Jesse Koopman
Cast members of "Finder and the North Star."
North Star (Siobhan Jackson, left) has come to help Finder (Phoebe Werner) fulfill her wish.
Although I have spent a lifetime making wishes — on birthday candles, eyelashes, wishbones and stars — I have never been visited by a magical wish-granter in training, or whisked away to a fantasy world where wishes are cataloged, processed and filed. That extraordinary experience is reserved for Finder, the main character in Children’s Theater of Madison’s current play, Finder and the North Star. Written by CTM education director Erica Berman and presented as part of the World Premiere Wisconsin festival, this enchanting, brand new play is playing at the Starlight Theater stage at Madison Youth Arts Center through March 5. Directed by C. Michael Wright, the play is an interesting exploration of how wishes are made and how one individual faces her fears to make her wish come true.
As the lights come up on the stage framed by a fringe of delicate strips of white fabric, Finder (young performer Phoebe Werner) is having a restless night. A chorus of androgynous sprites are pulling her out of her sleep and into an adventure that began when she made a very special wish on the North Star. Suddenly, that star appears in the form of a young woman sporting an outfit that looks like it was made from the Milky Way — from her purple star earrings, down to the stars on her purple high-top sneakers. With a lot of energy but not a lot of wisdom, North Star (Siobhan Jackson) has come to help Finder fulfill her wish, but as with Dorothy’s journey in The Wizard of Oz, it’s not going to be a straightforward path.
Before her wish is granted, Finder and her guide will travel through time and space visiting the officials at the Way Station of Wishes; a newly minted ladybug and some dandelion friends; a Guatemalan boy sending wishes aloft on delicate kites for El Día de Todos los Santos; the Greek goddess and wish-granter Artemis, armed with her bow and arrow; and the celestial goddess Vega, who is wishing to be reunited with her love. Each of these encounters provides a clue to realizing Finder’s wish. The international detours also give young audiences multi-cultural context for wishes and a look at how individuals throughout history have tried to communicate their hearts’ desires with the great beyond. Eventually Finder must face up to her fears and a monster of her own making — Smidge.
As Finder, Werner is more skeptical, self-rescuing heroine than waif in the woods. Stern and demanding at times, she is also desperate for her wish to come true, which propels the action of the play forward. As her guide, Jackson is a comforting compass who gently nudges her charge onward, even if she’s unsure of her own path to becoming a fully certified wish-granter. This kind of mentor is perfect for Finder — an adult who is there to support and advise her without judgment; who makes mistakes sometimes and admits them; and who never gives up on her.
This whimsical tale is made visually stunning by Tara A. Houston’s simple but flexible set and Megan M. Reilly’s atmospheric lighting, but really soars thanks to Rafael Colón Castanera’s colorful costume design. Castenera gives the cast simple base costumes that often distort the body, so that whimsical hats, jackets and other accessories can be added to transform the actors from scene to scene. A coat made of ties is the perfect uniform for Casem AbuLughod’s prickly bureaucrat Ptolemy, for example. And a ladybug costume, complete with a gauzy red cape with many protruding hands, gives an extra spark to Trevin Gay’s delightful portrayal of the bug, ready to embark on its new life. (Also noteworthy are the enormous dandelion helmets worn by the flowers!) Vega’s gorgeous golden headdress and Artemis’s huntress outfit — complete with animal pelts — are carefully detailed and instantly evocative of a larger time and place. Where the plain blocks that make up the set are a blank slate, the specificity of the elaborate costumes delight. Each new scene feels like turning the page in a pop-up book.
Kailey Azure Green’s choreography also heightens the magical feeling of the piece. With lots of physical twists and turns, the cast carries, lifts, spins, and helps Finder fly to the realm of wishes. Cast members large and small are part of the machinery that transport her far from her home on many adventures.
Berman’s script has been workshopped several times in preparation for this production, and hopefully it will continue to evolve. Right now the play has an abrupt and somewhat unfulfilling ending, without much resolution. Since we never find out exactly what Finder wishes for, or anything about her life before she meets the North Star, it’s hard to invest fully in her story. And while some of the protagonists’ side quests feel meaningful, others feel extraneous. Berman has already built a substantial fantasy landscape. Perhaps the next iteration of Finder and the North Star will tighten up the story and deepen the characters so we understand more of the “why” as well as the “how” in the world of wishing.
