Return to Narnia with Enchanted Playhouse's production of 'The Magician's Nephew'
The magic of Narnia returns to the Visalia Fox Theatre tonight.
Enchanted Playhouse co-director Shanna Meier loves C.S. Lewis’ “Chronicle of Narnia” books. She was in the cast when the children’s theater did “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” in the spring of 2019 and was co-director when they did the sequel, “Prince Caspian” that fall, their first show at the Visalia Fox.
O Thursday, they open “The Magician’s Nephew,” a prequel to the first two shows, which tells the story of how the magic kingdom of Narnia was created. In it, Digory, a grownup professor in “Wardrobe,” is just a young boy trying to find a way to heal his sick mother. Through magic rings, he and his friend Polly are transported to an enchanted land, where they awaken a witch who brings her evil into Narnia.
Narnia has all the fun animals of the other shows and, of course, the benevolent talking lion, Aslan.
At 6 ft 5 and with a booming voice, Cliff Ayers, vice principal at Farmersville High School, is an imposing Aslan. It’s a role he has grown into. He has played the lion in all three shows. (He’s also played Frankenstein and Dr. Doolittle in other shows.) He says that his resonant voice comes from all the coaching he has done. It is effective.
“I grew up reading the ‘Narnia’ books,” he said. “When I found out we were doing it, I was all over it.”
A family cast
The Enchanted Playhouse has always brought families together, says co-director Sheriahna Irvin, who also plays the wicked Queen Jadis—both for families attending and family members in the show. Many of the adults in the cast were drawn in when their children wanted to perform.
That’s true for Bob Verissimo (Uncle Andrew) and his 10-year-old son Maddox (Digory).
“We had shown him parts of ‘Harry Potter,’ and Maddox realized he looked like Harry Potter,” said Bob Verissimo. “So when he was 5, we put him into acting, and the minute he stepped on stage, he was hooked.”
Ten-year-old Maddox has been in numerous Tulare County Office of Education Theater Company shows, including portraying Winthrop Paroo in last summer’s “Music Man.”
Father and son had parts in “Annie” put on by Theater Arts Alliance, but Bob didn’t expect to be cast in this show. He just thought he would audition with Maddox. He turned out to be a natural for the lively part of Uncle Andrew.
Going with the flow
With community theater, you never know who will show up for auditions. For this show, few auditioned for female adult roles. That’s how Irvin ended up being cast as the witch.
And the role of Aunt Lettie was turned into Uncle Lenny, so Joe Ross, an announcer for Rawhide games, could take on that role.
“Joe contacted us during Covid to let us use the baseball stadium for outdoor performances,” said Meier. “He’s been so helpful, and he has a theater background and a big voice.”
Ross is delighted to be in the show.
“I’d probably done 30 shows in Lindsay by the end of high school,” he said. “I wouldn’t be who I am without theater, and doing something at the Fox was a dream!”
Besides their community shows, Enchanted Playhouse always does special performances for school children, often offering a first theater experience for them.
“There’s nothing like it when you experience a school show with 750 kids chanting,” said Irvin. “When we did ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,’ we had a different ending with the dwarfs surrounding the witch and stuffing the poison apple in her face. The kids started chanting, ‘Eat it! Eat it! Eat it!” They really get into the show.”
Student director Alyssa Ellis said they love to get children acting and into the theater.
“It’s the best feeling,” she said. “And they can learn so many skills through theater.”
How to attend
"The Magician’s Nephew" players at 7 p.m. Feb. 23 & 24 and 4 p.m. Feb. 25 at the Visalia Fox Theatre, 300 W. Main St. Information: 559 625-1369 or www.foxvisalia.org. Bring a stuffed animal for the CART program (Child Abuse Response Team) and receive a raffle ticket for various items, including a painted jean jacket and a gong wind chime.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Enchanted Playhouse's returns to Narnia with 'The Magician's Nephew'
