Matchless,
Written by Gregory Maguire, and The Happy Prince, Written by Oscar Wilde;
Directed by Debra Wise. Presented by the Underground Railway Theater, Central
Square Theater’s Studio Theater, 450
Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge through January 3.
The Central
Square Theater’s Studio Theater is news to me, and what a magical little space
it is. Scenic Designer David Fichter has
created an interesting world for this production of Matchless, paired with The
Happy Prince. The stage is cluttered with all kinds of curious, old fashioned
odds and ends – furniture, wooden dowels, baskets – anything you might find in
your grandmother’s attic. High center
stage is a large wooden chest, which serves first as a pedestal for The Happy
Prince and then as a hiding place for a young boy’s secret in Matchless. The effect was one of a precious diorama, or
snow globe, that encased the audience as well as the actors. It made for a very intimate and immediate
theatrical experience.
Gregory
Maguire cleverly weaves his back story of The Little Match Girl to fit
perfectly with Oscar Wilde’s The Happy Prince, using a fanciful, slightly
addled boy Frederick (David Keohane) to link the stories together. Keohane also doubles as The Happy Prince, a
sad, glittering statue who finds real happiness in giving all that he has to
the poor. When in the end he loses
everything - including his faithful and obedient friend the Swallow (Eliza Rose
Fichter) - he is dismantled from his post and melted.
Eliza Rose
Fichter’s Little Match Girl has a quicker, but no less tragic, end, despite her
deceased mother embracing her from Heaven.
Maguire’s reworking makes for a happier addendum, which I won’t tell you
in case you see it, but it does not involve resurrection of its main
character. Eliza Rose Fichter is a very
compelling, grounded presence onstage, whether it be fluttering the puppet
representing the Swallow or huddling with matches as The Little Match
Girl. And Debra Wise is just terrific as
Frederick’s
Mother as well as with some ensemble work.
Despite the
very beautiful and well-acted presentation of the pieces, and the suggestion of
happy endings, this reviewer had to wonder who the intended audience was. Although the pace and rhetoric suggested a
children’s show, I would think that the sadness of the material would be too
heavy for kids (it was actually a little heavy for me). And while the message of The Happy Prince was
nice – rich people should help the poor – a huge part of me was inwardly
pontificating, as The Happy Prince sacrificed his eyesight to give the
impoverished money, “Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for
life.” Which I’m pretty sure was not
Wilde’s intent when he wrote this fable for his children.
Matchless
& The Happy Prince runs an hour and 15 minutes, with a short intermission.
For more information, go to: https://www.centralsquaretheater.org/shows/matchless/
