Reviews —Glittra's Mission USA
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STELLALUNA NICKY SOMEWHERE ELSE PERÔ
RIcky of the TUFT and RED EARTH

Imaginative 'Glittra' is devilishly good fun

Wednesday, February 16, 2005 by Gianni Truzzi
Seattle Post Intellingencer

Children tense and straighten when 9-year-old Martin's fascination with keys places him and his friend Linda in dire jeopardy. That's what's supposed to happen at a story's climax. Even so, their level of concern is surprising, considering it's prompted by the fate of a pair of cardboard cutouts.

That's the only thing that's two-dimensional about this staging at Seattle Children's Theatre of "Glittra's Mission," a Swedish children's book. Performers Jason Collins and Megan Hill apply athletic vigor and wide-eyed sincerity to this import from Speeltheater Holland, a blend of puppetry, dance and storytelling that keeps its young audience riveted.

Glittra is a guardian angel, one of several invisible emissaries of eternity that govern Martin's life. Prudence, Responsibility and Moodiness observe and quarrel from their clouds as Glittra struggles to keep the insatiably curious Martin safe. His desire to acquire anything behind a lock, no matter how dangerous, keeps Glittra continuously busy.

But not nearly as busy as Collins and Hill who, as Mr. and Ms. Smith, our guides to the world of angels, play all the roles and guide much of the stagecraft. Collins operates his puppets with limber acrobatics, his sinewy frame rolling and tumbling across the heavenly expanse. Hill is a cheery, comforting presence, instructing through the warmth of her youthful blush. The pair twinkles together on Onny Huisink's minimally accoutered set of white fur platforms, a magnetic chalkboard and a table heaped with sand.

Huisink's puppets that represent the angels defy most traditional classifications, consisting mostly of a rough, often grotesque head with a drape of fabric to suggest the body. Collins and Hill manipulate them in plain view, lending them their own hands and legs to complete their form as the occasion warrants. When these dolls are mounted on springing and spinning metal poles, the human performers appear to be romping through a Paul Klee painting.

Earthly characters occupy the sand, and are represented by flat drawings that the actors wave and shake to convey Martin's mischievous adventures in collecting keys.

Sitting amid the grade-schoolers, I wondered if so much abstract, European sleekness would sail past the comprehension of American children weaned on the literalism of television. It became clear from their rapt attention -- and my later querying of my own fourth-grade child in tow -- that such fears were largely unfounded. As noted, they understood when Martin was in danger, even though some younger patrons found the nature of Glittra's ultimate sacrifice to save him hard to grasp.

The unique theatricality of "Glittra" offers its audience a key no one should resist, one that unlocks their own imagination.

Imagination rules land of angels in "Glittra's Mission"

February 24, 2005 .Mary Murfin Bayley The Seattle Times

There is a moment in Seattle Children's Theater's puppet play "Glittra's Mission" when the two actors stop to give each other a quick embrace as they pass.

It is startling because all the other characters, represented by puppets, cut-out drawings or flashes of light, still seem completely present and alive. We are briefly reminded that they are only bits of cloth, wood and electric bulbs manipulated by these two actors, now taking the briefest of breaks.

Director Onny Huisink and playwright Saskia Jones of Speeltheater Holland created "Glittra," based on a book by Peter Pohl. As they did in previous collaborations with SCT, "Nicky Somewhere Else" and "Stellaluna," they once again conjure an imaginative and intriguing world where actors, puppets, music and scenery are mercurial, constantly transforming mood and character.

The plot involves a little boy named Martin who loves to collect keys. His conscience, embodied as a lazy and loudly flatulent puppet, permits him to steal any keys he desires which then lead him into dangerous situations. He opens a medicine cabinet, unlocks a gun cabinet and turns on the car ignition in a closed garage.

Glittra, his guardian angel, busily tries to protect him, using such tricks as taking advantage of a "wrinkle in time" that makes two points in time adjacent, (beautifully illustrated with folded paper). Glittra is finally forced to give up her life by taking an earthly shape to save the child. In the final scene she is transformed from an angel into a star.

The angels live in an "Eternity" represented by curving platforms covered with thick white, gleaming fur. It looks like heaven, but it also feels and sounds like outer space (the music mixing Gregorian chant with techno and trance helps to define the hereafter as moonscape.) Curved wire puppet holders, which bounce when plucked, stick out of the clouds like strange twigs.

The angel puppets have imaginative names like "the tobacco brown angel of responsibility," "the yellow-green angel of moodiness" and the godlike "watching grey." Their textured faces with wild hair and cloth bodies suggest primitive cornhusk dolls but are remarkably expressive.

Earth is represented by a table heaped with sand in which the actors set the cut-out figures of Martin, his mother and the other human characters. A suspended blackboard and a string of simple orange lights are transformed by actors Megan Hill and Jason Collins into a variety of objects. Hill and Collins hold the cut-out figures as they speak, sometimes wriggling their own hands to suggest their gestures.

