The poster for “The Kingdom Next to Fid” promises, “There may
be unicorns.” You’ll have to find that out for yourself, but if you see the new
play at MuCCC, I can guarantee you will see all the other classic
adventure-fantasy ingredients: good and evil fairies, chambermaids who are truly
princesses, handsome princes, spells and potions, undying friendship and true
love, and a happy ending. Buckles are frequently swashed, and there is some
nifty fencing.
It would probably spoil the story of “The Kingdom Next to
Fid” to tell you much more, but if you are a fan of such stories you’ll be in
your element with this play by M.L.P. Carroll and K.C. Craft. Fans of “The
Princess Bride” (which includes just about everybody) will recognize the
template. The play is a classic fantasy adventure with the characters running
all over a kingdom or two, with liberal servings of wordplay and whimsy — and,
in this case, glances at Monty Python, “Fractured Fairy Tales,” a bit of
Shakespeare, and perhaps even Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Iolanthe.” The story is
framed and narrated by a grandmother telling the story to her granddaughter,
with occasionally snarky incidental comments from both — also true to the
genre.
Carroll and Craft have fashioned an imaginative script that
is full of incident but not difficult to follow — quite a feat of craftsmanship
in this kind of writing. They also have a knack for inventing the fanciful
characters, place names, and dialogue that this kind of story thrives on. The
play could probably use trimming, though: The opening performance lasted just
under two and a half hours, rather long for the children who are among the
target audience (and the parents who have to try to keep them quiet).
“The Kingdom Next to Fid” is easily the most elaborate
production I have seen at MuCCC. This modest performing space is busting its
buttons with a cast of 30 actors kept moving almost constantly, fancy costumes,
a large set with two performing levels (besides the floor), projections, and
some quick-change lighting cues.
On opening night, “The Kingdom Next to Fid” came off as an
entertaining play in a complicated production that needed a few more rehearsals
in order to work well. The pacing was erratic, many of the lines and movements
were tentative, and I imagine all those actors had a tricky time maneuvering
backstage. (No director is credited.) The noise of shuffling onstage and off
and moving set pieces caused quite a few lines to be lost — too bad, as they
often sounded like clever ones. (No doubt a lot of this was cleaned up since
opening night.)
Whoever directed “The Kingdom Next to Fid,” it does contain a
lot of excellent performers. This is one case where there really are too many
to mention, but they all have funny, moving, romantic, and occasionally scary parts.
The staging includes some nice ideas, including six “Living Set” performers
and five “Background” performers who are inventively used and who contribute a
lot to the atmosphere of the show as trees, animals, soldiers, and more. And as
mentioned above, the fencing duels are impressive. (The fight choreography is
credited to James Landers and Meredith Carroll.)
MuCCC deserves a salute for presenting such an ambitious
summer diversion suitable for younger audiences, and also for producing an
imaginative new play by two local writers. Fid and its neighboring kingdoms are
definitely worth a visit, and I hope this play is indeed a work in progress;
Carroll and Craft deserve the chance to refine their work further.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Meredith Powell directed “The Kingdom Next To Fid.” The story was also updated to reflect six “Living Set” performers, not seven as was originally listed.
This article appears in Aug 6-12, 2014.
