Crayon-Colored Excursion Into Positive Thinking New York Times, December 22, 2003

By Ben Brantley

THEATER REVIEW | 'UNAUTHORIZED CHILDREN'S SCIENTOLOGY PAGEANT'

The gutsiest gimmick in New York theater for 2003? There's really no contest. And no, it's not the producers Fran and Barry Weissler's casting the nonsinging, nondancing Melanie Griffith in the musical "Chicago." The honors this year go to Les Freres Corbusier, the archly named (and non-French) experimental troupe, which decided to tell the story of Scientology through the mouths of babes.

Well, almost babes. The ages of the cast members in "A Very Merry Unauthorized Children's Scientology Pageant," at the John Houseman Theater through Jan. 4, go from 8 to 12. And by virtue of their youth, these performers transform what would otherwise be a facile satire into a spooky, sharp-toothed smile of a show. Like the ever-enterprising Weisslers, this production's creators, Alex Timbers and Kyle Jarrow, know that when it comes to generating interest, casting is to showbiz what location is to real estate.

"Pageant" is a deadpan musical biography of the life of L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of the Church of Scientology. As conceived and directed by Mr. Timbers, with text and music by Mr. Jarrow, this production does indeed have the authentically home-brewed flavor of the holiday religious pageants that sprout in church basements and school gyms. The set, with its cheerful crayon-colored backdrop and columns of balloons, brings to mind an elementary school art project, while the angel-robe costumes summon images of sewing machines in suburban rec rooms. (Jennifer Rogien is the production designer.)

It's the perfect environment for raising those lumps that adults discover in their throats when dressed-up tots perform tales of sacred mysteries. Not that anyone is likely to leave "Pageant" as a misty-eyed convert to Scientology, though the show offers little information that can't be gleaned from the organization's Web sites.

Mr. Jarrow's script traces the labyrinthine life of Hubbard (1911-1986), whose professions (as cast members observe in a gleeful repeated litany) ranged from science-fiction novelist and screenwriter to horticulturist and choreographer. He is of course best known as the father of the positive-thought philosophy now embraced by Hollywood acolytes like John Travolta and Tom Cruise.

In addition to following its hero through his quest for meaning in his early years, from the Midwest to the Far East, "Pageant" considers the science of Scientology and of Dianetics, its therapeutic methodology. So there are child-friendly explanations of Hubbard's notion of the divided mind (embodied by the lovely identical twins Emma and Sophie Whitfield in matching brain outfits) and a device called the e-meter (or electropsychometer), used to monitor the human psyche, which is demonstrated by stick puppets.

While L. Ron (portrayed by Jordan Wolfe) is challenged by sour skeptics - who question his church's finances and some of its means of, er, holding onto its members - he eventually overcomes all adversaries. His victory is presented amid perky anthems of uplift and optimism, performed with affecting ungainliness by the young cast. (Sample lyrics: "Now the sun will shine,/Now we'll be just fine./We have got the science of the mind.")

The shiny-eyed Jordan Wolfe, who is already polished enough for a career in sitcoms, is arguably a shade too skilled and self-aware in his portrayal of L. Ron. On the other hand, in terms of the show's keeping your attention, it's probably necessary to have a little professional smoothness mixed into the wide-eyed artlessness.

Previously presented at the tiny Tank Theater in a four-week run that ended earlier this month, "Pageant" has already acquired a halo of hipness and daring. (It doesn't hurt that the Rev. John Carmichael, the president of the famously litigious Church of Scientology in New York, has publicly expressed his objections to it.)

Given the deliberately crude, faux-naïf sensibility of "Pageant," it's hard to assess the breadth of its creators' talents. The show isn't much more than a stunt, but it's a very knowing one. Letting the gap between a subject and its presentation do all the talking, "Pageant" provides a cult-hit blueprint for a young generation that prefers its irony delivered with not a wink but a blank stare.

A VERY MERRY UNAUTHORIZED CHILDREN'S SCIENTOLOGY PAGEANT

Conceived and directed by Alex Timbers; text and music by Kyle Jarrow; producer, Aaron Lemon-Strauss; stage manager, Bailie Slevin; production designer, Jennifer Rogien; lighting by, Samantha Trepel; production supervisor, Ronnie Tobia; assistant director, David Kilpatrick. Presented by Les Freres Corbusier, Mr. Lemon-Strauss, executive director; Ms. Rogien, executive producer; Mr. Timbers, artistic director. At the John Houseman Theater, 450 West 42nd Street, Clinton.

WITH: Seamus Boyle, Spenser Lee Carrion-O'Driscoll, Alison Stacy Klein, Joshua Marmer, Max Miner, Stephanie Favoreto Queiroz, Daren Watson, Emma Whitfield, Sophie Whitfield and Jordan Wolfe.

http://www.nytimes.com/ads/carrotpop4.html

Go Back