Review: THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE at Childsplay
The production runs through May 17th at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix.
Guest contributor David Appleford’s review of Childsplay’s production of THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE.
Even though THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE has long since earned its place on several ‘best of’ lists, including the School Library Journal that rated it among the top 100 chapter books of all time, it still feels oddly underrepresented, more admired than truly lived with. Which is why the return of Childsplay’s new stage adaptation feels less like a revival and more a gentle corrective.
The company first presented the world premiere in 2013 in Tempe, with subsequent presentations in 2014, then again in 2019. And now, in 2026, the show returns, but presented as a new musical adaptation with music by Kyle Sorrell, who wrote the original production’s incidental music, and lyrics by playwright Dwayne Hartford. The production runs at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix from now until May 17.
Hartford’s original 2013 production didn’t so much adapt Kate DiCamillo’s novel as gave it breath and pulse. His china rabbit, Edward Tulane, was revealed gradually and tenderly until the story seemed to reach out and hold you the way young Sarah Ruth would later hold the sophisticated doll she called Jangles. We called him Edward, of course, and by the end it felt as though we’d known him far longer than an evening in the theater.
If seeing Edward for the first time, don’t be misled by what you might hear of the story’s softness. As before, warmth is only the entry point. Edward’s journey carries lessons that arrive quietly, without banners or sermons. There is loss here, and loneliness, and the slow, sometimes painful education of a soul. By the time Edward completes his circle, changed, cracked open, and capable of love, you may find the shift hasn’t been limited to porcelain rabbits.
Set in the 1930s, the tale begins with Edward as an object of exquisite vanity, a doll dressed impeccably and adored by the young Abilene. He cannot move. He cannot speak. He can only think, and his thoughts, at first, are smug enough to draw a smile. When he admires his appearance (“I do look good, don’t I”), the line lands as comedy, but also as a warning. This is a rabbit very pleased with himself. Then comes the fall overboard at sea, followed by the long, silent exile at the bottom of the sea, and the succession of owners and identities that strip Edward of certainty and teach him the cost and the necessity of attachment.
Those familiar with Childsplay’s earlier production will notice the visual shift immediately. The revolving platform and curved cyclorama have been set aside in favor of something more tactile. Scenic designer Jeff Thompson centers the stage with a wood-framed, modular structure with tiered platforms that separate, glide, and reconfigure as the action demands. Behind it, a constellation of large, triangular screens hangs in quiet suspension, their blank surfaces coming alive with projections that evoke the depth and mystery of a night sky when required.
Five actors and one inanimate rabbit create the illusion of a world densely populated. Though billed as The Traveler, Katie McFadzen’s many character transformations are almost sleight-of-hand; a shawl, a posture, a voice, and suddenly someone else stands before you. It’s less acting than alchemy. Cassie Chilton brings a radiant generosity to her multiple roles, from Abilene’s early affection to Sarah Ruth’s heartbreaking devotion.
John Knispel and Connor Dunning match this versatility, shifting effortlessly among fishermen and hobos, adding texture with harmonica and guitars. At the emotional center is composer-performer, Kyle Sorrell, whose voice gives Edward his inner life. While the rabbit sits motionless, perched, dangling, and abused, it’s Sorrell’s presence and narration that make us feel the rabbit’s growing awareness, both his fear and his yearning. When the cast finally takes its bow, there’s a brief, disorienting moment when you wonder where the rest of the company has gone.
Unlike its earlier incarnation, this new production lets the story rise almost entirely through music and song. The soundscape is spare but evocative with acoustic guitars and harmonica laying down a restless, earthy pulse, joined by Cassie Chilton’s haunting violin and the steady insistence of a boxed beat board. Under the arrangement and orchestration of music director Michelle Chin, the score feels less like accompaniment and more like the narrative’s bloodstream, carrying the emotion forward in every note.
Director Debra K. Stevens, who clearly has a thorough understanding of the material having performed in earlier iterations of the piece, keeps the journey moving with assurance, guiding us from Edward’s residency on Egypt Street to an ocean floor, from trains and diners, and back to where it all began, only now, everything has changed. There are moments when the theater feels almost unbearably intimate, when the magic of storytelling lifts you and then, just as swiftly, lets your heart break.
With a running time of 75 minutes, no intermission, this is what the craft of theater can do when it trusts simplicity and emotion, enhanced further by Sorrell and Hartford’s score. Watching THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE: THE MUSICAL unfold feels like a gift direct from Childsplay to its audience. If that sounds extravagant, so be it. Some evenings earn the praise. Beyond any doubt, this one certainly does.
Childsplay -- https://www.childsplayaz.org/ -- 480-921-5700
Venue: The Herberger Theater Center, Center Stage -- https://herbergertheater.org/ -- 222 E. Monroe Street, Phoenix, AZ -- 602-254-7399
Graphic credit to Childsplay
Reader Reviews
Videos