By Cynthia Jessup
It is finally winter, and the holidays are over. Students have headed back to school, trudging their feet through the brisk winds and gloomy skies overhead. Between the drudgery of this routine and the boredom brought on by the winter doldrums, it’s the perfect time for escaping into imagination with a book. Books are a haven for those who seek adventure, love and knowledge in the midst of daily life. But what if you could see the story come to life and interact with your imagination in the real world?
You can—at the Alden Theatre, a classic tale comes to life with a professional performance by the Barter Theatre Company. Barter Theatre has been around since the Great Depression. Enriching lives and education, Barter Theatre aims to bring enlightening experiences those young and old.
Director Barrett Guyton believes the message of the A Wrinkle in Time is “how important love is.” “Kids and adults are being engaged and active participants of the show,” he says. “It’s different from a movie because there are real people and the audience is able to empathize with characters.”
For a kid’s novel, it has a lot of abstract visuals and ideas that need to be made tangible. “[That’s] the best part of directing,” Guyton says. Abstract ideas are formed and developed unique in every reader’s mind, and Guyton’s interpretation allows the audience to have a tangible visual of the world within the novel. “Operating the omnivator to make a visual brain vibrating and space traveling in a tesseract are all challenges that make this enjoyable,” he says. We all imagine how something looks and operates in order to understand and enjoy our time in another dimension—Guyton uses that imagination and brings to life the essential aspects of each character.
As the youngest and brightest of the characters, Charles Wallace, a genius 5-year-old who is able to feel others’ emotions with his entire being, is portrayed by Jeff Sundheim. Making this element of the story believable for a theater audience is essential.“The skill needed is called method acting,” Sundheim says. “Charles Wallace has the ability to see everything. He has the ability to carry a burden intricately other than his own.” The reenactment of these beloved characters takes a considerable amount of time to perfect the actors are not only expressing their outward attributes, but they’re also understanding why the character is portrayed that way.
Whether A Wrinkle in Time is your favorite childhood novel or you’re yearning for a fantastic escape from your day-to-day reality, Barter Theatre’s stage adaptation is an imaginative experience that will break you out of your winter blues.
A Wrinkle in Time
Alden Theatre
Saturday, Jan. 16, 2 p.m.
$10-$15
