How much you enjoy the Paper Bag Players' production of Dandelion will depend on the ratio of shorties to grownups in your party. The energetic and tuneful one-hour tale of how the world developed works hard to engage the 7-and-under set. But older kids used to the savvy of Nickelodeon's SpongeBob SquarePants may find this whirl through evolution predictable. The Paper Bag Players even predate Sesame Street -- Artistic Director Judith Martin was a player with the group in 1958 and has headed it since 1963. The company's legacy is impressive, but this one-hour show meanders.
The aesthetic is a kids' "poor theatre" -- all the props and flats appear to be made out of cardboard or paper bags. The cast, wearing bright, solid-colored shirts, introduce themselves by shouting their names to the audience. They ask the children to shout their own names back. An onstage keyboardist (John Stone) interacts with the children. Ensemble members Kevin Richard Woodall and associate director Ted Brackett blend their mugging with charm.
In a series of skits, the show presents the history of the world. "Too Many Fishes" imagines the first fish to become a frog. The show's title song (music by Donald Ashwander, lyric presumably by Martin, who gets "conceived, written, and directed" billing) is a little ditty about life renewing itself: "Dandelion, dandelion, same old story every time." How this circle of life relates to evolution is never entirely clear, but this didn't trouble the children. "Nature's Ways," a series of three "plays" portraying hierarchies and predators, might unsettle some tender hearts. The most satisfying sketch is "Bow Wow," in which each character asks the audience to deliver a message for him or her. The children joyfully shout their cues, and giggle as the messages are misinterpreted. This misinterpretation leads to cave pictures, then writing.
The children greeting the cast after the show seemed well satisfied.
Presented by the Paper Bag Players
at various locations in New York City.
Feb. 24-April 1. Schedule varies.
(212) 663-0390 or www.thepaperbagplayers.org for location and schedule information.