Photo Credit: Paul Ruffolo
Lily Miller, Abram Nelson, and Matt Daniels in A Wrinkle in Time, First Stage.
If we could peek into the dreams of children, they might be populated by the likes of Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who and Mrs. Which, the three distinguished ladies who pull Meg, Calvin and Charles Wallace, three (not so) ordinary kids into a fantastical adventure across time and space in First Stage’s A Wrinkle in Time.
The tale starts on a dark and stormy night, but light is never too far away in this play adapted from Madeleine L’Engle’s novel of the same name. The story’s literary origins are betrayed in the play by its narration, which allows the written word to trickle onto the stage for the audience to easily follow fast-paced story beats. The setting is a mix of fantasy and science-fiction: While the unlikely trio travel to different planets to face an intergalactic threat, they are effectively experiencing what might as well be magic.
While the story deals with heavy themes, including evil, grief and individualism, it is meant to be appreciated by children—it is simply not dumbed down for them. Meg (Lily Miller in the Space cast) and her little brother, Charles Wallace (Abram Nelson), are suffering from the disappearance of their father, but they get the opportunity to rescue him alongside another special kid, Calvin (Nahjee Robinson). The beings who accompany them, Mrs. Who (Elyse Edelman), Mrs. Which (Parker Gaspar Muñoz) and Mrs. Whatsit (Matt Daniels), are celestial creatures akin to fairies. With their exuberant behavior and costumes as colorful as their personalities, the three seem to act as if they walked onto the wrong stage—or as if they stepped out of a cartoon and into a more realistic story, which drives home the feeling of otherness they bring about.
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Parents might know A Wrinkle in Time for its recent movie adaptation starring Oprah Winfrey. But the stage version is quite different—for a start, Oprah’s role is given to a literal ball of light, and the play’s director, Jeff Frank, favors practical effects. The screen that serves as a backdrop is mostly used only to indicate which planet the action is taking place in, while most everything else is handled the old-fashioned way, including the “wrinkle” that makes intergalactic travel possible, with a mastery that can only be ravishing to the children in attendance. Light projected on the floor becomes corridors; spider-like legs and props give birth to the massive Aunt Beast; and a large ensemble clad in black attire, so discreet they are almost invisible, ensure the experience feels seamless and magical.
Beyond the utmost care given to providing wonderment among children, the story really works thanks to its actors. The three main kids are very competent, in particular Abram Nelson as Charles Wallace, who had to play the widest range of emotions and still managed to remain endearing in a way only children can be. Among many outstanding performances, the Man with Red Eyes truly stood out, managing to be genuinely scary at times and vastly superior to his movie counterpart. That’s what makes this A Wrinkle in Time a great experience: What needs to be scary is truly unsettling; what needs to be fun is hilarious; and the whole performance truly invokes wide-eyed wonder.