Choreographer Donald Byrd created the movement for the play, which allowed the agile Collins to switch from human to animal to a somersaulting physicalization of an explosion. Michael Wellborn's lighting and Chris Walker's sound design effectively enhanced the action of both puppets and actors.

The children in the audience (recommended for ages 7 and up) listened intently, laughing raucously at the funny bits, and appeared to be caught up in this clever play of images and ideas.

Glittra's Mission
GoCityKids February 2005

Part puppet show, part play, Seattle Children's Theatre's presentation of Glittra's Mission, is on the cutting-edge of theatre for young people. Presented jointly with partner Speeltheater Holland of the Netherlands, the play features innovative sets and and unusual props, such as a large pile of sand and furry white rugs. The cast consists of two actors, Jason Collins and Megan Hill, who play enthusiastic teachers conducting a lesson about angels. They also serve as puppeteers for an array of rod and hand puppets (the angels) and flat puppets (the "human" characters).

The performance is lively and intellectually-challenging enough to hold kids' interest throughout. It is, however, recommended for children ages seven and older. We agree with that because of the complicated interplay among the play's different elements: the classroom, eternity , and earth. Younger children may have difficulty focusing on and following the plot.

The story begins with the premise that humans are watched over by angels. Six-year-old Martin's angels have their hands full, especially Glittra, his guardian angel. Martin is obsessed with keys and what they open, such as the medicine cabinet, and Glittra is kept constantly busy keeping Martin safe. One day, Martin gets hold of the key ring belonging to his mother's friend Lotta. While his mother and Lotta have tea inside the house and Martin plays outside with Lotta's daughter, it begins to rain. Martin unlocks the garage and the children go in and close the door. As thunder crashes, the mothers don't hear Lotta's car starting. Glittra is the only one who can save the children and must sacrifice herself to do so.

The two actors give energetic performances as they provide background on angels and eternity, narrate the action, and manipulate the puppets. Afterward, they ask and asnwer questions of the audience, and then sign autographs and meet children.

'Glittra's Mission' offers creative, whimsical story
The Herald Friday, February 18, 2005 Alice Kalso

Curious George has a kindred spirit.

Remember the adorable little monkey in the Margret and H.A. Rey children's stories whose inquisitiveness continually puts him in a pickle? And the man with the yellow hat who rescues him - once again - just in the nick of time?

Curious George aficionados will love Martin, the lead character in Seattle Children's Theatre's delightful new stage offering, "Glittra's Mission." On the outside, Martin is a six-year-old Swedish boy. Inside, though, the wheels of his mind are forever turning, continually coming up with new antics, just like the beloved Curious George.

Martin's mishaps - and his deliverance from danger at the hands of a guardian angel named Glittra - form the storyline of an engaging production that brought smiles, chuckles and guffaws to a multigenerational audience at last weekend's American premiere.

The play came to Seattle thanks to a touring theatrical company that specializes in puppetry. Speeltheater Holland is headed by husband and wife team Onny Huisink and Saskia Janse. Janse wrote the tightly focused stage play for "Glittra's Mission" based on a children's book by Swedish author Peter Pohl. Huisink wore many hats in this fine production, serving as director and designer of costumes, sets and puppets, all of which were exceptional.

The acting was first rate. Jason Collins and Megan Hill were phenomenal in their energetic portrayal of 16 distinct characters, 14 of them puppets. Stylized dancing and gymnastics added to the whimsical tone.

The play begins in the heavenlies, depicted by a swirl of platforms covered with white fur. Strings of twinkling lights represent the stars. Collins and Hill address the audience as Mr. and Mrs. Smith, authorities on Eternity. "The subject today is Angels," says Mrs. Smith. "We want to know more about Angels and especially the Guardian Angel."

Enter a bevy of angels, each with a distinct costume and personality, each portrayed by a three-dimensional rod and hand puppet held by Collins or Hill. The angel named Watching Grey, for example, sits on his cloud next to the portal of Eternity, dozing a bit. The Tobacco Brown Angel of Responsibility, with funny looking spectacles, is ever alert for trouble. And trouble is what he sees on earth, as a mischievous little boy named Martin - who is obsessed with finding, keeping and using keys - heads for the medicine cabinet, key in hand.

Glittra, Martin's guardian angel, makes her way to earth. Here Martin and other characters take on another form: one-dimensional flat puppets, made of the scanned drawings of Jacky Gleich. By now, though, the audience is very used to Collins' and Hill's amazing puppet portrayal of the earthlings. The rest of the story goes like this: Distracted parents plus mischievous Martin make for big trouble, until Guardian Angel steps in.

Without giving away the ending, suffice it to say it's surprising and happy for all. The hour-long production flew by for old and young alike, smacking of Curious George with a bit of a European flair. It was a heavenly way to pass the time on a winter evening.

 

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