In “The Snow Queen,” Portland Stage has collected all the earthly delights of the holiday season — and some of the heavenly, too.
The Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale first published in 1845 centers on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by a little boy and girl, Kai and Gerda. The story is one of Andersen’s longest and most highly acclaimed — a holiday classic that’s stood the test of time with its recent adaptation for the big screen by Disney as the 3-D feature film “Frozen.”
The play is driven by Lauren Orkus, who portrays Gerda, a young person whose best friend, Kai, is bewitched and imprisoned by the Snow Queen.
The girl embarks on a journey to the land of winter to save him. Her tale is told in seven stories, narrated by Daniel Noel as “Ba.”
Anita Stewarts’s set design pops with depth and sparkle, Susan Thomas’s costumes are a compelling mix old-style period dress and farout fantasia, Bryon Winn bathes the stage in all shades of winter light, and the stage brims with energy only a cast dominated by youths can achieve.
Patricia Buckley delivers an understated yet iconic performance as The Snow Queen — regal in appearance and mincing few words. Buckley also sticks around after matinees to sign authographs for the kids, drawing young people further into the dramatic mystique of the holidays.
With a huge cast, relatively short stage time of under 2 hours and a cast full of energetic youth, it’s the perfect way to spend a couple of hours relaxing. Costume and set and design make it fantastic family entertainment.
bmentzinger@timesrecord.com
Portland Stage Company
25-A Forest Ave., Portland · Tickets: $45
children 15 and younger: $15 for all shows
774-1043 ·http://www.portlandstage.org
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less