Stage One Family
Theatre presents
NUMBER THE STARS
Adapted by DR.
DOUGLAS W. LARCHE
From the Book by LOIS
LOWRY
Directed by ANDREW D.
HARRIS
Reviewed by Cory
Vaughn
Entire contents are
copyright © 2012 Cory Vaughn. All rights reserved.
The Holocaust seems a difficult subject for anyone,
especially elementary-age children. Fortunately for the young patrons of Stage
One Family Theater, Number the Stars
is not so much about the Holocaust, but about friendship, innocence, and
courage among young girls, with the Holocaust as a historical backdrop for
these virtues to be tested. That was the right approach to take. The Holocaust
is best understood by first understanding the lives of those affected by it,
and even the students who cannot yet comprehend the Final Solution can easily
identify with these young heroines. I hope that all the students, of whatever
age, go home with questions about what they just saw those characters going
through, and that their teachers and parents can take it from there.
Based on Lois Lowry’s award-winning book, Number the Stars is set in Nazi-occupied
Copenhagen, where everything is rationed and SS officers lurk on every street
corner, but so far the occupation has been deceptively peaceful. The Johansen
family, around whom our story revolves, has spent the last year grieving the apparently
accidental death of eldest daughter Lise. The middle daughter, timid
ten-year-old Annemarie, is uneasy with her new role as the eldest, especially
in these difficult times, and she keeps a box under her bed filled with Lise’s
personal items and mementos to take refuge in when the going gets tough. Meanwhile,
irrepressible Kirsti, the baby of the family, skips joyfully through childhood,
little understanding the potential danger surrounding her.
Their loving parents are skilled at protecting their
daughters’ innocence while preparing them for the stark responsibilities of wartime.
Every night before bedtime, they tell their daughters stories about good King
Christian and how “all of Denmark is a soldier for him.” Both the innocence and
the courage mama and papa instill in their children serve them well when the
new regime begins targeting Danish Jews, including Annemarie’s best friend
Ellen Rosen. When Ellen’s family is marked for transport to a concentration
camp, the Johansens are put to the test, conceiving a plan to transport Ellen
and other Jewish neighbors to safety in unoccupied Sweden, aided by Lise’s
fearless fiancé Peter and a secretive uncle Henrik. Inevitably, of course, it
is Annemarie who must complete a dangerous mission to ensure everybody’s
safety, proving herself a soldier for Denmark in the process.
Director Andrew Harris, working from a theatrical adaptation
by Douglas W. Larche, creates genuine suspense as the Johansens and their
helpers use their wits to face one close shave after another. The suspense is
even more palpable because we see all these ingenious escapes through
Annemarie’s eyes, and like her, we don’t know what is really happening until
the end; what, for example, is that all-important package that inevitably falls
to Annemarie to deliver safely into Uncle Henrik’s hands before it is too late?
Because no programs were distributed at the student matinee
I attended, I had nothing to pull my attention from the story being told. I
recognized some of the cast members, but for the most part I was allowed to
forget about the actors and spend an hour getting to know these simply-drawn
but believable characters (I later found out from stage manager Kevin Casey who
the actors were). I found it rather refreshing to experience the story
unfolding in the same way as the students, although with one notable exception:
most of them have read the book, and I never have.
The students with whom I shared the morning were a bit
restless for 70 minutes. Number the Stars
is intended for grades 4 and up, as noted on promotional materials for the
play, yet on the day I saw the show, some third-graders
were admitted as well. I am informed by sources close to the production
(apparently as annoyed as I was) that the third-graders may have been the ones
who grew so fidgety during scene changes that they saw fit to clap in rhythm to
the transition music. Granted, their teachers failed to do their job by
allowing such behavior; I might suggest, however, that these scene changes
speed up and employ less percussive music in the future, thus discouraging
future young audiences from clapping along and taking the rest of us out of the
suspenseful mood that the entire production team worked so hard to create.
Despite that infuriating display of bad theatre etiquette, I
enjoyed myself much more than I anticipated, not knowing quite what to expect
from children’s theatre. Fear not, adults: there is plenty to interest those of
us who have aged beyond the target audience. Frequent patrons of Louisville
theatre may recognize a few of the nine impeccable veteran actors – Equity and
non – backing up the charismatic juvenile leads. There are locals like Jon
Huffman as Papa Johansen, Paul Kerr and Brian Hinds as menacing Nazi officers,
and Greg and Abigail Maupin of Le Petomane as two of the Jewish neighbors. Some
favorite visiting artists from recent seasons are back as well, like Matthew
Brennan of Derby Dinner Playhouse (as Peter) and Peter Riopelle of MTL (as
Henrik). Less familiar to me but certainly an effective contributor is McKinley
Carter, with her subtler but believable arc as quiet, resolute Mama Johansen
mirroring that of Annemarie; watching these two unadventurous women rise to the
challenge is sure to inspire mothers and daughters alike in the audience.
Overall, the play belongs to the kids. Twelve local students
share four roles (including the three boys rotating in the small role of Ellen’s
classmate/crush, Samuel), and the ones I saw were excellent, especially the
girls. Ashley Gurwell puts a lot of spunk into bratty Kirsti and endears
herself to the audience as comic relief, despite her character’s often vapid
abrasiveness. Shelbi Schooler and Sarah Westhoff, meanwhile, are adorable as
the more vulnerable older girls; the friendship between Ellen and Annemarie is
the heart of Number the Stars, and
evolves into a finale that is truly touching, if a bit too pat and tidy to be
entirely satisfying (true, not every major character lives to see it). But
although the skeptic in me digresses, I must admit that I wanted a happy ending
for these characters as much as anyone. If only the real Holocaust could have
ended as well . . .
NOTE: This play is recommended for grades 4 and above, due
to the constant threatening presence of German SS officers, implied violence
(including one character taking a loud slap in the face), and one very
tastefully handled scene in which Annemarie and Ellen engage in the kind of
harmless and silly role-play common to girls of that age; judging by the
reactions of some in the audience, very young children may not be mature enough
to handle the scene, in spite of its comic intent. Otherwise, I neither saw nor
heard anything offensive.
Number the Stars
Stage One Family Theatre
323 West Broadway, Suite 600
Louisville KY 40202
502-589-4060
Student matinees continue thru March 9 at 10am and 12pm
At The Kentucky Center’s Bomhard Theater
501 W. Main Street
Louisville KY 40202
Public Performances March 14-16
At The Paul W. Cultural and Community Ogle Center
Indiana University Southeast
4201 Grant Line Road
New Albany IN 47150
Tickets:
General Admission: $12.00
Students (with ID): $9.00
Featuring: Matthew Brennan (Peter), Brian Hinds (Soldier),
McKinley Carter (Mama Johansen), Jon Huffman (Papa Johansen), Paul Kerr (German
Officer), Abigail Bailey Maupin (Mrs. Hirsch), Gregory Maupin (Mr.
Rosen/Soldier), Linda Otto (Mrs. Rosen), and Peter Riopelle (Uncle
Henrik/Soldier)
Student Cast:
Annemarie Johansen: Sarah Bourlakas, Graham Pilotte, or
Sarah Westhoff
Ellen Rosen: Madison Cunningham, Katie Heit, or Shelbi
Schooler
Kirstie Johansen: Ashley Gurwell, Chloe Hill, or Sydney
Meyer
Samuel Hirsch: Jack Amend, Trey Paris, or Forrest White
