16 October 2023
Maybe our biggest problem right now is a love shortage. Perhaps we’ve reached a point in human history at which we’re turning our backs on compassion, empathy and understanding and turning our hearts toward hatred in hopes that this will somehow make us happier, even though there’s no evidence that that’s ever worked before.
These thoughts permeated my mind as I departed Children’s Theatre Company on Saturday night after the premiere performance of “Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress.” It may sound like a flighty title, but I came away regarding it as perhaps the most important production CTC has offered so far this century.
Granted, this simple little show does nothing to project any sense of grave import. It comes off as something of a week in the life of a grade schooler, but it’s a week in which the protagonist of the title first encounters roadblocks for his vivid imagination.
Adapted from a 2014 picture book by Christine Baldacchino (with vibrantly colorful illustrations by Isabelle Malenfant), juliany taveras’ script is a lovely look at the perils of non-conformity and what happens when one child decides that the boundaries placed around them aren’t worth worrying about.
While one could say that it’s a story about gender identity, this sweet, affectionate story makes clear that the ones doing the identifying aren’t Morris. It’s his classmates who are policing “the rules,” and it fills them with fear and confusion that there should be a boy at their school who likes wearing a tangerine dress and nail polish, just when they’re all set to embrace rigid divisions between gender roles.
For his part, Morris just wants to go where his imagination leads him after he dons the dress he’s found in a chest in the classroom and proudly announces, “I am an astronaut.” This is a story about leaving limitations behind.
Joy Dolo, left, and Mathias Brinda in “Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress” at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis, Oct. 13 – Nov. 19, 2023. (Glen Stubbe / Children’s Theatre Company)
Director Heidi Stillman not only gets the most out of her clearly committed cast of five children and one adult, but does so in a novel configuration for Children’s Theatre’s smaller street-level space. Here, it’s a thrust stage, the long rectangular playing space jutting out into the room with seating on three sides. It’s an intimate setting for a show that establishes a high-energy atmosphere from the first time the kids bop on the bus toward school to Rick Sims’ infectious surfabilly score.
Once there, we’re reminded that playgrounds and lunchrooms are often the settings for a child’s most impactful conflicts. But taveras’ adaptation also emphasizes the support system essential to an iconoclast’s confidence.
Joy Dolo pulls double duty as both the fount of positivity that is Morris’ mother and the teacher who evolves from reticent to encouraging. All of the children’s roles are double-cast, but the opening-night audience had the joy of experiencing Mathias Brinda’s inspiringly enthusiastic take on Morris, leavened by the aggressive but insecure bullies portrayed by Truman Bednar and Hildie Edwards.
The theme of encouraging imagination is enhanced by the set design of William Boles and Sotirios Livaditis, the costumes of Sully Ratke and the lighting of Paul Whitaker. They help make this 55-minute gem one of the most heartwarming productions you’ll experience this year.
‘Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress’
When: Through Nov. 19
Where: Children’s Theatre Company, 2400 Third Ave. S., Mpls.
Tickets: $72-$15, available at 612-874-0400 or childrenstheatre.org
Capsule: Theater as an act of love.
Rob Hubbard can be reached at [email protected].