By Jennifer Andelin
Utah Valley University‘s School of the Arts transforms the Bastian Theatre in Orem into a world where sorrow, hope, magic, and family give the audience a taste for the popular story The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Written by Kelly Barnhill, the book won the Newbery Award in 2017. My oldest two children, my husband, and I have read it, so we were excited to see how playwright Melissa Leilani Larson would adapt this magical story. There are a range of characters from infants to the elderly, from swamp monsters to paper birds, and the plot is rich with individual stories that culminate into one. Larson writes a play that captures the essence of the original story while tweaking a couple storylines to help the audience understand the plot whether they read the book or not.
Sarah Cousins plays Luna, the central character, who is turning thirteen years old and doesn’t know yet that she has copious magic inside her waiting to burst. Cousins playfully interacts while also exerting some thoughtfulness when dealing with the idea that she is magically powerful. She portrays a mercurial teenager well and provides a strong lead alongside Barta Heiner‘s Xan, the grandmotherly witch. Heiner’s natural performance is closest to what my family and I imagined from the book. She is gentle but deliberate in her movements and tone, giving cadence to her performance. She does a superb job of drawing the audience in and suspending belief.
Another lovable character is Fyrian, played by Josh Needles. Needles uses a puppet cleverly designed by Erin Bjorn to portray the miniature, childish dragon. The puppet’s wings open and close, which Needles uses to punctuate Fyrian’s moods. Not only does Needles handle the puppet effortlessly, but he also channels the dragon through his own facial expressions and fast-paced, repetitive dialogue, giving a wonderful double performance that made my kids and me laugh several times.
Never far away from Fyrian is Glerk played by Riki Squire. Squire has the difficult job of portraying a poetic monster that is largely ominous but also tender. He creatively portrays Glerk as the kind, protective, thoughtful monster that he is. While Squire doesn’t quite look like Barnhill’s descriptions of Glerk, Danae Devey‘s makeup, hair, and wig design helps to portray the essence of who Glerk and other characters are.
Two characters whose stories the play truncates are Antain played by Eirik Affleck and Ethyne played by Kiley Todd. Affleck and Todd create a loving relationship that helps you feel the sorrow that awaits them while also showing an avenue for hope. They play off each other through the dialogue, helping to briefly flesh out their story and relationship.
In opposition to the couple is Gherland, Antain’s uncle, played by Will Ingram, who enjoys a life of ease at the expense of others’ suffering. Ingram provides a subtle and relatable villain, showing what evil can result from avoiding sorrow and hope.
Sage Peacock plays the madwoman who feels sorrow to the point of psychosis. She jars the audience with her cries in the beginning and continues to set the sorrowful mood from which Sonja Hugo as Ignatia, the story’s main villain,literally feeds. Hugo’s shrill tones and intense preoccupation with sorrow helps the audience feel the dangerous power that comes from feeding off sorrow. Peacock’s and Hugo’s performances are intensified by La Beene‘s costume designs. Peacock’s voluminous dress contrasts with Hugo’s sheer and fitting outfit. All the costumes contrast beautifully in texture, profile, and color.
One of Beene’s unique costume designs is the paper birds. The costume consists of gloves and a fitted top that have thin rods sticking out of them with origami birds attached at the ends. The effect is a flock of paper birds just as Barnhill depicts. Mira Kocherhans (a Front Row Reviewer herself) and Emilee Robinson, who play the paper birds, deftly use these costumes to express emotion while keeping their own faces neutral as a reminder they are supposed to be inanimate objects.
Lisa Hall directs the adaption so that all these characters get the spotlight and circulate in the black box theatre, giving the story movement and clarity. Miranda Richards manages the stage and does a great job considering that characters are frequently coming and going from various entrances.
I was most impressed by Anna Driggs‘ creative set design that acts as simultaneously as a bog, forest, cottage, and prison tower. The set allows several characters to be onstage but seemingly far apart. Graham Whipple‘s use of lighting and Aaron Gubler‘s sound design make key moments in the play stand out, such as when Luna drinks the moon or hears the word magic, or when a volcano erupts. The lighting and sound designcreate a world that is much larger than the Bastian theatre.
Don’t miss this magical adaptation of the award-winning story The Girl Who Drank the Moon. Nowhere else will you be able to see this story come to life onstage. It is family-friendly and only 90 minutes long with no intermission. UVU’s venue and original production will immerse you in a world where you can feel both a depth of sorrow and the magic of hope powerful enough to combat it. As Luna contemplates in the book, “How many feelings can one heart hold? . . . Infinite.” Feel it yourself at UVU’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon.
Utah Valley University School of the Arts Presents Kelly Barnhill’s The Girl Who Drank the Moon, Adapted by Melissa Leilani Larson.
Noorda Center for the Performing Arts, Bastian Theatre, Faculty Annex, Orem, UT 84097
November 8–9, 11–16, 2019 7:30 PM, November 16 Matinee 2:00 PM
Tickets: General Public $15.00, Students (6-College) $10.00, Group rate in sets of ten $13.00
Contact: 801-863-7529, artstickets@uvu.edu
UVU School of the Arts Facebook Page
The Girl Who Drank the Moon Facebook Event
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