This isn't your standard Jack and the Beanstalk story. With a country bumpkin for a giant, his Dolly Parton wannabe wife, an Elvis-impersonating harpist and a diva hen, it could only be a tale told by StoryBook Theater.
My kids, ages 4 and 6, love StoryBook shows. We can always rely on them for humor, lively music and the encouragement of audience participation – a recipe for success for the 6 and younger set. It's amusing to hear children tell Jack – in earnest – that a giant awaits him at the top of his beanstalk climb. The kids get into it as they share the experience with others around them.
StoryBook's tale starts out like the original: Times are tough in the household of Jack and his mother. There is work to be done, money is running out, and all the winsome Jack can do is daydream. When the time comes to sell Spot, his beloved cow, Jack comes across the path of a Peculiar Little Man who sells him magic beans (the audience "ahhs" when the beans light up). These beans set Jack's course for a real adventure.
After he climbs the magic beanstalk, the show really picks up. We meet the giant's wife and the hen, both stars of the show; their hilarious songs lament the lives they should be leading instead of waiting hand and foot on the giant (who isn't very nice to them, anyway). I thought these scenes stole the show, but the kids in the audience were just dying to see the giant.
When he appeared, the audience gasped and giggled at this colossal being (on painter stilts), with his overalls, hairy legs and booming voice. It is here that the moral of the play enters: Jack needs to use his brain, along with his imagination, to get the giant to start to be kinder to everyone.
My 6-year-old son loved the part where Jack gets the audience to stomp and chant, "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I'm a big giant and here I come!" (a page from the classic version of the tale). This causes the giant to worry that there is another, bigger and meaner than he. In exchange for help escaping this "other" giant, he promises to act more neighborly.
My 4-year-old daughter enjoyed Jack, who was played by Emily Fairbrook Shuel at our performance. I think she liked the idea that a girl could get into a boy's character. She wanted to be sure to congratulate Emily after the show, when the actors stick around to chat and give autographs to the kids.
Each StoryBook show is performed in Renton, Kirkland and Seattle, with the latter two locations still to go for Jack & the Beanstalk. The production lasts about an hour, with no intermission. If your kids just love the music in the show, treat them to one of the CDs for sale in the lobby.
IF YOU GO
Where: Kirkland Performance Center, 350 Kirkland Ave.; Seattle Museum of History & Industry in McCurdy Park, 2700 24th Ave. E.
When: Kirkland: Feb. 5, 6, 12 and 13 at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.; Seattle: March 6 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Cost: $9 for all seats.
Contact: 425-820-1800; http://storybooktheater.org.
Taryn Zier is a freelance writer based in Lake Forest Park and mother of two theater-loving children, ages 4 and 6.
