REVIEW: A Wrinkle in Time (Arena Stage)
In the era of media adaptations taking over American theatre, they tend to have one thing in common: excellent special effects. Back to the Future had some, Harry Potter & the Cursed Child does, King Kong wouldn’t have existed for its brief time without it, and I hear that the current Stranger Things play on Broadway has an opening scene that defies understanding of what can even be done in a theatre. But the material’s gotta have at least some meat to it to have it make sense, or at least palatable; something to justify the budget.
Madeleine L’Engle’s seminal young adult A Wrinkle in Time would seem to fit this bill. Her 1962 novel is one of the first ways many children get roped into science fantasy, with its relatable characters, mystical worldbuilding, and just-within-reach elaborations on the science of time travel. It’s too good an opportunity to have not been adapted to the stage already, having done so in the 80’s, though not to a significant level. So now Arena gets to take a stab at it, with a starry cast and creative team, to close its 74th season.
Book/Music
Lauren Yee’s on book duty to adapt the material from its novelly cage to the sprawly stage. This, in theory, was a perfect fit: her King of the Yees is a rollicking adventure with supernatural coming-of-age elements (one I particularly enjoyed a few years back). But her prose is obfuscated by a wide-reaching narrative that might just be too hard to adapt with success. (Larger novels have been taken on well, but few are as dense.) The saga of Meg Murry, her savant brother Charles Wallace, and new school friend Calvin on an intergalactic adventure to find the missing Murry father is full of colorful character and terrifically creative locations and ideas. Yet, even over two full acts and a three-hour runtime, it sprints past all of them to get to the end, leaving even major characters in the dust. (The Mrs. W’s feel like afterthoughts entirely after Act I.) The sole exception is the drearily long and unassuming scene on the planet Ixchel, in which Meg is visited by the foreboding Aunt Beast and friends. It feels like that alone takes up the majority Act II’s entire run time, and nothing is particularly exciting in it except its opening moments. The transfiguration of the novel to a stage book being as unbalanced as it is drives even further curiosity when confronted with Heather Christian’s utterly fascinating score. Percussively complex and loaded with harmonies, it was not anything I expected out of this score in a world where generic pop musicals reign. But these complexities are the most interesting, and potentially most divisive, element of the entire production. Lyrics are sandwiched upon each other frequently, ranging between grandeur and sheer noise. Meanwhile, Christian’s arrangements play with polyrhythmic syncretism, which are excitingly fresh within this otherworldly odyssey, but may turn audience members off — the “end of the show clap-along” wasn’t well-participated-in at my opening night performance, despite general fervor for the piece. It’s not a very catchy score, but it’s positively an interesting one. 6/10
Acting
The worst part of the casting is that nobody gets time to breathe and just be.
A travesty given some of the talent from both here and there (New York) that Arena has amassed to be a part of it. Taylor Iman Jones is a quirky and charismatic when she’s able to single herself out, as are the boyish charms of Nicholas Barrón (Calvin) and the clever mannerisms of Mateo Lizcano’s Charles Wallace. But if you were here to see any of the Mrs. W’s for an extended period of time besides a song or two in Act I, you will be disappointed. Despite enjoyable performances, the trio (Amber Gray, Whatsit; Stacey Sargeant, Who; Vicki Lewis, Which) fail to leave a mark on the production due to their limited impact. (As a side note, DC-based Aidan Joyce gets some solo lyrics as an ensemble member and his voice is quite memorable; he understudies Calvin, too, for anyone interested.) 4/10
Production
Lee Sunday Evans seemed to have a good idea for where the direction of the piece should go, but was limited in execution. Some parts are very fruitfully executed, such as Sarafina Bush’s galactically whimsical costumes and the excellent puppetry from James Ortiz. So then it makes you wonder why there is such limitation in the surprisingly unanimated set design from design collective dots, and the lack of creativity in Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew’s lighting. The time-hopping athleticism of tessering is reduced to shadow play, and even among the stark lighting, there is awe to be desired. For a book rife with interplanetary magic and vivid imagery, the lackthereof for most of these devices is a severe disappointment. 3/10
Viz
To drive home the curious, astronomical stakes of the piece, Arena’s graphics rely on galactic swirls and cosmic hues, which are effective. The leaping between worlds that Meg does on the cover of the program is effective, too (though I would have liked to see the character adapted to look like Jones; you know, representation and all.) The scrum of a sheen curtain draping in front of a house isn’t exactly majestic…but it’s not humble, either, when it would benefit the anticipation of showtime from being either. 5/10
Verdict
Despite its naturally rich story and clever musicality, this Wrinkle could benefit from more stitching. 18/40
