From Book To Play

Adapted from Avi's book, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, the new play at Seattle Children's Theatre offers young readers a chance to see a book's characters come alive and in a theatrical genre that may not be familiar. Reviewer Misha Berson says

It's a straight-up, well-performed melodrama about a sheltered girl of 13 who undertakes a trans-Atlantic voyage on her own.

Berson points out that Charlotte's defiant behavior is not the behavior of a proper 19th-century young lady and therein lies a bit of irony in SCT's choice of the melodramatic style for this production. Characters in early melodramas were usually stereotypes. The development of Charlotte's seafaring abilities and her recognition of her true strengths makes her an unconventional young lady. Perhaps the choice was made to leave out the scene where Charlotte cuts her hair to keep her looks more in line with a character from a melodrama of that period. Though Charlotte breaks out of the stereotype in the midst of this production and gives us a courageous 19th-century heroine, the beautiful set and excellent acting makes the play work. It also provides an opportunity to talk with students about theatrical and book genres.

This type of heroine is important for girls and boys. Being able to discover and use strengths despite the roadblocks erected by family, society, and sometimes, even friends, is the kind of triumphant story that needs to be told again and again.