Andrews – Early October saw the Community Youth Players’ 2024-25 season opener with performances of a musical adaptation of the beloved classic adventure story “Treasure Island” by Robert Louis Stevenson with both a cast of season ensemble performers as well as eight newcomers to the stage.
The adaptation, by Kathryn Schultz Miller, takes audiences on a tuneful journey with young Jim Hawkins, portrayed by Caleb Spatola, on a fantastical voyage to the land of treasure via the high seas.
Directed by Sawyer Bradley, the nearly hour-long show provided highs and lows as the young liege rollicked along the waves of the mystical pirate ship towards a land of gold and glory.
Centering around a young Jim’s fantasy of staving off the boredom of attending regular Halloween festivities whilst dreaming of adventure on shores afar, the adaptation allows for an assured willing suspension of disbelief when the ending brings the cast of mateys around to celebrate in their “costumes” which served as their pirate gear throughout the play.
With an atmospheric introduction of instrumental seas shanty music the mood was instantly and appropriately set for the dark secrets of pirated wealth as chants of “Welcome to Skeleton Island” whisk not only young Jim but the audience away to mystical lands.
As Scurvy Pete, portrayed by Olivia Miller, and Hurricane Hattie, played by Addison Edwards, regale and warn the audience of the tale of “buccaneers and bawdy boys” and “salty dogs and scallywags” the imaginative and ingenious set changes into the bow of a pirate ship when Long John Silver, deftly played by newcomer to theatre Ki’mauri Colbert, lumbers along to the tune of “Yo ho” and strikes certain fear into the hearts of all aboard amid warnings to “beware the one-legged man.”
From there the musical chronicles the landing upon the island itself and the search for treasure to which young Jim holds the key with his magical map. Hijinks of the seemingly Pandoran variety ensue as the search for the chest of treasure leads to naught, at first.
After thwarting the pirates’ re-stealing of any bounty, Jim leads the young scallywags back to land after Long John Silver’s mesmerizing death scene, which Colbert expertly played to both laughs and libations as the young rapscallions once again rejoined in asking “What do we do with a rotten sailor?”
The search leads back to young Jim’s own bedroom where his modernized mother, played expertly and maternally harriedly by Alexis Jones, wonders if she won’t make her son eat any more vegan meals after hearing his heated tale of swashbuckling.
The ending with the surprise of modern day Halloween’s offerings of candy and pretend serve as a masque of sorts to celebrate creative as the adaptation nods to the foundation of imagination in children of every age and how cultivating a vivid one can lead to many an adventure.
The Youth Community Players will also choose a show for the Spring season in early 2025.
Details: facebook.com/ACT2Players