The land of Narnia unfolds before us through the eyes of the four English children who have been evacuated to Professor Kirke’s large estate in the countryside during the World War II bombing of London. Young Lucy is the first to discover the land inside the wardrobe, and nine-year-old Julia Way does a nice job expressing the thrill and wonder of discovering Narnia. Eleven-year-old Dallas Perry is the anti-Lucy, her slightly older and selfish brother Edmund who doesn’t much care for Narnia except when he gets the opportunity to gorge himself on Turkish Delight and dream of becoming the king over his siblings. Kenny Ramos as Peter and Shannon Stovall as Susan play the older siblings who struggle with the dangers of Narnia and their parental responsibilities for their younger brother and sister. The foursome act off each other well with believable playfulness, teasing, and squabbling.

In Narnia they meet a number of odd characters including a nervous faun named Tumnus (Ashley Melton), an amusing Mr. Beaver with a great cockney accent (Jason Mull), a motherly Mrs. Beaver (Sara Wright), and in this production a “Mother Christmas” with Kaley Stine radiating warmth and cheer, and giving us all the gift of her lovely voice in At Last It’s Christmas.

And then, of course, there are the two title characters around whom the fate of the story and of Narnia revolve. As the great lion Aslan, Marshall Hattersley seems a tower of strength and goodness, and his voice embodies those attributes. Opposite him and embodying strength but not-so-much goodness is Meagan Flint who plays the role of the White Witch with a quick temper, steady arrogance, and remarkable vocals whether speaking with a cold but royal air, or singing with icy beauty. The two of them team up for a gorgeous duet of Deep Magic.

Performed October 27 - November 4, 2007.

Rob Hopper
National Youth Theatre