Company of Fools to present ‘The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane’
By Dana DuGan
For its final show of the year, the theatrical wing of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Company of Fools, will present “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.”
Based on Kate DiCamillo’s beloved novel of the same name, the play has a small ensemble of veteran actors who play some 35 characters.
A journey through many different locations and emotions, it’s simple enough to appeal to the very young and yet has enough insight to catch adults’ attention, too. In fact, it’s an ideal holiday production for being the kind of play that takes the audience on a journey of sentiment, as well.
“Once in a house on Egypt Street,” it begins. Denise Simone, as the narrator, gets the show rolling in a time-honored fashion. David Janeski provides guitar accompaniment and also plays—or shadows and voices—Edward Tulane, a rather self-important toy rabbit.
From Egypt Street, Edward’s journey “truly is magical.” Adored by his little girl, Abilene, and living in a fine house, Edward—and the abandoned theatre in which the storytelling takes place—transform throughout the show.
Props and set pieces from other shows help move the toy from scene to scene as the pages turn in the tale of Edward Tulane. He shuttles from the mansion to a seaward ship—from which Edward falls overboard—to the bottom of the sea, to a fishing village, and onward. Edward lives with, and is bestowed with humanity, by those who happen into his life and need him most. He becomes both a receptacle and a kind of security blanket for an array of struggling souls, both young and old.
“We had to come up with a concept to suit the breadth of the story,” said Natalie Battistone, the director, who can usually be found at The Spot, of which she is a co-founder. “It’s a book you read aloud, and it’s visceral and engaging. The abandoned space will be made magical through the actors and stories.”
There are, in fact, only four actors playing all the roles.
“The narrator is a classic storyteller, keeping the story on its arc, the little engine,” Simone said. “I also get to play 10 different roles that are delicious, especially the grandmother of Abilene, who may or may not have some magic to her. Scott and I play a couple scamps—”
“—little heathens,” her fellow cast members interrupted, chuckling.
Aly Wepplo, who plays Abilene, among others, said it feels like “discovering a classic,” though it was only published in the last decade.
“I get to play two children who have a total love for a toy,” she said. “That’s fun to remember and explore. It’s warm and joyful.”
Scott Creighton plays, among others. the fisherman and the main boy, Bryce.
“How often do you get to play a child, a fisherman, a hobo, a dad, and a doll-mender?” he said. “The journey is fun. The rabbit is the connection to all these scenes. We just add in the characters for this rabbit.”
Janeski, the actor, never interacts with the other characters as Edward.
“I provide his thoughts and spirit,” he said. “I play him as a doll infused with life. He doesn’t know about the world. He’s very self-important, but through these meetings he learns to open his heart. It’s a human journey that he’s on. He has no concern about being real. He’s about himself and slowly that changes.”
Battistone, who was asked to direct the play, but had never read the book, said she’s “come to see why it’s so popular with children. The play presents many interesting challenges for the actors,” she continued. “They must interact with the doll like children do.”
These actors have been shocked at how fast the story seemed to go.
“There’s so much movement and changing costumes, and it’s really like cracking open a storybook,” Battistone said.
“It’s making a point that the best magic comes out of simplicity,” Wepplo added.
That ease pulls in the audience. After all, who hasn’t loved a stuffed animal as though it was real and imbued in with feelings and a voice?
The show will be seen not just by holiday theatregoers in the evening, but by 1,488 students, from first through eighth grades, during the sold-out matinees.
Finally, the audience, and Edward, are shown that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.
“It’s profound on lots of levels,” Simone said. “It’s about coming home, realizing that home is not a place but a state of being.”
“The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane”
The Liberty Theatre, Hailey
Wednesday, Dec. 12–Sunday, Dec. 30 Tickets through Sun Valley Center for the Arts, sunvallycenter.org, or (208) 726-9491 $35 member / $40 nonmember / $35 senior (62 and over) / $15 student (with student ID) / $35 group (8 or more) / “Second Night 23” ($23 full price for all seats)
Ticket prices do not include taxes or processing fees