Syracuse Stage’s ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ not targeted to adults

Cutesy-poo staged version the C.S. Lewis fable great for kids — but adults beware!

By David Feldman

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OK, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  If you want to know whether this Christmas entertainment at Syracuse Stage is worth your attention as Serious Theater, the fast answer is: no.  If you’ve already committed to taking a Young Person (or several of them) to see it and want to know what you’re in for, read on — but keep the aspirin handy.  

The National Association for the Preservation of Adult Theatergoer Sanity requires that we publish the following warning in case you’re in danger of being talked into taking a Young Person (or several of them) to see this production but there is still time for you to back out: Sir or madam, read no further — beat a hasty retreat to the easy chair and turn on the TV while you can.

This staged version of the C.S. Lewis fable is cute; and there are lots of terrific voices for its music; and Anthony Salatino’s choreography is as usual first rate, if not as exciting as it has been at times (due to no fault of his own, as he’s confined by the requirements of the genre); and the spectacular set by Cary Wong along with certain very clever magic show-type tricks are worth the price of admission (except that you have to sit through the entire production to see them); and the costumes by Catherine Hunt are exceedingly clever and at times stunning (if occasionally a little too-adorable for some tastes); and Rick Paulsen’s lighting is spot-on (pun here); and the music under Dianne Adams McDowell’s ably wielded baton is fine indeed and never obtrusive (although the songs themselves aren’t what even a forgiving person might call memorable); and Linda Hartzell’s direction keeps the stage aswirl with plenty of activity; and the scattering of Equity performers among the cast adds depth to the SU Department of Drama’s students’ energetic (if at times not entirely top-notch) performances.  

The plot is thin as air and has as much drama as instant oatmeal without the raisins.  Four young sibling Brits are evacuated from blitz-imperiled London and find themselves at a country house that has a very large wardrobe with unusual magical capabilities: children who enter it often come out the other side into... get this... Narnia!  Once there, they encounter lots of fantastical creatures including a White Witch (Jacquelyn Piro Donovan) who out of understandable perversity has cast the entire realm into cold and snowy winter for a century.  That means there has been — better sit down now — No Christmas In All That Long Time!  

Think about it, those of you who still haven’t decided what presents to buy Aunt Nell and your sister-in-law’s vicious offspring, not to mention their dog — which even after nearly a decade isn’t fully house-trained.  Think about it, and remember that spot on the good carpet that you still can’t get out.  Some may find a Christmas-less season a trial, but I call it pre-heaven.

Inevitably the four juveniles run into the expectable bunch of fantastical creatures.  Among these are two English yeoman and -women types, who are for also Beavers.  As portrayed by Eric Leviton and Jayne Muirhead they are a delight.  I wish there had been more for them to do besides serve a meal and hasten the Young Persons to their destiny, but soon enough danger arrives in the form of a lion called Aslan (the powerful voice here belongs to Jordan Barbour), who threatens to vanquish the hard working Witch who disposed of Christmas.  The play is essentially tragic: The well-meaning White Witch is defeated and a wicked Father Christmas (James Judy) arrives to distribute presents, some of whose magical powers serve to bring us more quickly than otherwise would have been possible to the ending of the play, but not one of which would have satisfied Aunt Nell, for instance.

One of the things I liked best about this show is that it has a character named Face on Butt (Tara Carbone, who also plays a wolf) and another called Snozzy Bosch (Katie Lamark), who like Ms. Carbone is a student in the Drama Department, and it is a Very Good Thing that this production with its enormous cast gives the students a chance to learn their trade by working with experienced performers and to perform on the main stage in front of a large audience (a great many of whom will, of course, be Children for this production).

Following the Christmas presents business, spring arrives rapidly — which serves to show emphatically that Narnia is not Syracuse.  All of this is done in spectacular fashion with terrific lighting and sets and effects.  Kids who are hooked into the 21st century’s electronic whizz-bang will probably find it “awesome” or “all right,” or whatever it is that they say too often — that is, so long as the kids aren’t over 15.  

But you, serious theatergoer?  Oh no. Go get tickets to NT Live at local movie theaters and see something like the terrific Collaborators I saw last week.  Great work although I’ve liked Simon Russell Beal better at times, and less other times.  It’s a clever play about the Russian playwright Mikhail Bulgakov and Joseph Stalin in 1938.  Coming up are: Traveling Light, about Eastern European immigrants who played an important part in Hollywood’s golden age; The Comedy of Errors and She Stoops to Conquer.

Uh… where was I?  

Oh... Syracuse Stage.  Right.  Back to that.  I suspect the play has been winnowed down to the kind of thing that Young Persons go for and it’s missing what I assume are the resonances and textures and any possible significant meaning of the original Narnia tales.  I wouldn’t know — I’ve never read them.   

Oh… there’s also a character named Warts played by Jonalyn Saxer, who didn’t seem to have any as far as I could tell, but who also played a Nyad, a Reindeer, and a White Stag.  The actors go through an amazing number of costume changes, and praise is due to whoever helps them backstage.  Anyway, Warts — what a wonderful name for a character.

The script, such as it is, is all very archetypal: Young Persons return from their Hero Journey now much wiser than they were before about magic, faraway imaginary places, and about Lions, Life and funny human-sized Beavers and various fantastical creatures.  And they don’t seem much the worse for having portentously been referred to by the inhabitants of Narnia as “Sons of Adam” or “Daughters of Eve.”  That kind of dialogue sets my nerves afire, but perhaps Young Persons won’t notice because of all the dancing and singing and pieces of the set being whizzed in and out and other clever effects, plus fierce sword fights and similar delights that Young Persons seem to enjoy at entertainments of this sort.  And we all agree that anything that takes them away from texting and video games and making it impossible for adult humans to watch the football game if there’s only one television set in the house is a Very Good Thing, indeed.

Well I know, I know: bah humbug — mean old me and all that.  But really, it’s all more than slightly cutesy-poo.  OK, one supposes, for doting uncles and aunts, grandmothers and grandfathers and such who are looking for a Christmas gift that will get some brat away from those damned computer games and cell phone cameras and Facebook business and into a real theater where — and this is of inestimable value — one isn’t allowed to muck around with electronic devices.  

So, to sum up: Fine for the pre-pubescent, and probably OK for those who are recently post-pubescent if they have somehow retained some of their innocence.  Otherwise… don’t say you weren’t warned.

DETAILS BOX:
What: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, dramatized by Adrian Mitchell, music by Shaun Davey
Who: Syracuse Stage
Where: Archbold Theatre, 820 E. Genesee St., Syracuse
When: Through Dec. 31.
Length: 2 hours, including a 15-minute intermission.
Tickets: Adults, $28 - $50; 40 and under, $28; 18 and under $18; senior discounts for all performances but Friday and Saturday evenings.  Rush tickets day of performance only:  $20 -$25 general public; $18 with valid student ID, subject to availability. Call 315-443-3275, or www.SyracuseStage.org
Family guide: The kids will love it; not for all adults