Photo by Paul Ruffolo
First Stage's ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid'
First Stage's ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid'
First Stage takes a stylish dive into another popular best-selling children’s book series with Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical. Based largely on the first installment of the long-running series, the brief musical breezes through an episodic journey in the life of a kid named Greg Heffley who is struggling to become popular. The better part of an entire year in middle school is lovingly compressed into a single hour of musical theater with time enough for a brief intermission. First Stage deftly glides its way through all the many anxieties of a kid going through the awkward meanderings between childhood and adolescence.
Director Julie Woods-Robinson maintains a steady rhythm for a very episodic story that could have easily felt like a series of somewhat disparate, largely unrelated moments in the life of a kid a few years away from high school. All of the tensions in Greg’s life are delivered. He tries a couple of different schemes to attain popularity. Winter break happens over the course of intermission. Then he’s right back at it again trying other strategies as things get progressively more and more difficult for him.
Scenic designer Casey Price brings the popular book to life on a stage that feels pulled straight out of Greg’s notebook. Everything in the background is white with blue college-ruled lines. Various elements are introduced to show the passage of time. The extended cast swiftly moves around props and scenic elements in a graceful efficiency that places Greg firmly in the center of a thoroughly entertaining narrative.
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First Stage’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid the Musical runs through May 5 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center’s Todd Wehr Theater, 121 E State St. For ticket reservations and more, visit firststage.org/events-tickets.
Photo by Paul Ruffolo
Harper Fornstedt in First Stage's ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’
Harper Fornstedt in First Stage's ‘Diary of a Wimpy Kid’
