Show: 24
Title: Watership Down
Category: Drama / Musical Theater / Original Music / Physical Theater / Puppetry / Storytelling / Kid friendly / Literary adaptation
By: Melancholics Anonymous
Written by: Richard Adams, adapted for the stage by Melancholics Anonymous
Location: Rarig Stoll Thrust
Summary: An original folk musical adaptation of the 1972 adventure novel Watership Down about a group of rabbits who go in search of a new home.
Highlights: I'm only about 2/3 through my Fringe, but I'm ready to declare this my favorite of the festival, and my favorite work ever by Fringe darlings Melancholics Anonymous. This is one of the shows I was most looking forward to, and it exceeded my expectations. I read Watership Down for a class my first year in college (probably before most of these artists were born), and still have the book, so I've been rereading it (and didn't quite finish #spoileralert). I read it for a class with the theme "everyone needs a hero," in which we studied the Joseph Campbell hero cycle, read Lord of the Rings (confession: this is why I chose this class, I'd already read it multiple times #nerdalert), and watched Star Wars (to date the only time I've seen it #notthatkindofnerd). And Watership Down fits perfectly into the hero cycle, with an unlikely hero (a rabbit), impossible tasks, guidance along the way, and triumphing through hard work, determination, and togetherness. The novel is nearly 500 pages long, and adapters Rachel Ropella and Timothy Kelly have done a really great job condensing it into a 60-minute play, omitting or condensing a few episodes or characters. They use a narrative style, with the characters trading off the narration, which really helps set the scene, provide exposition, and move the plot along. And they've beautifully and smoothly taken out my least favorite part of the novel in a simple and effective way (all the hero rabbits in the novel are male, and a major plot point is "we need some does" in order for the warren to reproduce and survive, but in this adaptation they're all genders, and they just need "more rabbits" for the warren to flourish). Bee Davis has written about a half dozen or so original songs that further the plot, provide more emotional depth for the characters, and are just great songs I'd like to listen to again (played by musicians Hawken Paul and Mason Tacke on various folky instruments). In fact, this is a rare Fringe show that feels like it's more than just a Fringe show, it deserves more than five (nearly sold out) performances, and I'd love to see the Melancholics expand it to 90-100 minutes and have a longer run sometime/somewhere outside of Fringe. It's such a successful adaptation of this beloved (and kind of odd) novel (full disclosure: I've seen neither the movie nor the recent mini-series), with a beautiful and sincere story of a community that overcomes great odds by working together, and a leader that comes into their own by being brave and strong and listening to those around them. By the end of the 60 engrossing minutes, it feels like we've gone on an epic journey with these rabbits, who feel like unique and specific people we know and love (played by Aerin O'Malley, Meredith Enersen, Samantha Miller, Anneliese Garner, Bee Davis, Claire Chenoweth, Laura Marie, and Timothy Kelly, with Hawken Paul as their bird friend). I want to go back to Watership Down! Final performances Friday at 530 and Saturday at 4.