Sleeping Beauty

I missed Sleeping Beauty when the time came to read it, several years ago. "Why bother," I told my better-read friends, "I'll wait 'til they make a movie of it." In view of this literary lapse, I really enjoyed the Children's Theatre rendition, because this pixie outcropping of the growing Harvard Dramatic Club has produced a treat for the matinee crowd.

Two of the cast really stand out. Pippa Scott, playing Frytania, is the Tallulah Bankhead of Bad Fairies, angular and wicked, with a fearsome bit of makeup to suit her evil soul. Slugging it out with the Bad Fairly is Weady Robertson as Beauty, who is the apogee of sweetness and light. Miss Robertson is marvelous in an extremely difficult part, since it is so much more difficult to portray Good than Evil.

Not far behind the stars are the three Good Fairies. As the fairies' section boss, Una, Jo Maheu is occasionally wooden and unconvincing. But in smaller roles Liz Johnson (who assembled the brilliant costumes) and Sue Campbell are appealing sprites.

As the Hero-Prince, Edward Golden was not always quite charming. Determined to do high deeds in Agassiz, he sometimes overacts with stock grimaces and attitudes, but on the whole he is worthy to waken Beauty. Claire Scott as the queen and Luay Barry as a servant both handled tiny parts in a handy fashion, and John Fenn rounds out the cast with a tidy, if undistinguished, performance as the king. Fenn's main claim to juvenile gratitude is a highly imaginative and decorative set plus more than routine lighting effects.

Director Richard Heffron keeps things under control and, but for moments in the final act, has the pace so exhilarating that none of the audience found it necessary to talk or fidget. In fact, only during some overlong and poorly selected songs (i.e. "John Henry") between acts by producer Dean Gitter did the audience do anything but gaze with admiration at a thoroughly delightful production.