“Tuck Everlasting" at the Spotlight Theatre -- June 3 through 12.
Friday, June 3, through Sunday, June 12
The Spotlight Theatre, 1800 Seventh Avenue, Moline IL
Based on the beloved Natalie Babbitt novel that has sold more than five million copies and is widely considered a classic of modern children's literature, the Broadway adaptation of Tuck Everlasting makes its area debut at Moline's Spotlight Theatre June 3 through 12, this Tony Award-nominated family treat lauded by the New York Times as "a warm-spirited and piercingly touching musical."
Boasting a score by Chris Miller, lyrics by Nathan Tysen, and a book by Tim Federle and Tony nominee Claudia Shear, Tuck Everlasting tells the story of the Tucks, a rural family that drinks water from a magical spring and becomes immortal. When they encounter Winnie Foster, a young girl who lives in their sleepy New England town, she becomes friends with one of the Tuck sons, who soon offers her the secret to everlasting life. Winnie then has to decide if she wants to join her new friends in immortality or live out the remainder of her normal life.
First published in 1975, Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting novel received numerous awards including the Janusz Korczak Medal and the 1976 Christopher Award as best book for young people, and in a 2012 survey published by School Library Journal, the work ranked number 16 among the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time. Like the novel, the musical version of Tuck Everlasting has been the beneficiary of numerous critical raves. The New York Times stated that "the most dazzling passage is probably the culminating ballet, wordlessly conveying the circle of life, as it were, without benefit of spectacular puppetry and a familiar pop song. It had the woman next to me repeatedly wiping away tears, and I understood how she felt." Variety magazine, meanwhile, said, "Despite its existentialism-lite sweep, this is an intimate family story of love, loss, and the purpose and power of storytelling in the American folk tradition of Twain and Wilder."
Directing Tuck Everlasting is Spotlight Theatre veteran Becca Johnson, who co-starred in the venue's recent musicals Little Shop of Horrors and The Wedding Singer, and also, at Moline's Black Box Theatre, directed such works as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and I Love You Because. Winnie Foster is portrayed by Wrigley Mancha, who played the title character in last summer's Quad City Music Guild production of Matilda: The Musical, with the Tuck clan enacted by Aaron Baker, Ryan Hurdle, Brant Peitersen, and Spotlight Theatre co-owner and 'founder Sara Tubbs. The show's returning Spotlight talents include Noah Hill (You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown), Jacob Johnson (Peter & the Starcatcher), and Susan Perrin-Sallak (The Sound of Music), and Johnson's gifted ensemble is completed by Rebecca Casad, Christianna Crosby, Katie Griswold, Evan Hassel, Melodie Hoffman, Annie Huston, Robert Kennedy, Adam Sanders, Hennrick Senne, Eric Teeter, Chris Tracy, Cooper Tubbs, Taylor Tubbs, Keegan Walker, and Jess Young.
Tuck Everlasting runs at the Moline venue June 3 through 12, with performances Fridays and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Admission is $20-25, and more information and tickets are available by calling (309)912-7647 and visiting TheSpotlightTheatreQC.com.
