BWW Reviews: Childsplay's THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE Is An Uplifting Voyage Into The Heart of Love

If only there was no closing date to Childsplay's heartwarming and uplifting production of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane...If only every child could grab a ride on the mystical and magical revolve that transports a china rabbit through time and space and the lives of his keepers...If only every child and every caregiver would hold fast to the story's premise that "if you have no intention of loving or being loved, then the whole journey is pointless."

David Saar's brilliance and sensitivity infuse his direction of Dwayne Hartford's enchanting and inspirational play, based on the book by Kate DiCamillo.

A remarkable cast ~ Katie McFadzen, David Dickinson, Kyle Sorrell, and Debra K. Stevens ~ breathes life into each character they portray, and through them, Edward, initially all about himself, becomes the embodiment of love. Mr. Sorrell, as Edward's voice, brings the requisite tenderness and vulnerability to the doll's character. McFadzen, Dickinson, and Stevens are simply masterful as they don different personalities and accents.

Jeff Thomson's set is elegant in its simplicity and economy and inventive in its use of the revolve to carry us through time and place. Adriana Diaz's costumes likewise brilliantly capture time and place and occupation.

Edward's journey is not merely a travelogue into the lives of others, but it is an odyssey of mindfulness from self-centeredness to lovingkindness.

Whether tossed to the bottom of the sea or a garbage dump or riding the rails or strung up as a scarecrow, Edward looks to the stars and finds comfort and certainty in "Andromeda, Pegasus, Cassiopeia, Ursa Major, and the North Star." It is the doll's travails and the lessons learned at each stop of his odyssey that ultimately yields enlightenment.

Edward carries with him the memories, names, and stories of all who have had the good fortune to possess him ~ from his first home as the 10-year-old Abilene's cherished gift from her grandmother to the tender care of a fisherman and then to the backpack of a hobo and on into the arms of others...until he is smashed into twenty-one pieces...and then restored.

Through his odyssey and the fateful climax of his story, we are reminded that we all are on our own journeys and that no journey or story can truly end without love.

This reviewer cried at the tale's end and was heartened by the wisdom and inspiration that Childsplay brings to the stage and its audiences. Hopefully, the company will again, before long, reprise it.

Photo credit to Tim Trumble