Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.
‘Elves’ no
light romp"Afternoon of Elves": Repeats 4:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and March 17 at Leeward Community College Theatre. Tickets: $10 for adults, $7.50 for high school and college students with valid ID, and $5 for keiki 3 to 12 and seniors 60+. Under 2 admitted free with ticket. Call 839-9885.
By John Berger LIFE is rarely as simple as "children's theater" often makes it seem. Veteran playwright Y York opts for a more realistic approach in adapting Janet Taylor Lisle's "Afternoon of the Elves" for Honolulu Theatre for Youth.
Special to the Star-BulletinHillary Lenox (Monica Cho) must choose between being part of a popular group and befriending the odd girl who lives in the house with the overgrown back yard that abuts the Lenox's meticulously tended property.
The outcast, Sara-Kate (Nara Springer), tells Hillary that a colony of elves lives in the yard. Hillary's friends, social queens Alison (Cat Gonzaga) and Jane (Kristin VanBodegraven), tell Hillary Sara-Kate is a thief, the house is haunted, and that Sara-Kate's mother is probably dead.
Curiosity wins and Hillary visits Sara-Kate. Sure enough, Hillary finds a collection of tiny buildings in Sara-Kate's yard. She also sees a ghost in an upstairs window!
Many are likely to suspect that the tiny buildings were built by Sara-Kate rather than elves, but Hillary finds she enjoys playing with Sara-Kate and the secretive elves as much as she enjoys hanging out with Alison and Jane.
The story evolves into a darker and more complicated tale as we learn that Sara-Kate's mother is mentally ill and that Sara-Kate has spent the last year handling the household responsibilities as best she can -- possibly stealing if necessary. Sara-Kate explains to Hillary that elves steal too.
It's a precarious existence far removed from the life that Hillary shares with her parents and other friends. She uses the $40 in her piggy bank to buy food for Sara-Kate and her mom but discovers some problems are too big for two fourth-grade girls to handle alone.
Mrs. Lenox (Cynthia See) discovers the girls' secret. Sara-Kate's mother is sent for treatment, Sara-Kate is sent to live with her father, and Hillary has some kind of breakdown.
HTY director Mark Lutwak takes the characterizations beyond two-dimensional stereotypes. Alison and Kristin continue to offer Hillary their friendship even though she rejects them several times and lets them down by forgetting the words to their special song. Alison asks rhetorically at one point "Are we supposed to be feel bad because we're not starving?" That's a question many adults wrestle with!
Cho is an engaging heroine who gives a convincing portrayal of a 10-year-old. Springer blends prickly independence with a core of desperation as Sara-Kate.
HTY veterans See and Hermen Tesoro Jr. are effective as Hillary's parents. Tesoro drives most of the lighter moments with a finely crafted performance as a finicky father who dreams of a career as a gardener and worries that the kids are going to damage his sod.
Tobin Alexandra Young (set design) does Po'okela-worthy work in using sliding panels to reveal scenic modules -- the Lenox' yard, Sara-Kate's yard, and so on -- while allowing for set changes that don't distract the audience.
This is a challenging show for older elementary school kids but it covers a number of issues well worth addressing.
Click for online
calendars and events.
