“Charlotte's Web" at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse -- March 24 through April 11.
Tuesday, March 24, through Saturday, April 11
Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, 1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island IL
With its source material named "the best American children's book of the past two hundred years" by the Children's Literature Association, the stage version of E.B. White's beloved Charlotte's Web enjoys a March 24 through April 11 run at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse, this adaptation by playwright Joseph Robinette praised by the Chicago Tribune as a theatre piece that "manages to hit the emotional and humorous high points of the original."
In Robinette's take on Charlotte's Web, all of White's enchanting characters are accounted for: Wilbur, the irresistible young pig who desperately wants to avoid the butcher; Fern, a girl who understands what animals say to each other; Templeton, the gluttonous rat who can occasionally be talked into a good deed; the Zuckerman family; the Arables; and, of course, the extraordinary spider Charlotte, who proves to be “a true friend and a good writer.” Determined to save Wilbur, Charlotte begins her campaign with the miracle of her web in which she writes, "Some pig." It's the beginning of a victorious campaign that ensures Wilbur's place on the Arable farm forever, and in this beautiful, knowing play about friendship, the spider's acts of kindness lead to Wilbur doing what is most important to Charlotte.
Directing Circa '21's latest take on Charlotte's Web is venue favorite Bobby Becher, whose most recent credits at the Rock Island dinner theatre include performances in Chicago, Come from Away, Irving Berlin's White Christmas, and the recent Lucky Stiff. Circa '21 owner Dennis Hitchcock serves as the one-hour show's executive producer, with additional members of Becher's creative team including: production manager Jeremy Littlejohn; stage manager and props and lighting designer Kendall McKasson; technical director Richard Baker; costume designer Bradley Robert Jensen; sound designer Dylan Dutro; and scenic artist Becky Meissen.
The adorable Wilbur and endearing Charlotte are respectively played by Circa '21 veterans Vivian Browne (Diary of a Wimpy Kind: The Musical) and Marion Stenfort (the current mainstage production Honky Tonk Angels), with the entirety of E.B. White's familiar barnyard and town characters collectively enacted by a quartet of talents: Micah Bernas, Adam Cerny, Kelsi Ford, and Hanna Marie Felver.
Charlotte's Web runs in Rock Island on scheduled Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from March 24 through April 11, with the show-only performances beginning at either 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. Admission is $13, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visiting Circa21.com.
