Bi Jean Ngo as Arrietty (foreground), with Scott Boulware as Pod and Catharine K. Slusar as Homily in Arden Theatre Company’s production of The Borrowers. Photo by Mark Garvin.
In my feeble attempts to pen a children’s book all my own, I’ve been told that dream sequences, flashbacks and other mind-bending trickeration have little place in media for pre-readers. Seems the minds of those tiny people cannot process that level of detail.
I don’t deny these assertions. They’re probably very true.
Considering that, it makes what The Arden Theatre does in their production of Mary Norton’s The Borrowers all the more spectacular. You see, the story involves people a scant 5 inches tall interacting with humans 5 feet and taller. Since casting stage actors the size of a paperback books poses much difficulty, the Arden needs to use a few slight of hand maneuvers to pull it off. And boy do they ever.
Catharine K. Slusar as Homily in Arden Theatre Company’s production of The Borrowers. Photo by Mark Garvin.
On the lefthand side of the F. Otto Haas Stage, a full-sized actor (playing “boy”) passes miniature items – like a dollhouse chair & teacup – down under the floorboards to the Clock family, a threesome of Borrowers (they “borrow” all of their worldly belongings) living peacefully down there. Simultaneously, on the opposite side, the tiny family’s protagonist – tween daughter Arrietty – snags the now-magically-full-sized items from just-offstage. It’s a nimble trick that is spellbinding to watch, for adults and kids alike, and one that is plausible enough for even my 3-year old to understand what is supposed to be transpiring before her eyes.
This is a tiny example of what makes this full-sized play work so remarkably well. If a young child grasps the dimensions of the Clock’s minimized living quarters vs. that of the normal outside world, then there is practically nothing the Arden cannot do on their stage.
Bi Jean Ngo as Arrietty in Arden Theatre Company’s production of The Borrowers. Photo by Leigh Goldenberg.
A mix of puppets, a giant boot, an imposing wasp, the largest screwdriver ever, and a wicked antagonist (Ms. Driver) combined to thrill, entrance and, frighten (a little bit) my family. The Borrowers can feel wordy, it is after-all a treatise on youthful curiosities (boys, adventure, boys, freedom from parental grasps, boys), and does get stuck in neutral in a couple spots. But thanks to clever use of shadows to portray movement, the play’s pace keeps the characters and the audience on their toes. You’ll be interested enough in the plight of the Clocks that you’ll never need to check your watch. And your curious youngsters will ask you to spin stories of The Borrowers long after the final bows have been taken.
The Borrowers runs through January 30, 2011 at The Arden Theatre in Olde City Philadelphia, PA.
*Target sponsored 2-for-1 ticket days are the most affordable way to get your entire gang into the Arden to see The Borrowers. Check out the select dates for this promotion, as well as all other ticket options here.
I said it before in my 2010 Holiday Gift Guide, but at the expense of being repetitive…I assure you that theater tickets make a super gift for a young child! For Delaware Valley families: consider The Borrowers paired with a kid-friendly lunch at Farmacia or Cuba Libre, then ice cream treats at Franklin Fountain. While in Olde City, feel free to pick up an album or two at A.K.A. music (Dawes “North Hills”, maybe?) – your kids should really see the inside of an indie record store before they’re all gone, and this is the best one in Philly.
*OWTK was provided 4 complimentary tickets to Opening Night of The Borrowers. The opinions expressed above are honest & unbiased. No arm-twisting took place in the review process.
