OXFORD, Miss. – A whimsical afternoon of musical fantasy for children of all ages is making its way to the University of Mississippi April 17.
The Enchantment Theater Company’s production of “The Adventures of Harold and the Purple Crayon” is set for 3 p.m. at the Gertrude Ford Center for the Performing Arts.
“This show is based on the seven delightful picture books by Crockett Johnson,” said Norman Easterbrook, Ford Center director. “Harold will take the audience on a wild ride as he jets to Mars, joins a circus and meets a king in an enchanted garden.”
Published in 1955, the original storybook follows a 4-year-old boy who wants to walk in the moonlight one evening. When he discovers the moon is not out and there is no path to walk on, Harold gets out a big purple crayon and creates his own moon, pathway and much more. Using nothing more than his crayon and his sky’s-the-limit imagination, Harold has many adventures before he draws his own house and bed and goes to sleep.
Tickets, which are $12 for adults and $6 for children under 18, are available by calling 662-915-7411, by visiting the UM Box Office in the Student Union from noon to 4 p.m. weekdays or the Ford Center Box Office from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, or by going to http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/
Ancillary events for children have been scheduled, said Kate Meacham, assistant director of marketing for the Ford Center. They include a public reading at the Oxford-Lafayette County Library at 10:30 a.m. April 9. Additional venues and dates are to be announced.
Critics have raved over the show wherever it has been performed. Frank L. Sonntag of the Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts called the production “pure magic.”
Vicky Pittman of the Colonial Theatre in Keene, N.H., wrote, “This is the first production I have experienced watching children completely focused on the stage for the entire hour. In most performance I see their concentration wander after 30 to 40 minutes, but they were on the edge of their seats the entire time!”
Following the wild success of the first book, Crockett wrote six subsequent titles in the Harold series. Over the years, the stories were adapted into a seven-minute short film, two more animated features and a documentary. They also became a Daytime Emmy Award-winning television series for HBO. The 13-episode series was also nominated for an Annie Award and Humanitas Prize.
The book inspired computer programmer Petri Purho to create the “Crayon Physics Deluxe” video game and has been used frequently in children’s art education lesson plans.
For more information about the Enchantment Theater Company, visit http://www.enchantmenttheater.