"Neverending Story" opens a new chapter at SCT

During her prolific career as artistic director of the cherished Seattle Children's Theatre, Linda Hartzell has managed to produce stage versions of the books her now-adult son most adored as a child: "Honus and Me." "Go, Dog. Go!" "Everyone Knows What a Dragon Looks Like."

There was just one left on her list, and she's getting to it now, with SCT's world-premiere adaptation of "The Neverending Story," an elaborate and heartfelt fantasy yarn by the late German author Michael Ende.

The book, initially published in Germany in 1979, imparts the tale of a lonely little boy named Bastian who opens a mystical storybook and finds himself propelled into an adventure saga about a quest to save the threatened land of Fantastica.

"The Neverending Story," a best-seller in Germany, was swiftly translated into many languages, captivating young readers around the world. A well-received 1985 film version further popularized the tale.

But Hartzell notes, "Little kids just aren't reading this book much right now. They've gone on to more current fantasy fiction, like the Harry Potter books and 'The Golden Compass.' "

When she learned that Canadian playwright David S. Craig had received permission from the Ende estate (the writer died in 1995) to adapt "The Neverending Story" for theater, Hartzell got excited about mounting its premiere in Seattle.

She hired veteran SCT and 5th Avenue Theatre director David Bennett to stage the piece. She enlisted SCT's respected puppet master, Douglas Paasch, to design and build puppets to represent many of the otherworldly creatures in the epic.

And she invited sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson, and Sue Ennis, of the Seattle rock group Heart, to contribute a theme song (titled "Don't You Fall") and some incidental music to the production.

Nancy Wilson and Ennis wrote the song, and Ann Wilson sang it in a recorded version for the production. Commented Nancy Wilson via e-mail: "I saw the 'Neverending Story' movie many years ago and always loved the story, and now as a mom, can appreciate anything for kids that is of such quality. There's a good message here, and in these days of disposable junk-food entertainment, this one is a jewel!"

The result is, Hartzell promises, an elaborate production, which opens tonight at SCT and plays through Jan. 27.

It is not the first time SCT has risked a lot on a fantasy classic. One of the company's most successful shows was a splendiferous mounting of "The Chronicles of Narnia," based on the C.S. Lewis' classic "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

" 'The Neverending Story' could be done with a budget as big as the Seattle Opera's, or fairly modestly," Hartzell explains. "We're somewhere in the middle."

But Bennett says he is using "old-fashioned stage magic" to bedazzle viewers, not computer tricks.

As Bastian (played by Gabriel Baron) discovers a friend in the heroic young boy Atreyu (Michael Place), the pair go on a complex journey that brings them into such make-believe locales as the Swamp of Sadness, a giant spider's cage and the Maze of the Southern Oracle. They also join forces with a helpful dragon, Falkor (Hans Altwies).

"We wanted to steer away from Ye Old Fairytale kind of look, so we're using colors and shapes and effects in different ways," says Bennett.

"We have some terrific creatures come alive in the show. Some actors fly, including Hans — he's a dragon with a sort of glam-rock look. The design is also influenced by Japanese anime. And the puppets are incredible — we've got one that's 9 feet tall."

The director knows no live-theater event (without the largesse of, say, Cirque du Soleil) can deliver the eye-popping visuals a big-budget animated film could. But, stresses Bennett, that's not the point.

"This story is about the power of the imagination, and we're inviting the audience members to use their own imaginations. But it's also a story that works on many levels, because there are so many truths in it about kids in the process of finding and accepting themselves."

Hartzell concurs. And more than anything else, she wants the children who see the show (which, like the film, just covers the first half of Ende's book) to emulate her son by reading the entire story.

"That is always a goal of ours," she states. "Reading is so necessary. This is a story about overcoming loneliness, disconnection, alienation. And it's also about the joy you can get from reading."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com