12 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Surreal Masterpiece, March 2, 2000
This final TV version of a Children's Theatre Company play (the theatre is still active but no longer releases video productions) is the most elaborate and cinematic. The earliest, _L. Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz_, had been shot in front of a live audience. This version makes use of elaborate, if obvious video work. In this version, Anderson's story is told by Anderson to Karen, as a lesson to make her finish school. Karen has a little toy theatre in her house, and to represent elements of the story, objects are place in the toy theatre and enacted on the larger stage. The bedroom set is very realistic, while the main set, hidden behind some large doors, is simple and surreal, as objects are placed into the action in odd ways. The most striking of all is the use of a pair of scissors Anderson stabs into the play stage for the executioner's house.
Stephen Boe plays Anderson as the forceful, didactic storyteller one would expect from his stories. He gets very angry with Karen, while still giving the effect that he cares for her, a neighborhood child. Rana Haugen is a very skilled and charismatic actor. She currently works as an acting coach, and judging from this (as well as _Marvelous Land_) she would be an excellent one. It's a shame she hasn't been in more than a handful of obscure roles subsequent to these two.
I have a strong suspicion David Lynch saw and admired this production, even though Lynch regular Julee Cruise is covered under such heavy costuming you don't get a hint at what she looks like. In these productions she sings in a much lower register than she does for Lynch (and no, they're not different people with the same name). This play, however, is not a musical.
Despite the heavyhandedness of the Anderson character, which, as I understand, is a very accurate portrayal by Boe, the play itself is not heavyhanded, and softens its lessons a great deal, enough to make it as appealing for adults as it is for children, as many children's plays fail to be. That is never the case, to my knowledge, with this Minneapolis company, and it certainly isn't here. This video gets my highest recommendation--and that's to adults.
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