Children’s Letters to God

(A TheaterManiac, age 23, prepares to interview God about a theater piece composed of letters to said Deity. The former carries a notepad, which he checks frequently, and a tape recorder, which he tests compulsively. The Latter materializes.)

THEATERMANIAC: Thanks for coming, God. I’m glad you could make it.

GOD: Glad to be here.

TM: I’d like to begin the interview by asking how You feel about Your incoming mail being the subject of the Off-Broadway musical Children’s Letters to God.

GD: I’ve never been a fan of American copyright law in its existing state, so I applaud any effort to expand what the courts consider the “public domain” — private letters to Yours Truly included. How can someone claim rights to an idea when all true knowledge stems from My works? So I have no problem with the concept per se, but I’m wary about the execution. For example, when I saw the show, I noticed that the children in the audience were encouraged to draw sketches with crayons before the performance began. Some of them wrote questions to Me instead of, say, playing tic-tac-toe, and I wonder if their questions might turn up in a sequel to this play. I hope those kids have agents.

TM: That sounds pretty cynical.

GD: Well, after you’ve seen what I’ve seen…Besides, it’s not really cynicism, it’s just an understanding of capitalism. The writer, Stuart Hample, got the idea for this musical after hearing that All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten had been successfully adapted for the theater.

TM: Wait! Isn’t it unfair to make statements about an author’s motivations in a review?

GD: I’m omniscient. Besides, that’s what he says in the program notes. Hey, I have nothing against it, and I thought much of the show was charming. You can quote me on that! Douglas J. Cohen has come up with some clever lyrics and he rarely settles for the obvious rhyme. David Evans’s music is catchy and inventive; I particularly enjoyed his song “Daydreams” at the beginning of the second act. Here’s a song written in a sophisticated, stream-of-consciousness style. Very smart, very effective. And the children!

TM: I understand that the actors are all between 10 and 15 years old.

GD: A critic would have to be a louse to come down tough on this brat pack. They are all genuinely talented. Gerard Canonico steals the spotlight as Brett, the streetwise teen heartthrob who makes the girls swoon and the boys envy him. Sara Kapner plays the smitten Joanna with a remarkable self-assurance for someone her age and Andrew Zutty displays great comic timing as her pint sized younger brother, Kicker. Jimmy Dieffenbach as Theo and Libbie Jacobson as Iris are the awkward outsiders of the gang and their antics set the audience grinning. Stafford Arima directs them all skillfully.

TM: Anything you didn’t like about the show?

GD: The book is rather thin and generic, with familiar stories about parents divorcing, sibling rivalries, friends moving away, and so on. Many of the conflicts have to do with things that happen off-stage, so they’re of second-hand interest. Since the dramatic action is so slight, the show might seem a little overlong to some kids. Most theater for young audiences is presented in one act but Children’s Leters to God has an intermission. Still, most of the children seemed fully engaged on the night I attended, as well as many of the adults.

TM: And the design elements?

GD: Like so much else in the production, they are very appealing. The producers have made excellent use of the intimate Lamb’s Theater. Set designer Anna Louizos has created a sort of classical garden on stage with streams, grass, and sun mosaics. I remembered those classical gardens from way back in the day! Kirk Bookman’s lighting establishes the mood scene by scene, and the starry sky that appears at the end is touching.

TM: One last question: Do you think that the interest in children’s actual letters to You has anything to do with the reality TV craze?

GD: Don’t be so academic. Just enjoy the show!