Photos by Michael Brosilow.__________
Playwright: music by Michael Smith, book & lyrics by Frank Galati and Blair Thomas, based on the story by Hans Christian Andersen
At: Victory Gardens Biograph Theater, 2433 N. Lincoln
Phone: 773-871-3000; $35-$45
Runs through: Jan. 14 ( extended )
Hans Christian Andersen is often classified as a writer of children's fables, but the coming-of-age story The Snow Queen reflects the Danish author's personal experiences and the gloomy sentimentality characteristic of 19th-century Romantic-era literature. The journey from innocence to adulthood demands that the boy, Kai, be seduced by the—well, cold-hearted Snow Queen, and the girl, Gerda, remain steadfast through many trials before rescuing her fickle companion.
This collaborative adaptation by Michael Smith, Blair Thomas and Frank Galati kicks off with a curiously Native-American chant, followed quickly by nebulous arias featuring asyllabic vocalizations meant, presumably, to replicate the winter wind. The Snow Queen emerges, played by one of Red Moon's trademark towering, slow-moving, long-fingered puppets. Stark line drawings are projected onto runway-sized screens. Furniture is hand-shlepped around the stage by actors and black-clad koken.
But just when we have resigned ourselves to an evening of academic-theory ART with a capital 'A,' the mood changes. To be sure, Kai's first-act celebration of sled-hitching could be covered by any boy band. However, it's not until the second act, after Gerda sets out to tour the Scandinavian countries in search of the evil Queen's icy lair, do Smith and the band bring forth a string of pop songs only marginally related to the narrative, but welcome nevertheless. There are homages to the Beatles and Bob Dylan; blues sung by a robber-girl, a rag delivered by a flying reindeer ( is there any other kind? ) ; a wistful ballad crooned by a beguiling Raven stick-puppet ( voiced by Smith ) ; a Charleston-tempo ditty chirped by an eccentric Laplander who writes letters on frozen fish; and some jolly sleigh-ride music for Gerda, who suddenly looks like Sandra Dee.
Make no mistake; the imaginative talent that went into the creation of this well-funded venture, including a performing ensemble led by Cheryl Lynn Bruce, are uniformly first-rate. But at an hour and 45 minutes on its opening night, it's a long chilly trek before things warm up. Be patient, however—the rewards are worth the wait.