WITCHES MUSICAL WITNESS : THEATER REVIEW HONOURS

 

Playful meets macabre in '' Witches '' musical. A new stage adaptation in London does justice to Roald Dahl's beloved book.

Children according to the old disciplinarian maxim, should be seen and not heard. The title characters of '' The Witches, '' Roald Dahl's 1983 fantasy novel, would like to go one step further.

They plan to exterminate every child in England by disseminating candy laced with a magic potion that will turn them into mice.

A charming and spirited musical adaptation of Dahl's much-loved book - written by Lucy Kirkwood and directed by Lindsey Turner -opened this month in the National Theater, in London, running through Jan 27.

It's a deftly endered production, a high quality piece of family entertainment that skilfully blends the playful and the macabre, and does justice to the author's distinct style.

In '' The Witches '' a precocious boy named Luke [ Bertie Caplan ] is taken under the wing of his eccentric Norwegian grandmother [ Sally Ann Triplett ] after his parents die in a car crash.

While staying at a hotel in the British seaside resort of Bournemouth, they stumble across the witches - who have convened under the cover of child-cruelty prevention charity -and get wind of their murderous conspiracy.

Luke falls into their clutches, is forced to imbibe the potion and duly morphs into a rodent before scurrying back to his grandmother.

He must somehow foil their plot while evading capture by hygienically conscientious hotel staff members.

Caplan delivers an outstanding performance as a young hero, as does Cain Eagle-Service in the role of the spoiled and supercilious pal, Bruno.

And Triplett is winningly whimsical as the grouchy-but-kind oddball octogenarian, puffing on cigars and periodically engaging in an intense one-way conversation with a garden gnome.

Katherine Kingsley plays the Grand High Witch with a suitably maximalist, cartoon -villain energy. She's a haughty and imperious figure, ruling her coven with a combination of charisma and terror.

Her minions [ including Chrissie Bhima and Tiffany Graves, both superb as Melanie and Kathy ] are every bit as compelling in their sycophantic devotion to their crazed leader.

Daniel Rigby as the helpless hotelier, Mr. Stringer, is a figure straight out of a Christmas pantomime, bumbling from one calamity to the next.

The World Students Society thanks Houman Barekat.