Took my youngest two out for a local production of “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe”; an adaptation of the book by C. S. Lewis.
The theater is “in the round” with the audience stepped up two rows deep on four sides of a square stage. Set pieces and props were few. The production used costuming, lighting, character dialog, and a few sound effects to bring Narnia to life in the imaginations of the attendees.
Impressively, the entire theater lobby was furnished as Professor Digory’s manse with wing chairs, sofas, end tables, desk, bookcases, a suit of armor, and — necessarily — a very large wardrobe, with the melded profiles of a man, a lion, and a stag engraved into the double doors.
The audience is immersed into the first scene as if they’ve all come to tour the mansion with Mrs. McCready. Near the end of the scene, first Lucy, then Edmund disappears into the wardrobe; the doors closed, their voices becoming distant, and then, silence.
Then the wardrobe is thrown wide open, a tall, graceful girl costumed as the white stag emerges and bids everyone “Follow me to Narnia,” and the entire audience files between the fur coats into the wardrobe, which — surprise — is positioned to mask the entrance to the theater proper.
The effect was nothing short of magical; anyone who’s read the stories has desired to step through those enchanted doors.
What a great word picture, HKMk23!
Thanks for bringing this to the new thread, nully. I had missed it. It sounds terrific!
Thanks for re-posting.
I didn’t see the moving van until after our is have put it here in the first place.
Too bad I don’t have access to any server space; I took pictures in the theater lobby, and for all my literary skill, I couldn’t tell the half of it.
My breath was taken away when I read HK’s account, and couldn’t even find the words to articulate what I was thinking. Even now, it’s more of a whispered, “WOW!” than anything else.
I would love to see something like that!
Old FReepers have the best stories.