Youngsters learn the trade in Majestic Theatre’s ‘Tom Sawyer’

By Joe LaJeunesse
HippoPress.com

Here’s another good idea by the Majestic Theater: Put on a summer workshop for children. Teach young performers the tools of theater, expand their knowledge of the craft and give them the experience of actually performing on the stage before an audience.

The result was utterly charming. On Saturday, July 21, the Majestic Youth Company put on a performance of Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer” that was rife with budding new talents. The show is an adaptation of the classic tale, abbreviated in terms of the details of the text but including scenes we have come to love, with some wonderful and rousing songs. They were all performed with enthusiastic energy and the confident timing of a professional ensemble.

From the opening song “Hannibal, The Only Place For Me,” it was obvious these young artists were not at all nervous about being in front of an audience. They sang at the top of their voices and executed their choreography expertly. The music was pre-recorded and fully orchestrated, but the young folks did a great job keeping up.

Casting was masterful, as the older kids took the part of the adults, and the younger ones took the part of Tom’s schoolmates. All the roles were well cast, but particularly fun was the role of the mean, evil “Doc,” the leader of the bank robbers, played by the smallest kid on the stage dressed in a cowboy hat, red bandana and twin cap pistols. Another nice touch was the tombstone in the graveyard scene that read “Here lies the tomb of an actor, he died rehearsing.”

Critiquing a kids’ show is like trying to describe what’s nice with a warm sunny day. It is what it is.

What I think is more interesting, in both cases, is how it became what it is. In the case of a warm sunny day, the right weather systems have to converge at just the right time and in the proper measure. So it is with young peoples’ theater. The raw talent has to come together under the right circumstances and under the right supervision in order to put on a show.

In the case of “Tom Sawyer,” all elements were operating at maximum effectiveness. This show is one of the best examples of community theater young people’s programs I’ve seem in a while. It has adult theatrical values in terms of its production, and well-rehearsed and thoughtful performances, as well as just being a bunch of fun for both the kids and the folks in the audience watching them. Even the 18-month-old I saw in the back row remained silent and was riveted by the show and the music.

So, if your child has a interest in theater or performing, this show proves that there is a way for them to gain, and thoroughly enjoy, their first experience. I can think of no better hands to put them in than those of the Majestic Theater.

The final session of the summer workshop puts up a production of “Treasure Island” Aug. 24-26. My bet is it will be just as much fun as this show was.

Joe LaJeunesse can be reached at lajo@mediaone.net.