“Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a rabbit who was made almost entirely of china … The rabbit’s name was Edward Tulane … Edward’s mistress was a ten-year-old, dark-haired girl named Abilene Tulane, who thought almost as highly of Edward as Edward thought of himself.”
So begins Newberry Award-winning author Kate DiCamillo’s 2006 novel, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. The story tracks the adventures of the sentient though immobile toy rabbit from his privileged beginnings as Abilene’s treasured companion, to a stint at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, and through multiple owners and decades on his quest to return to his mistress. Over the course of this odyssey, Edward must confront the vanity and self-absorption that originally define him to learn that love and friendship are the only things that will help him find his way home.
With spare, evocative prose and elegant pacing, DiCamillo’s storytelling is both accessible and engaging for adult and child readers alike. This makes The Miraculous Journey a perfect candidate for theatrical adaptation and, more to the point, for presentation at Milwaukee’s premier theater for all ages, First Stage. The company rings in 2018 with Dwayne Hartford’s adaptation of the beloved tale, and audiences can look forward to a musically rich performance that’s truly intended for the whole family.
Director John Maclay says of the production, “Incredible new music and heightened theatricality will underscore Edward’s spectacular adventure—as we see America unfold through the years of this most charming and endearing porcelain rabbit.” Asked to expand on the play’s performance style, he shares, “It’s theatrical in the sense that it could only exist in the theater. There are six actors playing a couple dozen parts with changes in character at times happening instantly on stage. The actors also double as musicians, playing all of the music for the show when not individually in a scene. Our central character is a china rabbit, not a puppet. He neither moves nor talks, but Matt Daniels gives voice to his thoughts.”
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As is frequently the case in First Stage’s productions, music will play a central role. Spanning several decades of American history beginning with the Great Depression, First Stage’s Miraculous Journey features new compositions in the style of American folk music by Joe Cerqua. The adult actors will play instruments including guitar, piano and accordion.
The Miraculous Artists and Artistry
Naturally, this exciting First Stage premiere features a stunning, multi-generational ensemble of local talent. Maclay has worked with First Stage since 2000, filling almost every role imaginable including directing the Young Company and, recently, becoming director of artistic development. Here, he directs previous collaborators and celebrated Milwaukee actors Matt Daniels (as The Musician) and Karen Estrada (as The Woman). Both have numerous previous credits with the company; the latter, in fact, made her First Stage debut in eighth grade. Of these two, Maclay says, “I’ve worked with them before on several projects and both are terrifically versatile and as adept at finding the humor of a moment as they are dropping into the emotional depth of a moment. But the entire cast is pretty dreamy.” The adult cast likewise features Brian Keys (The Man), Kat Wodtke (The Traveler); and Brandon Haut, Corrie Riedl and Ibraheem Farmer as understudies. Young performers Kamani Graham, Marianna Malinkine, Bradley Nowacek and Bryn Dresselhuys are double cast in the roles of Boy and Girl.
A story that covers as many locations and time periods as Miraculous Journey requires a crack design team as well. Darryl Harris’ costumes are made to facilitate manageable transitions for the elaborate multiple casting: Each actor has a base look and adds just one or two pieces to create their many separate characters. “Scenic designer Brandon Kirkham and I talked early in the process about wanting to create a new location with as few physical pieces as possible,” Maclay says. “We have a mostly bare wooden stage and each new location has a single scenic piece to suggest and establish location and period.”
Maclay also wanted to highlight Edward’s ongoing relationship with stellar constellations. To wit, he says, “Brandon and Lighting Designer Nick Belley were tasked with bringing a full sky of stars to life in our space. Their solution is pretty breathtaking.”
Milwaukee is already abuzz with anticipation for the production, as evidenced by strong media coverage and markedly high name recognition for the source material. Asked what he most hopes to achieve through First Stage’s Miraculous Journey, Maclay says simply, “All I ever hope to achieve with any production is to tell a good story. And this is one of my favorites. It’s a great story and it’s really come to life in a beautiful way.”
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane runs Jan. 12-Feb. 11 at the Todd Wehr Theater in the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-273-7206 or visit firststage.org.
