as Calvin, the secret misfit who's drawn to both Meg and her eccentric family.

This stripped-down version of "A Wrinkle in Time" captivates through both its inventiveness and its humanity, ably capturing L'Engle's message about the power of family and love.

Photo by Dan Norman
"A Wrinkle in Time" at the Children's Theatre Co.
Autumn Ness plays The Man With Red Eyes (and Mrs. Whatsit) in “A Wrinkle in Time” at Children’s Theatre Company. The show runs through Dec. 4. (Dan Norman Photography 2011/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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