OUTscene: What's Brewing at Seattle Children's Theater?

From the recent SCT producion of Go, Dog, Go!

By Miryam Gordon
OUTscene Special

Seattle Children’s Theatre has sent its dogs to their crates to rest, again, as their best-selling adaptation of  by Steven Dietz and Allison Gregory danced and sang itself into an extended run through popular demand.

Adapting the easy-reader into a song-and-dance extravaganza with primary colors and few words, just like the book, Go, Dog, Go!, the production appealed to the exact age of child that demands that a parent read the book over and over and over and over and over. These four to six year olds found the staging to be exactly what they expected, which is a great plus for picky children. If a play gets it wrong, the makers will hear from the families!

April at Seattle Children’s Theatre brings not just flowers, but also trees, through the launch of two new productions. The Man Who Planted Trees (April 7-May 1) is focused on children ages 7 and up and tells the story of a French shepherd who works to transform a barren wasteland one acorn at a time into a forest. Importing Puppet State Theatre Company from Scotland, SCT brings an award-winning play from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2008, and most recently the Best Children’s Show at the 2009 Brighton Fringe Festival.

Seattle is home to some lovely children’s puppet theater, but it’s still a treat to be able to see shows from around the world. This production also brings the lesson that one person’s action can transform the world. An ambitious but empowering message for children to be exposed to.

Linda Hartzell, artistic director, has been encouraged to find an ecologically-focused play for some time by audience members and others, but the challenge has been to find a play that addresses the issue without getting overly preachy. She was happy to find this production that is a great combination of warmth and humor. This adaptation of the book by Jean Giono adds a puppet dog named Dog who accompanies the Shepherd, in order to be the humorous element.

Then, toward the end of the month (April 28-June 5), another Dietz-authored play will open. Jackie and Me is an adaptation of a book by Dan Gutman, a time-travel story for children aged 8 and up. Joey finds himself with a special ability to travel through time by holding a baseball card. When his teacher assigns a paper about famous baseball legend, Jackie Robinson, Joey decides to time-travel to meet Jackie in person.

Of course, we know that Jackie Robinson was the first African-American professional baseball player. His participation broke open the color-barrier for all time, in baseball.

Going back to 1947, experiencing that time in American race relations and what segregation was like for African-Americans, Joey witnesses Jackie’s courage and determination to succeed, against whatever odds are before him.

This production was co-commissioned by Seattle Children’s Theatre and Chicago Children’s Theatre and is running currently in Chicago, though the productions are mounted separately. Author Dan Gutman saw SCT’s presentation of Honus and Me (Honus Wagner, also a baseball player dealt with growing too old to play) and was so happy about it that he said Dietz could adapt any of his books for stage that Dietz wanted.

Chicago theater reviewers are already acclaiming that adaptation to be great for the whole family. Erwin Thomas, an actor/educator who spends time in both the Seattle area and New York City will guest star as Jackie Robinson.

To make plans to see these two upcoming shows, go to http://www.sct.org/ or call (206) 441-3322.