'It’s a Glorious Night in 'Greentown'
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When a legendary storyteller and an accomplished director join forces the result is nothing short of a success. Creativity oozes from their fingertips and ingenuity is birthed in their sleep. It’s enough that one Pulitzer Prize winning novelist, Ray Bradbury, is on board with this production, but collaborating two skilled professionals is almost irreplaceable. The mystical and fantastical makes childhood absurdity look almost probable. “Greentown” is a performance that will lure you into a magical world of vagary, curiosity and splendid-ness.
Young Ralph Spaulding (Anders Asbjornsen) is convinced a phenomenon is destined for Greentown on the afternoon train. Inadvertently, it faints a two-syllable whistle hypnotize, as it chugs closer to the boy. Ralph is confident the locomotive is transporting something particularly unusual today. Despite discouraging remarks, the boy’s intuition prevails when an anticipated stranger disembarks from the train’s dark steel encasement. Greentown and history never would have expected to stumble across this man, again.
“Dickens, lad, the name is Charles Dickens.” A miracle indeed, the whisker-faced novelist is alive, well and settling into a charming little room at Grandma Spaulding’s Bed and Breakfast. Charles Dickens (Michael Pritchard) is a humble traveling writer allowing Dickens to immediately spark a chord with the boy. He takes Ralph under his wing introducing him to the wonderful world of literature. The old man is spellbinding with his verbose but exceptionally profound monologues, which are many of his soliloquies reference scriptures from Dickens’s actual works. His past rejection has caused him to take a different perspective on the ever-encroaching future. His sabbatical prompts not just a mentorship of young Ralph, but also a love interest with another renowned writer; a woman by the name of Emily Dickenson becomes his newfound sweetheart.
The play consists of three plots each adapted from various short stories of Bradbury’s. Obviously, the first scene is a twist on an acclaimed author. The second is a search for an alleged time machine in the home of Colonel Freeleigh. The third, reintroduces the characters in a comedic way with Ralph’s father and brother conspiring on a practical joke against all of Greentown.
Bradbury has been writing fantasy and science fiction screenplays, short stories, novels and poetry for over sixty years. “Greentown” encompasses much of what this author has been describing for years. Creativity. Director Alan Neal Hubbs has worked with several of Bradbury’s plays. His list of accolades extends from “Autumn People,” to “Let’s All Kill Constance” to “Something Wicked.”
The story of Charles Dickens, Ralph Spaulding and Miss Emily is by far the best of the three. Their semantic exchanges are heartfelt. Their unrequited dreams are easily identifiable and eloquence flows from the old sage’s lips. The other two stories are good but no match for the first. Colonel Freeleigh, played by David Fox-Brenton is a dilapidated old man whose idiosyncrasies attract two curious schoolboys. His performance is entertaining but Fox-Brenton goofed on more than a few of his lines. His character is supposed to be a powerful veteran with enough life experience making a human “time machine.” Unfortunately, the incessant blunders detract from the potency of his role. Ralph’s father and brother introduce comedy into the play and they invite several escapades into the story making for a light-hearted finish.
“Ray Bradbury’s Greentown”- The play is showing through July 20 at the Fremont Centre Theater, which is located at 1000 Fremont Ave, South Pasadena. 323/960- 4451
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