Todd Scofield as Winnie the Pooh and James Gardiner as Eeyore.
Photo by Photo by Bruce Douglas.
When do a beehive, a pot of honey and a small, pink, best friend make it wonderful to be a bear with “Very Little Brain?” When you are Winnie the Pooh, of course! And Adventure Theatre-MTC’s production of Winnie The Pooh brings the pages of the book by A.A. Milne to glorious life.
Todd Scofield as Pooh seamlessly transforms himself into the fuzzy yellow bear whose day-to-day mission is to do nothing but eat his honey and play with his friends. Scofield’s dreamy face and careful diction pulled me into the story and made me want to give him a big hug and then grab his hand and go play.
…how lucky we are to have this group of exceptionally talented actors gathered together to lend their incredible gift to a children’s show.
In Adventure Theatre-MTC’s production, Pooh Bear and his best friend Piglet (a delightful Genevieve James) find their wishfully lazy day getting busier and busier. Their adventures start when Piglet is frighten by thoughts of a Heffalump in their 100 Acre Wood, and Pooh and Piglet devise a plan to trap the big monster in a large hole by the Six Pine Trees. Rabbit (Joshua Morgan), another resident of the 100 Acre Wood, finds Pooh and Piglet to enlist their help banishing the bathtub of Kanga the Kangaroo (James Gardiner) for fear of Kanga making him and all the inhabitants “loose their dirt” by taking a bath. Morgan plays the highly energetic and somewhat cynical rabbit perfectly with his movements, facial expressions and changes of tone. And, of course, Christopher Robin (an adorable Holden Brettell) is there to join in on the fun.
Genevieve James as Piglet, Joshua Morgan as Rabbit and Todd Scofield as Pooh.
Photo by Bruce Douglas.
Last, but not least, Eeyore (also James Gardiner) stumbles across Pooh and Piglet, too sad to notice that he has lost his tail. Gardiner plays Eeyore, the constantly gloomy donkey, so well that I could hear and see Eeyore’s grief with every gesture and in every word spoken and in every song sung. Everything does eventually work out for everyone in the end, but it is the journey that is worth watching every precious minute.
I brought my 8-year-old daughter with me, and when it was over I asked her what she thought. She said, with a huge smile, she liked it very much and loved that she got to see and hear some of her favorite literary characters “live and in person.” As I looked at her smiling face, I wondered if she realizes how lucky we are to have this group of exceptionally talented actors gathered together to lend their incredible gift to a children’s show. Adults and children should not miss Winnie the Pooh.
Running Time: Approximately one hour with no intermission.
Winnie the Pooh is playing through February 24, 2013 at Adventure Theatre-MTC Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd. Glen Echo, MD 20812. For ticket call the box office at 301-634-2270 or click here.
