Okay, here is the first part of my review/synopsis for the "Prince Caspian" play I saw in July at The Logos Theater. I wanted to have completed it sooner, but I just haven't had enough time. So I started with the introduction and hope to provide more on it soon. It was definitely worth the drive to see!
Do take note, "The Horse and His Boy" is returning this coming July 2022! (
https://thelogostheatre.com/2021-2022-production-season/) I also really hope they will adapt "The Voyage of the Dawn Treador" at some point; after seeing how brilliantly they handled the trickiest scenes in "Prince Caspian," I'm certain they could do justice to it as well.
Ok, here's the start of my review:
Wow! This production was phenemonal. This time I was able to see it with a friend who lives in the area.
Naturally I was very curious how the play would begin. Executive Director Noah Stratton and his wife Artistic Director Nicole Stratton are the genuis behind the production, and I love how they handled the opening scene. Rumbling thunder and interspersed lightning revealed the stage's first centerpiece, a huge ship treading skyward. A man in tattered clothes stealthily steered as the voiceover of a woman began speaking, slowly (the quality and tone of her voice was reminiscent of Cate Blanchett's Galadriel in the opening of "The Fellowship of the Ring"):
"Many years ago, in a deep sea, which is called the South Sea, a shipload of pirates were driven by storm on an island. And there they did as pirates would: killed the natives, and took the native women as wives, and quarrelled, and sometimes killed one another."
Seamlessly, several barbarians had emerged onstage and many began engaging in skillful, open swordplay. Eventually a cave prop revealed itself to be two pieces as it split open, and some of the natives fell through it toward backstage.
Turning our attention on point, the revolvable center stage had rotated 180 degrees toward us and would-be Telmarines were conquering their new realm. How interesting it is that history repeats itself in various worlds. The Old Narnia we know and love was yet elusive; a light of hope, however, soon emerged.
We entered an elaborate, soft glowing room, outlayed with colors and furniture established for royalty. Nicole Stratton was holding her baby boy. You could not have picked a more peaceful, agreeable looking child to play the part of the infant Caspian. The woman's voice was his nurse all along. She had been lovingly revealing the secret history of Narnia, throughout the first scenes, to the story's title protagonist. Nicole, then, aptly in the role of Caspian's nurse, sang a somber song and gave her blessing to her baby boy. In that same space, she spoke over him how he would one day be entrusted as Narnia's King, and the opening concluded as she solemly adressed the play's title character: "Prince Caspian."
