After a successful friends and family night and a rousing round of performances for local schools, Bridge to Terabithia is ready to open tonight!
Traditionally, Evergreen's Young Performers season opens with a well known and well loved fairy tale. Fairy tales will always have their value, and we choose plays with the young audence in mind as much as the young actors. That said, when I was a young performer I was dying to play a real person, with thoughts and experiences like I had, in a story to which I could truly relate. The actors in Bridge to Terabithia had complex characters in a heartfelt story, and each and every one of them rose to the challenge. I was especially a fan of the mom and dad. It's hard to play a character so much older than yourself, and both these actors did so in a genuine and convincing way.
The scenery was a simple set of levels for the performers to play on and transform into the space they needed, rather the way the characters Jesse and Leslie would transform the woods around their farm houses into their own magical kingdom. The set was further transformed by the beautiful lighting. But what stuck most in my mind was the music. It served as another feature to the scenery, adding dimension to mundane school days with David Cassidy, dreamy tunes when building Terabithia, and aggressive techno while the fifth graders are psyching themselves up for a big race.
Bridge to Terabithia has a short run, just the September 30th through October 2nd. Be sure to get your tickets!
All pictures are courtesy of Becky Bourget of Captivating Images by Becky.
