Posted on: Saturday, September 8, 2001

Stage Review
Winnie-the-Pooh, friends comes to life on stage

By Joseph T. Rozmiarek
Advertiser Drama Critic

Hermenigildo Tesoro Jr. is Winnie-the-Pooh in the Honolulu Theatre for Youth production. Photo courtesy of Brad Goda

'Winnie-the-Pooh' • Where: Leeward Community College Theatre • When: 1:30 and 4:30 p.m. today, Sept. 15, 23 and 29 • Tickets: $10 ($7.50 & $5) • Information: 839-9885

Such a busy day in the wood — so much to be done — must find Eeyore's missing tail, trap a Heffalump, play a trick on Kanga before she gives everyone a quick scrub in her new bathtub.

At the center of it all is a pudgy, honey-hungry bear named Pooh, a perfectly charming companion, but so laid back he's positively unwound.

These familiar characters help launch the new season for Honolulu Theatre for Youth, in a production of "Winnie-the-Pooh," adapted for the stage by le Clanche du Rand from the stories of A. A. Milne. This version is also a musical, with music by Allan J. Friedman and songs about multiplying rabbits and a bear's love for honey.

Mark Lutwak directs, finding the right individual character pulses and the proper touch of whimsey to bring the show to life. The key is that the material can't be hurried; it must be allowed to unfold itself.

Steven Crowell takes the same design approach with a clever set based on a flat backdrop that opens up like a fold-out greeting card and set pieces that all convert to something else. Watch the chest of drawers become a trio of fallen logs, the chair turn into a rock, and the bed pop back, Murphy-style, into a doorway and a bathtub.

Melanie Burgess' costumes neatly suggest the animal characters with a few ears and tails, but the real transformation comes from the actors themselves, who evolve into fully acceptable creatures.

Lutwak casts the acting ensemble against type, padding out wiry Hermen Tesoro Jr. to play the rotund Pooh and selecting blocky BullDog as the scheming Rabbit. Cynthia See plays sad Eeyore, who sees everything through blue-tinted glasses and labels it "Pa-thetic!" Monica Cho is the nervous Piglet and Kelly Williams is both Christopher Robin and Roo.

The young audience connects wonderfully to the production and is definitely involved when Piglet bursts the birthday balloon she's bringing to Eeyore, then can't imagine where it went. Nevertheless, she presents the remaining shred of ragged rubber on a string as a gift to Eeyore. You guessed it, Eeyore pronounces it to be "Pa-thetic!"

The show's 10 songs and their piano accompaniment add an extra element, but the most charm comes as the character actors evolve into the familiar figures — who don't seem to be trying hard at just being themselves. Pooh gets his head stuck in the honey jar while diving deep for the last drop. Piglet gets a bath and Rabbit makes his first apology.

This is comfortable, reassuring material that doesn't make a big statement or drive home an obvious moral. The friends are having manageable adventures in the woods, exploring their world and trying out new things. There are themes of friendship, accepting differences, and simply being happy being yourself.

Not bad outcomes for a day filled with so much to be done.